Anyone here work with lasers?

[Fusion]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I'll give it a shot.
I've been wanting to be able to make styrofoam signage for a long time. I made a cutting table a few years back, which was handy, but not great. I know there are machines for this but really damn expensive.
The basic idea is to buy a cheapo plotter off ebay (preferably used), so that I don't have to build the whole thing and I would fab it to work with styrofoam desks.
The thing I don't know is what kind of laser will be able to nicely cut through stfm, 500mW-1W? All I can find on youtube is people burning matches and stuff. I know a lot of testing will be involved but I want to be pretty sure on the laser.

[quickervicar]

Got a Mitsubishi 2500W myself. For styrofoam--or anything else flammable--I would highly recommend finding a job-shop that has a waterjet. They cut cleanly, quickly, and usually for less money than a laser shop.

[Fusion]

You mean 2500mW? That's probably able to cut plexiglass, isn't it?
I want to keep this project in-house. I plan on taking precautions, no worries.
I'm just trying to research the wattage I should use to cleanly cut styrofoam, it can be slow, not a matter. If it were able to do lets say leather burns (not through it), like some sort of pictures on leather stuff, that would be a nice bonus, but styro is the main goal.

[Sailor37]

Have you looked into hot-wire styrofoam cutting? That maybe another option for you.

[Kershaw]

http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasers/S3_Series-105-37.html

1W.

[b*saint]

I work for this company www.prima-na.com. Our lasers are 2,500 watts to 5,000 watts. They can get through styrofoam no sweat. You cut with inert gas. For you who has the mits I am suprised you don't know that. We cut wood, paper, cardboard. Anything.

[Fusion]

Sailor: yea, I had a home-made hotwire table, but it was slow and sloppy.

Kershaw: damn, that thing is awesome :)

b*saint: keeping this low-budget and only styrofoam is needed to be cut.

[b*saint]

SO the 1.7 million dollar Optimo Vivida is out of the question?

[Massive Lee]

In my youth, I was making a lot of airplanes and gliders from styrofoam. I was using a transformer and a hot wire going thru a hole in a table with a gig on top to hold the wire vertical. It would probably cost around $80 nowadays. Who needs a laser to cut styrofoam?

http://www.spacemodeling.org/new/how_to/Foam_Cutter.htm

Lee

[Fusion]

SO the 1.7 million dollar Optimo Vivida is out of the question?

I'll check if they'd take my e30 as a trade-in for financing.

Lee, that's what mine looked like, but try cutting a CocaCola logo with it ;)

[grantlacey11]

http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasers/S...es-105-37.html

1W.

wow. just....wow.

[bender]

i don't think you will find a laser that you can directly mount to a X Y table (plotter, etc)

we have a 40watt laser at work, which is good for engraving various materials but doesn't cut very much beyond 1/8" acrylic.

most lasers are large and mounted below the table and directed at the work using mirrors and a lens.

let me know if i'm wrong! cause i'd be nice to have something i could mount to my cnc router

[b*saint]

Yea a fiber laser from IPG. http://www.ipgphotonics.com/ But just the shutter is $10,000.