CNC Router Or CO2 Laser Cutter

Customers ask us this question many times and want to know what kind of machine they use in their business. In some cases, there are sometimes both, but we will focus on the main differences between CNC wood engraving machine and CO2 laser cutter.

Some people reading this article may not know how each machine works, so please solve this problem first. For those who fully understand how each machine works, be sure to ignore it.

So, do you want to buy a CNC wood engraving machine or a CO2 laser cutter?

Let us look at the advantages of CNC wood engraving machine:

• powerful

• Can provide cutting area from small to large

• There are various tools available, allowing you to cut and engrave different types of tool paths, such as contours, holes, indentation, engraving, v-cutting, bevel, prism, 3D engraving.

• Compared with CO2 laser cutter (usually), they have more gantry space to process thicker materials.

• Faster cutting speed means shorter production time

• Automatic tool change option

• Automation and consistency of production parts.

• Reduce waste by nesting parts

Let's take a look at the advantages of CO2 laser cutter:

• Material versatility

• Polished edges when using acrylic coating at the same time (if not using very expensive polishing tools, CNC wood engraving machine usually performs two polishing)

• Reduce the noise when passing through the CNC.

• Excellent repeatability

• Operate the machine without multiple tools

• Reduce expenditure

• Cheap initial purchase price

As with most products, there are some disadvantages to consider when choosing between a CNC router and a CO2 laser cutter. 

Let's see disadvantages of CNC wood engraving machine :

• Due to the influence of vacuum pump and exhaust noise, sometimes CNC machine generates a lot of noise. The type of material also leads to an increase in noise pollution.

• Although the CNC wood engraving machine is equipped with an air extraction device, there will always be residual dust and chips (especially if you use a compression tool to press the chips into the cut), which must be removed

• Change tools-they won't last forever

• Steep learning curve tool path, CNC best practice CAD/CAM software

• Without skilled labor, machines can do most of the hard work (although this can also be seen as an advantage).

• Tools-If you want to cut different types of materials, you will usually need many tools to get the job done.

• Higher initial cost

Disadvantages of CO2 laser cutter:

• Slower

• Certain materials may be cut into dangerous goods. Contact Supplier

• Just cutting and engraving will not be like fancy cutting on CNC machine

• Burn the edges of certain materials (e.g. wood) (you have to leave them or use sand) to create other manual steps

• Both the laser tube and the mirror are consumables and need to be replaced at some point in their service life.

Conclusion

Both machines are safe, which is a great addition to your process library. Which one you should use to meet your needs depends on the processes and constraints you can use in your workplace.

Do you want the versatility of CNC wood engraving machine and the types of tools you can use, or do you want to simplify laser cutting machines? Are there noise restrictions in the working area used?

In most cases, CNC factories can process jobs faster than CO2 laser cutter, but compared to laser machine with a single cutting and engraving source, many different tools must be used.

If your manufacturing needs require the use of two machines on the job site, there are also some useful examples. In this way, you can have both, but it can be attributed to the needs of each company or the need to produce specific types of products.