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The Aloft Laser Cutter

Wayne

Wayne

Administrator
Staff member
Been a while since we did an update on the laster cutter. We have been using it for sometime now, it has been performing very well for us. Today Rafael upgraded the air system, and the changes in performance are surprising. Way less smoke, far cleaner cuts and able to reduce the laser power for the same cuts.
laser - 1.jpeg

You can see the little air compressor we are using below the shelf. We have been running between 30 and 40 psi for most things with excellent results. Next to the compressor is the water chiller. Behind the laser you can see our ducting going up the wall, just out of the picture is a large inline fan. With the fan and the new air compressor we are nearly smoke free.

laser - 2.jpeg

Here is a sneak peak at one of our new products we should have up on the site next week. You can see how clean the cuts are even though this is 1/4" plywood.
laser - 3.jpeg

@Red might recognize these parts that are about ready to be listed on the site too. Just waiting for our new printer so we can print the plans in house.

And a sample wing from one of those bins:
wing - 1.jpeg


I'm really looking forward to sharing more new products with you all!
 
Wayne said:
Been a while since we did an update on the laster cutter. We have been using it for sometime now, it has been performing very well for us. Today Rafael upgraded the air system, and the changes in performance are surprising. Way less smoke, far cleaner cuts and able to reduce the laser power for the same cuts.
View attachment 12042
You can see the little air compressor we are using below the shelf. We have been running between 30 and 40 psi for most things with excellent results. Next to the compressor is the water chiller. Behind the laser you can see our ducting going up the wall, just out of the picture is a large inline fan. With the fan and the new air compressor we are nearly smoke free.

View attachment 12043
Here is a sneak peak at one of our new products we should have up on the site next week. You can see how clean the cuts are even though this is 1/4" plywood.
View attachment 12044
@Red might recognize these parts that are about ready to be listed on the site too. Just waiting for our new printer so we can print the plans in house.

And a sample wing from one of those bins:
View attachment 12045

I'm really looking forward to sharing more new products with you all!
Click to expand...
Wayne,
Out of curiosity, how much does a laser cutter of this size and quality retail for?
Raymond Gaskins
 
Yep - But that is sort of the starting point. We then added the chiller, in-line fan, and air compressor. Probably a couple of software packages etc. If you are running this size, then you are going to need all of these items. If you are just going to run an occasional cut job, then one of the cheap LED units would be a better tool and saves a ton of space.
 
Time for a quick update on the laser. We have used the heck out of this from cutting fabric for the Carbon Flacon kits to all of the balsa and plywood kits we have run through it.

We did have some issues here and there and Omtech was good to work with with. Eventually the machine ran into some accuracy issues and we discovered the issue was a stretched belt, replaced that and thought all was good, but we soon found we still had issues, but at a much smaller level. We could not fix this gremlin and Omtech ran out of ideas too. We questioned if we always had the issues, but we were not paying as close attention early on? Now that we are have a lot of experience and want to produce very high quality parts, the issue was a real problem.

Don't get me wrong, the machine with tuning can do a wonderful job, here is a recent example:
laser example - 1.jpeg


Happy to report that Omtech volunteered a new machine as we were within our 2 year warranty period. This was very generous, but I also feared it would not fix the issue. Could it be a bad mechanical design limit? We talked with them and they allowed us to upgrade to their next larger machine that incorporates a few changes in the design. We happily paid the difference and are currently installing the new machine. Testing will tell if we have solved the issue.

I did not expect Omtech to replace our machine. They were very good to work with as we did a lot of remote testing with them. If you are looking for a machine I do highly recommend them just based on their willingness to jump in there and help. For a hobby use, this machine is more than capable!!

I think all of the Chinese lasers are going to need a fair amount of tweaking to get them fully dialed in. You don't get a lower price and expect the machine to work perfect from the start. Will it cut and make you happy? Yes, but to cut really well you will need to invest a lot of time into the fine tuning to get the mechanical side of the machine working in harmony. This is true of most any CNC machine. The less you pay, the more issues you can expect to chase.

Maintenance on the machine is something you will need to pay attention to. Again this is true of any machine.

We should have the new machine up by the end of the week.
 
Having someone in the USA that i could talk to was the main reason i had gone with omtech as well. Fortunately i havent had to contact them for anything big. Glad to hear they have some good customer support.
 
Nate and Wayne
Which models of the OmTec lasers do you own? I am seriously thinking about purchasing one of these for personal hobby use but have no experience but would rather invest in quality up front and. I could use your advice. My new workshop will be completed in about one more month and I will be able to get back into enjoying my hobbies. They also have a nice sale going on for the next few days.
Thanks,
Raymond
 
Hi Wayne. I have the same machine as shown but in Red and Black. I even use it to cut timber panels for my other hobby Bee keeping and I make my own hives. Just love this as anything is possible with Autocad and Lightburn

Henny
 
Yes, we have used it to cut 1/2" birch plywood. The new machine should be able to do that a bit cleaner.
 
Last edited:
We did not cut it in a single pass.. LOL With the correct plywood it is very doable, but with the wrong wood you end up with charcoal.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Red
Wayne said:
We did not cut it in a single pass.. LOL With the correct plywood it is very doable, but with the wrong wood you end up with charcoal.
Click to expand...
I also find certain plywood's such as marine ply which is more difficult to cut because of the type of adhesive used in their construction. Also for thicker timber such as 1/4 inch ply focus the laser into the middle of the timber and of course air assist is a great tool to enable a clean cut will result in a single pass cut at 50% power for an 80 watt machine.
 
Yeah thickness isnt usually the problem. I have some construction ply i cant hardly get thru the top of at all. Than i have some 5mm mahogany that cuts beautifully.
 
thenated0g said:
Yeah thickness isnt usually the problem. I have some construction ply i cant hardly get thru the top of at all. Than i have some 5mm mahogany that cuts beautifully.
Click to expand...
I am about to start using an OMTECH laser which I just purchased over the weekend (they had a nice Labor Day sale). So I do not yet have any experience with laser cutting or etching for that matter. I did read that the moisture content of the wood being cut or etched could have a profound effect on the amount of charring seen. Do any of you experienced users presoak your wood?
Raymond
 
Raymond Gaskins said:
I am about to start using an OMTECH laser which I just purchased over the weekend (they had a nice Labor Day sale). So I do not yet have any experience with laser cutting or etching for that matter. I did read that the moisture content of the wood being cut or etched could have a profound effect on the amount of charring seen. Do any of you experienced users presoak your wood?
Raymond
Click to expand...
Have never considered pre-soaking the timber, what does that try to achieve. I would have though water just adds to what the laser needs to cut through. The important requirements are the following.
1. Air assist while cutting.
2. Refrigerated CO/2 tube cooling system.
3. Good smoke extraction and possibly filtering before exhausting to the out side world.
4. A good cad program.
5. Lightburn to control your cutter.
 
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