# Laser cut window panes



## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

I tend to buy used G scale stuff, because my railroad is on a shoestring budget. A couple months back I bought a couple of Piko shops that were badly in need of repair. One thing they needed was new windows. The old plastic was brittle and opaque, and when they came out several of the "pane" parts broke. 

So I thought about casting new panes and using acrylic for the glass. But getting a good casting for something so fine turned out to be harder than I thought. So I decided to laser cut a set.



It took about five minutes to measure the openings and draw it up, and about five minutes to cut them. They look pretty good--though I probably could have made them look even better if I'd had the patience to make them in two layers for a more 3D effect.

Anyone on the fence about a laser cutter should think about all the possible uses. These would have been a real pain to cut out by hand. And the repeatability factor is terrific--I drew it once and cut out six of them by copy/pasting. Plus, I now have these as a file and if another thrashed building comes up on eBay, I'll know the windows at least will be easy to fix.


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Could you share more info regarding your choice in a Laser cutter for us?

Dirk


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

SD90WLMT said:


> Could you share more info regarding your choice in a Laser cutter for us?
> 
> Dirk


Dirk, I followed the lead of Dave B and bought a $300 unit from eBay. Although I'd heard various horror stories, I wasn't too worried--my PayPal account is linked only to my AmEx card, and if I had problems with the seller and I couldn't get PayPal to help, I can always count on AmEx to sort things out. I've had them actually offer to credit me the cost and send a freight company to pick up an item where I couldn't get a refund from the seller.

Anyway, the unit is _very_ Chinese. The instructions are probably Google translated, it comes with a (likely) hacked copy of CorelDraw (I own licenses for the last four versions, so not an ethical issue for me), the cooling pump is an aquarium pump, and the exhaust fan was clearly sourced for low price, not performance. 

All that said, it cuts fine. 40 watts will cut 1/8" plywood or acrylic, and slices right through 6mm Sintra. I've mostly used it for cutting plastic, but my wife had me cut some wooden snowflakes for Christmas gifts and they came out OK. 

The fact that it uses CorelDraw as the drawing software was a selling point for me, since I've been using Draw since version 4 back in the mid-90s. I use Draw to create technical illustrations for books that I write in my day job, so it's very familiar and I know lots of tricks/shortcuts for making it do what I want.

Eventually, I will switch to a more "professional" unit. But for just dipping a toe in to see if I like it, $300 wasn't bad


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

I know you said funds are limited, but curious if you pondered the laser cutter that Micro Mark sells?


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## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

ewarhol said:


> I know you said funds are limited, but curious if you pondered the laser cutter that Micro Mark sells?


Eric - from the ads that I have seen the unit that Micro Mark sells is virtually identical to the eBay unit that I purchased for less than $400 - the main difference is the packaging (they use two boxes rather than one) - they also include an air pump to clear smoke from the burn area.

See my notes on the one I purchased here:

http://www.trainelectronics.com/LaserEngraver/index.htm 

dave


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

There are some differences between the one Micromark sells and the eBay version.

The MM version includes a honeycomb bed, an interior light, and (most importantly) a cutoff switch that turns off the laser when the lid is open. Also something called a "Lens focus gauge" and a dual voltage external power supply. Plus, as Dave mentions, it comes with an air pump to blow smoke out of the way of the beam, which the eBay ones don't. 

However, the essential specifications (40w laser, runs off a hacked version of Corel Draw, water cooled by a pump in a bucket) are the same. And if you look at MM's image, you'll see that it's using the same steel case and control unit as the eBay version. My guess is that these are likely produced in the same Chinese factory.

The big drawback of the eBay version is that there is no safety interlock on the door. You have to keep your wits about you and keep the lid of the cabinet shut while it's running. A 40 watt laser isn't going to cut off your hand, but you'll get a nasty burn (ask me how I know) and if there's anything reflective in there you could easily lose your eyesight. But if you can keep the lid shut, or manually turn off the laser before you open it, you shouldn't have a problem. I'm sure I won't make the same mistake again... something about "the burned hand is the best teacher" 

One minor drawback is the lack of an air assist. But I had my nephew 3D print a nozzle for me--3D printer files for this are widely available and they just slip over the cutting head. Currently it's powered from a mini compressor I already had on hand. Another drawback is that there's no support--you're completely on your own for figuring out how to refocus the lens if it needs it, what cutting speeds and power level work for what materials, etc. There are a number of forums for these things, but you can't just call or email the seller. As I mentioned, I wasn't too worried because of how I paid for it, but if you got a DOA unit, I'm not sure what you could do about it.

Overall I'm happy with my experience. The lack of refinement, for me, was offset by the cost difference. As I mentioned, I paid ~$300 (on an eBay best offer) compared to the ~$2000 that MicroMark is asking for essentially the same machine with a few additional features.


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