As I begun to use my 3D printer to create things in 3D there was something I realized that 3D printers are horrible at... its creating 2D flat panels. Anything that needs to be completely flat is not easy for a 3D printer to achieve due to the fact that leveling a printing bed 100% flat is not easy to achieve all the time. On top of that to create something flat is much more time consuming than to get a flat piece of material and just laser cut it out. This way is so much faster and I think more economical is every way.
EDIT : After the blog post I edited and finished the Video!! Uploading it right here~ Enjoy!!
As a result, I decided to buy a laser cutter from Amazon.
This machine does not have a brand however for what it needs to do I think its good enough so I purchased one with a tight budget in mind.
Packaging was not bad and build quality was overall pretty good.
I can't find the original link I purchased my laser cutter... maybe they are gone? hmmmm. By the looks of the laser cutter it does seem like its from the same manufacturer.
The name of my laser cutter/engraver is called :
Orion Motor Tech Upgraded 40W CO2 laser engraving cutting machine 12 x 8 Inches K40 Desktop DIY wood laser engraver cutter (upgraded version)
This is what was typed from my receipt from Amazon. The links below is the closest I could have found that resembles mine from Amazon.
https://a.co/d/40DUf3o
https://a.co/d/ijacwfn
At first I thought it would be extremely sketchy since it didn't explain very well and not too many reviews but I decided to give it a shot. When it arrived the laser cutter was bigger than I thought~ Viewing from a computer screen yea... figures. But I was impressed it was properly packaged and the quality was pretty good for a budget laser cutter.
I set up the laser cutter next to the window so I can have access to outside ventilation.
I looked at the rear CO2 laser tube and wow!~ It looks like a death ray cannon... I think its best to make sure its safe and I will probably read everything in the manual to understand it all.
Another view of the CO2 Laser... Looks so high tech. :)
I wanted to quickly set everything up as fast as possible so I can test run it for reliability and quality of the cuts/engraving. So I used a folding work bench and connected to computer that I didn't use. There is no need to go all out in fancy computers here because its practically just needs enough CPU power to run a basic printer.
Aside from obvious electrical power there are two more things that I needed to install to make this work.
A bucket of water with an electrical pump to circulate water in order to cool down the CO2 laser... I didn't think it would need water cooling. I guess it does create a lot of heat internally?
An air ventilation outlet to the window to push out the smoke created from the laser. At first I didn't think it would be a lot of smoke... but I was totally wrong. Prepare for a ton of smoke... and make sure to setup a proper air ventilation duct.
There is some software that needs to be learned to laser cut and its good to understand what vector lines are since they will be your lines where the laser cutter will use them as paths. Getting to know Adobe Illustrator or Coral Draw is a good base to fully take advantage of laser cutting technique. For today, I will focus on the hardware.
After everything was installed it was time to get it up and running to see how well it engraved and cut within good tolerances. To be honest I was not disappointed. :)
I basically cut two materials... MDF wood and acrylic sheets.
I learned laser cutting back in school and a big no no was not to cut any styrene material because it create ultra toxic fumes. So we were restricted to wood and acrylic sheets. So these are my main materials that I am comfortable with.
The wood cut was not bad at all!!~~ I like it!
The acrylic cut was very smooth as well... clean edge cut and consistent.
I tried some tolerance fitting with wood and acrylic with some etching for type on the wood. So far so good.
I am not sure how long this quality will last since when I look at the belts and motor it does seem like it can use an upgrade but for now its ok... I am sure after prolong use there will be lots of wear and tear. Lets see how it goes.
I have a good friend who introduced me to our Hive community whom I knew for a very long time... and since his Hive user name is 
Some test cuts to see if the results are the way I want it.
Very good detail in cutting and engraving... 40W of power is good enough for home DIY use.
Another angle at the assembled detail of wood and acrylic.
Tada!~~~ Through the light it really shows its beauty of craftsmanship!~~ I like it!!~~
The results came out way better than I have ever expected. @Solominer was a happy camper that day. I really liked how the acrylic and wood fit together very tightly with no gaps in between.
Overall I have been endlessly experimenting with other materials, new power settings, and different ways to cut things. One new technique I have been trying was to cut in 2D and build in 3D... like the box you see below. :)
There is a learning curve to understand how much power is needed and how fast the laser needs to move to create the best cut on its material... and it constantly need tuning to create a clean precise result.
I do have a lot of fun tinkering with the settings and at the same time I try to see what I can use this for both hobby and work. As a designer I consistently like to be hands on in to the process of how things are developed.
There are more projects coming to show~
Thanks for viewing my blog!~~~~ and Stay Tuned for more!!
Video is coming next. :)