Welcome to make something with me David
Picciuto. Today, it is an all out war, battle to the death of the CNC
router versus the laser cutter. Only one will come out on top who will
win? Actually, it's not like that at all. We're just going to talk
about pros and cons of each. Today's video is brought to
you by Squarespace. I get
asked quite a bit, David, which one should I get first? The
CNC router or the laser cutter? And the answer is it depends. There are different tools that
perform different tasks. I have both, they compliment each other. I've had three laser cutters and
three CNC routers over the years, and I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I do have a few years of
experience with each under my belt. Technically they are both CNC machines, but from here now I'm going to refer to
the CNC router as a CNC and the laser cutter as a laser. That's the common woodworking
nomenclature for these machines. There are machines that
are laser engravers. And these are usually very low wattage
machines that can only cut very thin materials like paper or engrave on
wood, but not actually cut wood. What I have as a 45 watt CO2 laser cutter. And that's what we'll
be talking about today. I have a Stepcraft CNC
and a Glowforge laser. This is not sponsored by either, and I'm
not trying to sell you either machine. Although out of all the CNC
and laser cutters I've used, these are my favorite
link in the description. The goal today is to inform you on future
buying decisions and not selling you tools. Link in the description, a CNC cuts using a spindle and a
bit just like your handheld Rotter. The laser cuts with light
that vaporizes the material. That sounds like magic, but it's just
science. Science is magic that works. That's the simplified version. We're not going to get into all
the little nuances of each machine, but speak generally. So you have
a place to start your research. Otherwise this would be a 10 part.
Ken Burns documentary series. Pros and cons. Let's
start with the CNC pros. You can get different bits for different
types of cuts, pocketing engraving, 3D routing, round overs,
fillet-o-fishes, holes, chambers, and so much more. This is a huge
advantage over the laser. Sadly, the laser just has one
laser and that's it. This is also a con because it can get
very confusing and very expensive, very fast. Each bit will
require its own feed, rate depth per cut, plunge
rate spindle speeds. And that will vary depending
on the material you're cutting. I get all my bits from ToolsToday.
Hashtag not sponsoredj. And they have all the feeds and
speeds on their website. Someday. I need to create a binder with all
of my bits and the recommended rates. Someday, if you know of an iPhone app that
allows me to keep a library of my bits. Please let me know. If this doesn't exist. Why Stepcraft Amana
Tools, tools, tools today? Somebody make an app where I can have a
library of my bits with the recommended speeds, please. I will say 80% of what I do is
done with a quarter inch spiral, plunge bit .10%. What they, one
eighth inch spiral plunge bit. And 15% other that's going to
be different for each person. A sign maker will need a variety of bits. Someone doing 3d sculptures is going to
need roughing bits and various finishing bits. And so on. Another pro the CNC can cut
much deeper than the laser. The limitation is the Z-axis and the
length of your bit something a CNC can do that at laser can't is 3D carving. I know someone out there is going to
tell me, "well actually". Stop it. I made this wooden ashtray with the
CNC, something the laser can't do. And you could get way more
complicated than this. You could technically carved a
3d Wiener dog face with the CNC. Try doing that on a laser. Another huge advantage of the CNC
over the laser is the different attachments. This step craft has the option of
getting a low powered laser engraver, a tangent tangential knife.
It's a knife that does this, a drag knife, 3d printer, head and pen
plotter. There's probably even more, but I got tired of looking.
All right, CNC, cons. Clamping your material can be very
tricky. There are multiple ways. The one I use the most
is a composite nailer. This is a special tool that uses
plastic nails. So if your bit hits one, it won't be destroyed. I also have
a vacuum table that uses a vacuum, probably why it's called a vacuum table, to hold down the piece as well as clamps. You have to be really careful with
clamps and work your g-code around them. Otherwise you're going to have
a real bad day. It's happened. Double-sided tape and
glue also works great. Clamping is definitely a pain
point for me with the CNC. None of them work in all situations, and sometimes you got to
get a little creative. Another con with the CNC is the dust
and chips caused by the spindle. You should have more chips than dust.
