Laser Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Our fiber laser systems are capable of permanently marking nearly all types of bare metal. The fiber laser line was designed with a combination of affordability and high quality results in mind. The Fusion M2 series features a 32" x 20" (812 x 508 mm) or 40" x 28" (1016 x 711 mm) work area. The flat-bed, flying-optic design of the Fusion M2 is revolutionary for a fiber laser system and will mark metals over a large work area in a short amount of time.

And, though our CO2 laser systems are mainly designed to engrave and cut non-metallic materials, they can also be used to mark on metal with the aid of metal-marking compound. Download our PDF to learn more about marking metal with a CO2 laser system.

Since we use low power CO2 (30 to 120 watts) and fiber lasers (10 to 50 watts) the beam will clearly mark on coated and raw metal but our systems are not ideally suited for metal-cutting applications. Our fiber laser systems may be compatible for cutting some thin metals as we have seen success cutting thin foils, up to .012", with our fiber lasers.

Please contact our Applications Lab to discuss your metal-cutting applications and see if they can work with our systems!

No, one laser does it all! Our CO2 laser systems will engrave and cut most non-metallic materials, as well as engrave coated metals. For information on what materials you can engrave and cut, visit our Materials page.

The laser can be set to engrave only (Raster Mode), cut only (Vector Mode), or can complete both operations in Combined Mode. The laser knows what portions to engrave and what portions to cut based on line width, which is easily set in your graphic design software.

Investing in a new computer is a great way to make sure you’re getting the most out of your new laser equipment. Why? Because today’s software requires a lot of computer processing speed and memory to function properly. A good computer won’t make a huge difference in how your laser runs, but when compared to a slow computer it will save untold amounts of time and frustration setting up the artwork that you “print” to the laser. Many users do not purchase new computers for use with their new laser because their current computers are perfectly adequate. There’s no magical cut-off that makes a computer too slow. If you’re comfortable with the performance and speed of your current computer, there’s probably no reason to purchase another one. The following recommendations are just options to consider if a new computer is necessary.

A new computer doesn’t have to be expensive to work well! Even many of today’s lower-cost computers work well for laser applications. As long as you don’t buy the cheapest computer you can find you should be fine. One thing to avoid is the Intel Celeron processor – while they are good processors, and will work with the laser, they don’t process graphics with the speed most laser users desire.

• Operating System: All new Epilog lasers are designed to work with all versions of Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7,8, and 10 operating systems.
  
  The Fusion Laser Series is also compatible with Mac operating systems OS X 10.7 and higher. Read more about our Fusion Mac Driver here.
• RAM (Random Access Memory): 512 MB is recommended. RAM is kind of like short-term memory. It’s fast, readily available for the computer to access and makes time consuming tasks go much quicker if you have lots of it. Most users won’t notice a difference if they add more than 512 MB to their system, but almost all uses will notice the speed difference that 512 MB provides when compared to 256 MB (256 MB is essentially the next step down from 512 MB).
• Processor Speed: A faster processor will allow you to do more tasks in less time. While it’s not necessary to purchase the fastest processor available, you’ll want either an AMD Athalon processor or an Intel Pentium IV processor (do not purchase a computer that is using an Intel Celeron processor – they’re too slow for graphics applications). Processor speeds are always improving, but processor speeds of about 2.0 GHz or faster are a good place to start.
• 10/100 Network Interface Card (NIC): All new computers have a 10/100 network connection as standard equipment. As well as allowing multiple computers to be linked together in a network, this technology also allows direct printing from the computer to the Epilog system. Epilog supplies a network Crossover cable with each laser system that allows one computer to print to a single Epilog system.
• 20-30 GB Hard Drive: This is the permanent memory in your computer. Many users feel that you can never have a large enough hard drive, but for most laser applications 20 or 30 GB’s is going to be adequate for years of storage. Luckily, most computer manufacturers put at least 20 GB drives in new computers these days. When in doubt, buy bigger than you think you might need. It’s so inexpensive that it’s worth the peace of mind to have it available.

Cutting: Thin sheets of polycarbonate can be cut with our CO2 laser systems, but the material tends to discolor when heated by the laser beam. The thinner the sheet you are cutting, the better the cutting results you will obtain. If you would like us to test your sheet of polycarbonate, please contact our Applications Lab.

Engraving: Most colored polycarbonates can be marked with our FiberMark metal and plastic marking system. To test your material, please contact our Applications Lab.