My concern is about the laser power. I would not have imagined that 1.6 watts would be enough to cut anything other than paper. I am only looking to cut light duty plastics. I see that the specs say it can cut 3mm of acrylic, which surprises me. I thought you need a high power CO2 laser.
In any case, I like the idea of having all three functions in one. My concern is if I am going to end up with something that is poor in all three functions. I am not looking for commercial grade performance, but I am wondering if the price of the machine correlates to the performance.
I have cut 3mm plywood, but don’t intend to use the laser on acrylic because of the fumes. I’d rather use the CNC head for that task. The advantage of the SM2 is not its excellence as a laser, printer, or mill, it is the ability to fit all those capabilities in one platform. You could find a better laser, mill, or printer for the cost of the SM, but then you would only have one tool. If I had spent my money on a high wattage laser, it would be faster/stronger, but that is all I’d have.
Acrylic isn’t a problem because of fumes. Nothing dangerous like cutting pvc. Maybe mildly irritating. I’m sure everything that you use a laser on is probably carcinogenic (or at least in California where everything has that label.)
I wouldn’t laser anything wood, leather, paper without ventilation though because of the smell. It just doesn’t cut well and the SM laser is underpowered for it. Especially with clear acrylic.
The price correlates to it’s performance. It’s the best deal out there for 3 in 1, and if you compare it to getting 3 equivalent machines you’re going to spend 30% more. But if you’re only using 2 of the 3 then you’d be better served getting 2 standalone.
If you’re getting it as a hobbyist to create some really cool stuff, it’s great. If you’re planning on using it for a business, I’d get separate machines. Just too slow overall.
They are supposed to be coming out with a higher powered laser and cnc.
-S