If you are preparing to make objects with lasers, you may want to know the best laser cutter for small business. There are many laser cutting and engraving machine products on the market. Many of them are suitable for small businesses or home use. The configuration, quality, and processing effects of these machines are quite different.
Many laser machine manufacturers tout how good their products are, but the actual market response may not be good. Especially many small laser machine companies do not have the ability to produce independently. So they might choose the OEM products. Therefore, it takes much time and effort to find the best laser cutter for small business.
Blue Elephant has been committed to the production of CNC machines for more than 10 years. We have independent and complete design, production, delivery, and after-sales service processes. This article introduces you to the Top 5 Blue Elephant best laser cutters and engravers. Whether you want to cut metal or non-metal materials, you can find a laser machine to meet your requirements.
Benefits that the best laser cutter for small business can bring
The best laser cutter for small business gives small businesses maximum flexibility and versatility to create unique products. More and more small businesses choose laser cutting and engraving machines to carry out their laser cutting service. For example, making crafts, gifts, billboards, decorations, etc. The best laser cutter and engraver have the following benefits. Those are also the reasons why the best home laser cutter is so popular.
- Small footprint, low power, easy to place and move. You can put it in any ventilated corners, garages, basements, tool rooms, etc. The laser wood cutting machine is suitable for processing small and medium-sized pieces.
- Low cost but multiple functions. The best wood laser cutter has a very high cost performance. With one machine, you can complete the cutting and engraving work of a variety of materials.
- Non-contact cutting and engraving. Its special processing technology causes no damage to the workpiece surface. The laser-cut products have a small heat-affected area and no thermal deformation.
- Excellent precision and accuracy. The best home laser cutter has a tiny focused beam spot. Its cutting precision can reach 0.1mm. The cutting surface is smooth and clean with no burrs.
- Rapid speed and high efficiency. When cutting non-metal materials, the cutting speed of the best wood laser cutter may reach 1m/min. A metal laser cutter can cut thin metal plates at a speed of 60m/min.
- Low operation costs and maintenance costs. The software used in the laser machine can design the optimized cutting path to maximize the utilization of the materials. This can also reduce production costs.
- Diversified product forms. The laser wood cutting machine is controlled by a computer. It can cut any complex graphics, ensuring production flexibility and product diversification to meet the order needs of different customers.
Applications of the best laser cutter for small business
A laser cutter machine can cut, mark and engraver, and its versatility is remarkable. The best laser cutting machine can accurately cut or engraver a variety of materials. For example, wood, paper, cork, and certain types of plastics. The best engraver for small business can produce good results on almost any organic material. For instance, wood, cardboard, aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, ceramics, marble, alumina, stone, and glass.
A CO2 laser cutter can cut, mark or engrave most non-metal materials. But some of them are not suitable for cutting by a laser cutter, like PVC, ABS, etc. Because cutting such materials with lasers could cause fire or toxic gases, which will damage both the laser machine and the operator’s health. So before cutting unused materials with your laser machine, it is important to check the material nature and the machine manuals.
The fiber laser cutting machine is the best laser cutting machine for small metalworking businesses. It can cut multiple metal sheets, pipes, and tubes, such as stainless steel, carbon steel, galvanized sheets, aluminum, and copper.
The best laser cutters have a wide range of applications in many industries:
Crafts, gifts, souvenirs
Decorations, ornaments
Advertising, letters, signs, nameplates
Garment, leather
Daily necessities
Metal parts
Construction, doors, windows, handrails
Mechanical manufacturing
Best laser cutter for small business recommendation
There are many brands and types of laser machines on the market. To choose the best laser engravers and cutters, you must be sharp-sighted to investigate the products and manufacturers comprehensively. As a leading brand of professional laser cutting machines, Blue Elephant has a strong R&D team, skilled production, and quality inspection team to ensure the quality in the whole manufacturing process.
Best laser cutter for small business — wood laser cutter
Its effective working area is 1300x900mm. With compact size, it is easy to move. The laser power is also available of 60W, 80W, 130W, 150W, etc. Correspondingly, the cutting thickness will also vary with the power. Generally speaking, the greater the laser power, the greater the cutting thickness.
The main parameters of this CO2 laser machine are shown in the table below.
| Working area | 1300x900mm, 4x3ft |
| Laser power | 80W/100W/130w/150W |
| Laser type | Sealed CO2 laser tube |
| Cooling | CW5200 water cooling |
| Cutting thickness | 0-25mm (depends on materials) |
| Cutting speed | 0-1000mm/min (depends on materials) |
| Support graphic format | DST, PLT, BMP, DXF |
| Laser cutter price | $3,000-$9,000 |
Besides wood, this wood laser cutter is also good at cutting many other materials. For example, acrylic, paper, bamboo, resin, leather, fabric, etc. It can also engrave or etch wood, glass, acrylic acid, leather, leather, paper, etc. With this laser machine, you can turn a sketch, graffiti, photo, or handwritten note into a unique piece of art. Small businesses can provide laser cutting service for customers in many industries.
The following video is the demonstration of a 150w laser wood cutting machine cutting acrylic, MDF, leather, and corrugated paper.
