Laser cutter?

daniel_chow

Hey guys, 

Its been a while since I've been on the forums. I've got some awesome pics to share on how my students have been using Onshape this year! 

So I'm in the market for a laser cutter, just wondering if Onshape is capable of exporting file for use in a laser / water / plasma or other 3D cutters. I'm quite sure it is capable. 

From what I can see, many laser cutters simply require a PDF file. I'm guessing if I upload an essay, I'll cut out the letters.  

Is there any reason some laser cutters specifically ask for Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop files? 

Thanks! 

noa

HI @daniel_chow, most laser cutters (if not all?) read in dxf, dwg, and pdf, all of which Onshape is able to export. The fastest way is to right-click on any planar face in a Part Studio, then "Export as DXF/DWG." 

You can also create an engineering drawing of a part, then right-click the drawing tab, then Export. The three options are there as well.

michael3424

@daniel_chow - if this will be used in the classroom, you might want to look into the Glowforge laser cutter/engraver.  It's supposed to be released by December this year and is designed to be easy to use.  It will take DXF files from Onshape as well as SVG, AI, and Inkscape.  You can pre-order now at a discount but it would probably be better to wait until it is shipping and has been independently reviewed.

chris_8

michael3424 said:

@daniel_chow - if this will be used in the classroom, you might want to look into the Glowforge laser cutter/engraver.  It's supposed to be released by December this year and is designed to be easy to use.  It will take DXF files from Onshape as well as SVG, AI, and Inkscape.  You can pre-order now at a discount but it would probably be better to wait until it is shipping and has been independently reviewed.

@michael3424 -  I had high hopes for the Glowforge a year ago.  It was supposed to be shipping by January of this year.  The release dates have been put off a few times.   I would wait about 6 months after they're really shipping, then read reviews, then maybe order if the reviews are glowing.

noa

HI @daniel_chow, most laser cutters (if not all?) read in dxf, dwg, and pdf, all of which Onshape is able to export. The fastest way is to right-click on any planar face in a Part Studio, then "Export as DXF/DWG." 

You can also create an engineering drawing of a part, then right-click the drawing tab, then Export. The three options are there as well.

michael3424

@daniel_chow - if this will be used in the classroom, you might want to look into the Glowforge laser cutter/engraver.  It's supposed to be released by December this year and is designed to be easy to use.  It will take DXF files from Onshape as well as SVG, AI, and Inkscape.  You can pre-order now at a discount but it would probably be better to wait until it is shipping and has been independently reviewed.

chris_8

michael3424 said:

@daniel_chow - if this will be used in the classroom, you might want to look into the Glowforge laser cutter/engraver.  It's supposed to be released by December this year and is designed to be easy to use.  It will take DXF files from Onshape as well as SVG, AI, and Inkscape.  You can pre-order now at a discount but it would probably be better to wait until it is shipping and has been independently reviewed.

@michael3424 -  I had high hopes for the Glowforge a year ago.  It was supposed to be shipping by January of this year.  The release dates have been put off a few times.   I would wait about 6 months after they're really shipping, then read reviews, then maybe order if the reviews are glowing.

daniel_chow

Thanks for the responses guys, I've been looking at Glowforge, also looking at this company located near us in Vancouver BC

https://www.epiloglaser.ca/

chris_8

daniel_chow said:

Thanks for the responses guys, I've been looking at Glowforge, also looking at this company located near us in Vancouver BC

https://www.epiloglaser.ca/

Daniel,  Those two machines are not really comparable pricing-wise.  Top end Glowforge with all the bells and whistles is around $5000 USD if I remember correctly.  Whereas a lowest-end epilog bare bones is like $25,000

For a system that works well but doesn't break the bank I'd go for either one like this:
https://www.bosslaser.com/boss-ls-1630.html#.V2L83TVBleQ

or save a bundle and roll the dice a little by going direct to the source:
http://www.wklaser.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&f=show&catid=128&l=2&id=249

michael3424

chris_8 said:

@michael3424 -  I had high hopes for the Glowforge a year ago.  It was supposed to be shipping by January of this year.  The release dates have been put off a few times.   I would wait about 6 months after they're really shipping, then read reviews, then maybe order if the reviews are glowing.

I agree that caution is warranted before plunking down the money for a Glowforge.  There's one guy beta testing for them (he's local to GF) and he's been posting pictures of his laser projects in their community forum which look pretty encouraging so his posts are sort of a review.  I "know" him from a completely different forum and he seems quite aboveboard to me.  He might even be a Glowforge user (can't remember).  In a way the additional 6-month GF delay was a bit of a relief to me because I believe that it will let them ship a more mature product than they could have done this month.  Time will tell if that though is optimism or wisdom <g>.