How to Choose the Right Laser Cutting Machine? Ultimate ...

Let&#;s discuss the types of laser cutting machines being used in the industry!

Laser cutting machines are differentiated based on the types of lasers being used. Consequently, the type of laser determines the type of substrate and thickness of the material.

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The three main types of laser cutters are as follows:

CO2 Laser Cutters

CO2 laser cutting machines consist of CO2 gas along with a mixture of other gases like helium and nitrogen. This type of gas mixture is charged up by electric discharge which then produces the laser beam. The wavelength of such cutters is 10.6mm.

CO2 laser cutters are the most common and well-reputed because of their efficiency and cheaper prices.

Materials: Glass, plastics, leather, wood, and acrylic.

Crystal Laser Cutters

Crystal laser cutters generate beams from Neodymium doped yttrium ortho vanadate. The wavelengths of these cutters are smaller as compared to CO2 laser cutters hence they can cut through some thicker materials.

Smaller wavelength also contributes to better focus and higher intensity as well. One drawback of these cutters is that their parts wear out because of the high power functionality.

Materials: Plastics, Metals, and Ceramics.

Fiber Laser Cutters

The origin of fiber laser is seed laser which is amplified and magnified using special optical fibers. The more common name for fiber laser cutters is a solid-state laser.

The remarkable benefits of this laser cutter include cutting of reflective and conductive metals, thrice the times of efficiency as compared to CO2 laser cutters, and the absence of movable parts.

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Fiber lasers can work on metals as well as organic materials. Although fiber laser cutters are very similar to crystal lasers they are more efficient and low maintenance.

Materials: Metals and Organic materials.

Tabbed, or "finger-jointed" boxes are one of the most versatile things you can make with a laser cutter - the possibilities really are endless. However, getting the right box for your requirements is not always easy and often entails lots of post-generation modification, plus how do you choose which tool to use? Are better ones available?

There are a bunch of commercial tools that can be used to create laser cut box plans, but I'm not going to cover them here. I'm pretty passionate about laser cutters and in this Instructable I'm going to show you some free and (mostly) easy tools to create boxes of all shapes and sizes. Above are photos of some of the useful things I've created with modifications to simple box designs (I'm planning on writing short Instructables for each soon).

Full disclosure: I am the maintainer of a tiny bit of Open Source called Tabbed Box Maker (pretty original, huh?) which is a plugin for Inkscape, forked from the original Tabbed Box Maker by Elliot White - http://www.twot.eu//.html. I believe my plugin is the most advanced laser cut box generator for Inkscape, and I'd be absolutely ecstatic if you used it, but I'm also very keen to hear what else is out there and I'd like to keep this Instructable as a master reference for all things box-generator related. So if you know of something I've missed, ping me in the comments below and I'll add it to the list!

Here's a list of all box makers I'm aware of, and a comparison of each:

Inkscape plugins

• My Tabbed Box Maker - Comprehensive and easy to use box generator with lots of features:
  • Adjustable kerf
  • "Hairline" line thickness adjustment for Epilog lasers
  • Ability to cut 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2-faced "boxes"
  • Ability to quickly configure slotted internal divisions, both X and Y
  • Includes a Schroff case generator (Thanks to John Slee)
  • (new) Internal divisions can now either be keyed into the box sides or removable
• Original Tabbed Box Maker
  
  • As above with fewer features, another virtually identical fork is here.
• Another fork of Elliot White's plugin with neat "living hinges"
• Box Maker - A good solid box maker featuring:
  • Adjustable kerf
  • The ability to create "press-fit" tabs, either slightly rounded or trapezoidal
  • Configurable number of tabs for each edge
  • Can create a tight 0-kerf plan to use minimal material (but joints will be loose)

• Elliptical box maker
  
  • Fantastic plugin for making beautiful elliptical boxes

Web-based generators (NO additional software installation required)

• Makercase - basic boxes only
• ConnectionLab - basic boxes only
• MakeABox.io - basic boxes only
• Jerome Leary's box generator - a fairly well-featured box generator that includes some interesting options, including a frame, box dividers (one direction only), and truss style supports for lightweight boxes.
• Festi Boxes.py web interface - a web interface for the Boxes.py library below. Lots of different parameterised box types available (thanks @ffesti for the tip!)
• Joinery - (Instructable here) is a very cool looking online tool for taking regular un-jointed SVG designs and applying joints of all kinds to edges - not just straight edges or box panels, and not just finger joints: it can also make suitable joints for laser cut fabric, cardboard and paper! NOTE: This tool is designed for adding joints to existing non-jointed plans and shapes, not for building plans from scratch.

Scripting languages (for the more adventurous)

• Box-O-Tron, a T-Slot box script for Python
• Parametric box modeller for OpenSCAD
• Festi Boxes.py, an amazing set of scripts that allows you to do some very advanced parametric designs for both basic boxes right through to virtually ready-to-use products, including:
  • Boxes in various shapes and with various lids
  • Boxes using flex cuts with rounded corners and living hinges
  • Type trays with and without outer walls and floors
  • Book covers with flex spine
  • Magazine files, and more...

Shortly I'll be posting another Instructable with further instructions and pictures on how to install and use my box plugin, and examples of the sorts of boxes it can create. Follow me to be notified when it's published!

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