Otherwise you're doing it wrong. Unless you're cutting. The MDF. MDF is
a son of a bitch and only produces dust. You definitely need dust
collection bits well and get dull, especially if you use the
wrong speeds. Also bits break, especially if you use the wrong speeds. Software for the CNC can
be overwhelming for newbs. I typically draw my vectors in Adobe
illustrator and use Vcarve pro for layout and G code, and then
import that into UCCNC. There's definitely a
learning curve with this. The CNC is not so great for really
thin materials like veneers, which the laser cutter
excels at. And of course, I'm sure there are plenty of work arounds, but this is one of the many reasons
I like having both machines. The CNC can get pretty loud. You probably already know
how loud a router can get. Now I had dust extraction vacuum table
and it's as loud and as annoying as a bond jewel. Now let's talk about
the laser pros for the most part. There's no clamping. You just
throw your material in there. You close the lid and you cut. The exception is lightweight
materials like paper and veneers. There's a lot of airflow inside the
laser that can cause the paper to move around. I just use magnets
to clamp it down to the base. There's no dust and waste the kerf made
by the laser is very thin where the CNC creates a lot of dust and waste,
depending on the bit size. For cutting one eighth inch or thinner
material. The laser is really fast. The cutting speeds between the
two machines are about the same, but the time it takes for setting up
and clamping or lack of clamping is much quicker on the laser. There are no confusing
bit changes or selection. Whatever laser you have is the laser you
got this simplifies the use and speeds up the setup. In my experience,
the laser is easier to learn. The cloud-based software
is more user-friendly and
there are not as many feed and power rate variables compared to
the feed and speed rates of a CNC. The laser excels at the materials
like wood veneers, paper, cardboard, leather, and acrylic. Not saying
you can't do that on the CNC, but it's much easier on
the laser. Laser cons. The laser leaves burnt edges
that need to be sanded. I personally can't stand the look a
burnt edges on laser cut projects. Although others might like that. Look, some of us were born with good
design sense and some of us weren't. One of the biggest cons is depth. I've cut half inch Walnut on
my laser using multiple passes, but it looked and smelled like somebody
stepped on a landmine in world war II. When it comes to wood, if it's
over one eighth inch thick, I'll use the CNC much cleaner,
any more accurate cut. The further the laser light has to travel. The more the light spreads out on
thicker materials and you won't get a 90 degree cut. You have to research and see if the
material is safe to cut in the laser. Wood and organic materials are
typically fine, but vinyl PVC, some foams are extremely toxic to your
face and they can ruin the mirrors and lenses inside your laser. You got
to do your research. You got to. A laser cutter, must be ventilated either outside
like mine or with an air filter, which is like another thousand
dollars. This is for two reasons. One, you shouldn't be breathing in the
fumes and the dirty air and two, the air needs to be pulled out of the
laser. So it doesn't ruin the machine. Some materials smell pretty bad
when cutting with the laser. Even with proper ventilation,
leather smells like my uncle, sweaty crushed and acrylics smells
like cancer. If you think I'm joking, you can go ahead and smell uncle
Joey's crotch yourself lasers. Can't do 3d carving like a CNC.
Many of the desktop laser cutters. These days use cloud-based software,
which is really easy to use, but sometimes painfully slow. I've never had the
Glowforge cloud fail HMI, but I have had to wait a good five to 10
minutes for the software to communicate to the machine. It's rare, but
it happens. And it's frustrating. Tube replacement CO2 lasers, come with a glass fallopian
tube that has a short lifespan. I've had my Glowforge for over four years
and I haven't had to replace the tube yet. It's still cutting just fine, but it looks like it's going to
cost around $500 when it's time. That includes round trip shipping of the
machine, which sounds like a huge pain. When this day comes. I probably
won't be a happy camper. Before I give my final thoughts and
talk about which machine I use more. I'd like to tell you about today's
sponsor. And that is Squarespace. We are talking about CNCs and lasers. If you have these machines or you're
thinking about getting one of these machines, that means you can batch out
a whole bunch of projects really fast. And if you're bashing out
a whole bunch of projects, then you're probably thinking
about selling those projects. That means you need a website.
That's where Squarespace comes in. "I'm not going to sell online. I'm
going to sell at craft shows." Well, did you know that you can use Squarespace
to take payments in person? It's true. Squarespace will keep
track of your inventory. Whether you're selling
online or in person, you can have variables of
each product. For example, you could sell t-shirts and have
multiple colors with the same print, all on the same page. Not only
can you sell physical items, but you can also sell digital items. Write an ebook and sell
it direct on your website. Check out my Squarespace site, make something.com and you'll see that
I'm selling physical items as well as PDF plans. If you're a maker like
me, you got to have a website. It's a central location to
host a gallery of your work. Sell your work and you can even bring
in feeds from your social media sites. So visit squarespace.com. And
when you're ready to launch, visit squarespace.com/makesomething
for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Now, let me give you my final thoughts
on getting a CNC versus a laser. The cost of a good CNC versus
a laser can be pretty similar. Although the size and the
brand play a big part of it, the cost of a CNC can add up quickly. Once you start adding in waste boards
and clamps and bits and accessories, but the tube in the laser
will eventually need replaced. There are so many variables that I
probably wouldn't use price to factor in which one to get first, if I was starting over and I had
to choose which one to get first, I really have to sit down and think about
the materials that I want to cut and how thick they are.
Which one do I use more? I probably use the laser more just
because I always have a huge stack of 1/8" plywood and 1/8" acrylic
around for quick prototypes, I can go from idea to laser much
faster than I can go from idea to CNC, but there are so many limitations with
laser that I can't live without the CNC. Each has their size limitations
based on their beds. This Glowforge actually has a pass through
port that I have never used because my machine is up against the wall. It's insanely heavy and
it's not easy to move. And I have my exhaust through the wall. I will probably never
ever use the pass through. Something I should bring
up is the Shaper Origin. This is a handheld CNC router
that has built in magic. Remember magic is science that works. There is no size limitation with
this. I've got a whole video. You should check out if you're
not familiar with how this works. It's really cool. I've never run huge
production runs on either machine, but I have to imagine the CNC is more
cut out for such a task just because there's a lifespan of the
laser tube. Bonus points. If you caught the pun in the previous
sentence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, I posted the question. What do you want to know about
the CNC compared to the laser? and want to thank everyone who responded? I couldn't get into every single pro
and con because everyone's sitch is different. Sitch stands for
situation. It saves me a ton of time. So I just say sitch. If you want to
dive deeper into CNCs and lasers, I suggest you check
out my buddies channel, Make or Break Brandon and make
or break edits my audio podcast. And there's a lot more knowledgeable
when it comes to this stuff. That is going to wrap it up. Please use the comment section
down below to correct anything. I may have said in a nice way, as
well as add more info and tips. It could really help someone making
the right decision because both these machines are quite the investment. Do
you like this video? Prove it to me. As always be safe, have fun, stay
passionate and Make Something.
