2021 Best Laser Cutters and Affordable Laser Cutting Machines for Sale at Cost Price

Are you looking forward to DIY laser cutter kit plans or coming up with an idea to buy an affordable laser cutting machine for metal, wood, plywood, cardboard, dieboard, chipboard, fabric, textile, leather, paper, acrylic, plastic, foam, rubber, ABS, EPM, MDF, PE, PES, PUR, PVB, PVC, PUR, PMMA or PTFE with home use, small business, hobbyists, school education and industrial manufacturing? Check out the 2021 new laser cutter buyer's guide for CNC laser cutting machinists, operators and beginners, we'll offer you the best laser cutting machines of 2021 with custom laser cutting service to fit your 2D/3D laser cutting ideas and plans.

What is a Laser Cutting Machine?

Laser cutting machine is a type of laser equipment with CNC (Computer Numerical Control) system, which adopts CO2 laser or FIBER laser beam to cut metals (steel, copper, brass, aluminum, gold, silver, alloy, iron), acrylic, rubber, wood, plastic, leather, paper, foam, textile, fabric into 2D/3D shapes and profiles. Laser cutting machines are widely used in industrial manufacturing, school education, small business, home business, small shop, home shop, hobbyist, craftsman.  A laser cutter is composed of CNC controller, machine frame, laser generator, laser power supply, laser tube, laser head, laser lens, laser mirror, water chiller, stepper motor or servo motor, gas cylinder, air compressor, gas storage tank, air cooling filer, dryer, dust extractor, CNC software and CNC system.  A laser cutting machine is also known as laser cutter, laser cutter machine, laser cutting system, laser cutting equipment, laser cutting table, laser cut machine, laser cutting tool, laser profile cutting system, laser profile cutting machine.

How Does a Laser Cutter Work?

Laser beam is a kind of light, and like other natural light, it is produced by the transition of atoms (molecules or ions, etc.). However, it is different from ordinary light in that the laser depends on spontaneous radiation only for a very short period of time. The subsequent process is completely determined by the excitation radiation, so the laser has a very pure color, almost no divergence direction, and extremely high luminous intensity, and high coherence.

Laser cutting is achieved by applying high power density energy generated by laser focusing. Under the control of the computer, the laser is discharged by pulses to output a controlled repetitive high-frequency pulsed laser to form a beam with a certain frequency and a certain pulse width. The pulsed laser beam is transmitted and reflected through the optical path and is focused by the focusing lens group. On the surface of the processed object, minute, high-energy density light spots are formed, and the focal spot is located near the surface to be processed, and the processed material is melted or vaporized at an instant high temperature. Each high-energy laser pulse instantly sputters a small hole on the surface of the object. Under the control of the computer, the laser processing head and the material to be processed perform continuous relative movement and dotting according to the pre-drawn graphics, so that the object will be processed into the desired shape.

The technological parameters (cutting speed, laser power, gas pressure, etc.) and movement trajectory during slitting are controlled by the CNC system, and the slag at the slit is blown off by the auxiliary gas with a certain pressure.

The laser emitted by the laser generator is focused by the optical path system into a laser beam of high power density. The laser beam is irradiated onto the surface of the workpiece to bring the workpiece to a melting point or boiling point, while the high-pressure gas coaxial with the beam blows away the molten or vaporized material. As the laser beam moves relative to the workpiece, the material is slit finally, thereby achieving the purpose of cutting. Different laser powers can different workpieces with different thickness. Generally speaking, higher laser power for thicker workpiece. You should make the appropriate choice according to your requirements.

What is a Laser Cutter Used For?

Laser cutter is widely used in Medical Technology, Fablabs/Education, Architectural Models, Smartphones and Laptops, Awards/Trophies, Rubber Stamps Industry, Packaging Design, Signs/Displays Industry, Giveaways, Electronics Industry, Automotive Industry, Signage, Mechanical engineering, Ball bearing, Jewelry Industry, Barcodes serial numbers, Watches, Machining Industry, Dataplates Industry.

What Materials Can Be Cut with a Laser Cutter?

Fiber laser cutting systems are mainly used for cutting metal materials (sheet metals, metal tube, metal profile, 3D curved metals and irregular metals) of carbon steel, stainless steel, tool steel, spring steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, alloy, titanium, iron, brass, manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, lead, etc. CO2 laser cutting systems are mainly used for cutting thin metal and non-metal materials of wood, MDF, plywood, chipboard, acrylic, plastic, PMMA, leather, fabric, cardboard, paper, rubber, depron foam, EPM, gator foam, polyester (PES), polyethylene (PE), polyurethane (PUR), neoprene, textile, bamboo, ivory, carbon fibers, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinyl butyrale (PVB), polytetrafluoroethylenes (PTFE /Teflon), beryllium oxide, and any materials containing halogens (chlorine, fluorine, iodine, astatine and bromine), phenolic or epoxy resins.

How Much Does a Laser Cutter Cost?

The laser cutter cost is composed of the following items: 1. spare parts. 2. laser cutting system and laser cutting software. 3. shipping costs. 4. tax rates. 5. customs clearance. 6. service and technical support. A fiber laser cutting machine cost is from $8,800.00 to 260,000.00. A CO2 laser cutting machine cost is from $2,600.00 to 68,800.00.

Technical Parameters

What are the Advantages and Benefits of Laser Cutting?

Laser cutting replaces traditional mechanical cutters with invisible laser beams. It has high precision, high speed, high quality, it is not limited to cutting pattern restrictions, saves materials by automatic typesetting, smooth cuts, and low machining cost. It will gradually improve or replace traditional cutting process equipment. The mechanical part of the laser cutter head has no contact with the workpiece, and it will not scratch the surface of the workpiece during operation. The cutting speed is fast, the slit is smooth and flat, generally no subsequent cutting is required. The heat affected zone is small, the sheet deformation is small. The slit has no mechanical stress, no shear burr. It has high cutting precision, good repeatability, does not damage the surface of the material. It adopts CNC programming, which can process any plan, and cut the whole workpiece with a large format, no need to open the mold, economic and time-saving.

How Many Types of Laser Cutters?

Laser cutting machines are divided into laser metal cutting machines (metal laser cutters), laser wood cutting machines (wood laser cutters), laser fabric cutting machines (fabric laser cutters), laser leather cutting machines (leather laser cutters), laser paper cutting machines (paper laser cutters), laser acrylic cutting machines (acrylic laser cutters), laser plastic cutting machines (plastic laser cutters), laser foam cutting machines (foam laser cutters) according to laser cutting materials. Laser cutting equipments are divided into fiber laser cutting machines (fiber laser cutters), CO2 laser cutting machines (CO2 laser cutters) according to laser source. Laser cutting systems are divided into handheld laser cutting system, mini/small laser cutting system, portable laser cutting system, tabletop/desktop laser cutting system, large format laser cutting equipment, 2x3 laser cutting table, 2x4 laser cutting table, 4x4 laser cutting table, 4x8 laser cutting table, 5x10 laser cutting table according to table sizes. Laser cutter machines are divided into laser tube cutters, home laser cutters, hobby laser cutters, laser profile cutting machines, industrial laser cutting machines according to applications.