Best laser engraver for small business
It adopts the RECI W series CO2 laser tube. And the detailed power of each model of laser tube is shown in the table below. W series laser tubes have such features as over 95% TEM00 mode beam quality and advanced radioactive materials coated lenses. All these features ensure a stable beam and long service life.
| Model | W1 | W2 | W4 | W6 | W8 |
| Rated output power (w) | 75 | 90 | 100 | 130 | 150 |
| Max output power (W) | 90 | 100 | 130 | 160 | 180 |
| Length (mm) | 1100 | 1250 | 1400 | 1650 | 1850 |
| Outer diameter (mm) | Φ80 | Φ90 | |||
| Lifespan (h) | >15000 | >10000 | >8000 | ||
The best wood laser engraver is quite easy to use. You can make designs in almost any graphic design software, like AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. The laser engraving machine for wood is designed for the cutting, marking, and engraving of non-metal materials. Its laser cutter price ranges from $3,000 to $9,000 based on specific specifications. It is quite popular with the small businesses in the artworks, lights, advertising signs, garment, and other industries.
Best laser cutter for small business — fabric laser cutter
The fiber can be natural, such as wool or cotton, or artificial, such as nylon or polyester. Almost all fiber fabrics can be processed by laser cutting. The fiber laser cutter can also engrave or mark some fabrics, such as felt and wool. These fabrics are mainly used in the clothing or decoration industry.
Whether natural or synthetic fibers can easily absorb the energy of a CO2 laser beam. So the fibers under the laser beam path heat up and evaporate quickly to obtain smooth and clean cutting edges. In some cases, the laser cutting seals the edges to avoid unraveling the fabric.
The following video shows the process that a automatic fed double-head fabric laser cutter cuts the fabric material. It has two laser heads that can work together, which improves work efficiency significantly. Besides, the fabric laser cutter adopt automatic feeding mode, saving a lot of human labor.
Best laser cutter for small business — metal laser cutter
You may have noticed that the above laser cutters are not for cutting metal materials. Some models are only suitable for cutting and engraving non-metals. The above laser cutters all adopt the CO2 laser source, which is not strong enough to cut metals. Therefore, if you cut metals in your business, you’d better buy a fiber laser machine instead of a CO2 one.
This metal laser cutter adopts an open flat structure with a processing area of 1500x3000mm. It is fit to cut all kinds of metal sheets and some tubes. The power is available from 1000W to 12000W. But you need to know that the higher the power, the higher the laser cutter price. Therefore, small businesses may only afford low-power metal cutting machines. The thickness of the metal laser cutting machine can cut is generally less than 30mm. Because when cutting metal sheets over 30mm, the laser cutting speed will decrease. And the efficiency will also be significantly reduced.
This video shows the installation process and cutting demo of a 4000W metal laser cutting machine. It can cut carbon steel, copper, aluminum, and stainless steel sheets with high efficiency and precision.
Best laser cutter for small business — fiber laser marker
The main difference between laser marking and engraving lies in the depth of processing. Laser engraving removes certain materials from the workpiece surface, while laser marking changes the color of the surface. A 30w fiber laser can quickly create multiple marks on steel, aluminum, brass, and more materials. For example, numbers, letters, bar codes, QR codes, etc.
This fiber laser marking machine has a compact size, high output power, and stable laser beam quality. It can mark clear letters or patterns on the workpieces. Its laser generator, field mirror, galvanometer, and other components all adopt high-quality or famous brands products. This ensures the reliable and stable marking operation and long service life of the fiber laser marker. The price of this fiber laser marking machine ranges from $4,000 to $10,000 according to specific specifications.
The major parameters of this machine are shown in the table below.
| Laser type | Fiber laser |
| Laser power | 20W-50w |
| Working area | 100x100mm, 200x200mm, 300x300mm |
| Marking depth | 0.01-1mm |
| Marking speed | ≤12000mm/s |
| Minimum character | 0.2mm |
| Support graphic format | PLT, DST, AI, DXF, BMP, JPG, CAD, CDR, DWG |
Tips for choosing the best laser cutter for small business
Small businesses will benefit a lot from these high-precision laser cutters and engravers. But as you can see, the laser cutter and engraver have many models and functions. So you need to figure out which model can best fit your requirements.
To find the best laser cutter for small business, you need to find the answers to the following questions.
What materials do you mainly process?
The type of materials determines the laser source you need to some extent. A CO2 laser cutter is specially designed for cutting, engraving, or marking non-metal materials. If you want to cut metal sheets, a fiber laser could be a better choice.
How much laser power do you need?
The answer to this question depends on your specific cutting and engraving requirements. The laser power reflects on the cutting thickness and cutting speed. It is more difficult to cut thicker plates. Hence it requires higher laser power. But correspondingly, it requires more investment for the laser cutter with larger power. Therefore, small businesses need to choose the laser power that can best meet their requirements within the limited budget.
How much you can afford to invest in a laser machine?
Many customers consider the ratio of capital investment and output when purchasing the best wood laser engraver. Small businesses often don’t have too much budget to buy high-power laser machines, especially small workshops or home stores. So you need to make clear that how much you can afford before buying a machine.
Conclusion
The best laser cutter for small business has a wide range of applications, high processing accuracy, and high cost performance. It can provide excellent processing capabilities and flexibility for small businesses. And small businesses can use such laser machines to process personalized handicrafts, billboards, souvenirs, etc.
The laser cutter and engraver can have the CO2 laser, fiber laser, UV laser, etc. according to the source. Among them, CO2 laser and UV laser machines are good at cutting and engraving non-metal materials. And the machine price is also lower. The fiber laser machines are especially for cutting metals and usually have an expensive price. That’s because the power required to cut metals is usually high. And the fiber laser generator also has a high cost itself.
When choosing the best laser cutting machine for your small business, you have to consider many factors. Except for the above-mentioned laser source, you also need to check your budget, processing needs, screen machine manufacturers, etc. If you are interested in any of the best laser cutter for small business recommended before, contact us now!
