UGGHHH

[cstroke]

Getting ready to pull the trigger and spend some money..
Air compressor is in the process of dying, 20+ years $700. compressor is finally biting the dust.
New Quincy 7.5hp on order.
Getting ready to order an EZ sander, I'm at that cross in the road that its costing me money by cleaning my parts.
Also getting ready to order a laser engraver, so many parts I'm making the guys want their logo on and I think I can use this to promote more work that I like to do through the shop..

Anyone want to donate to the fund?
Anyone already gone this route with any suggestions?
Thanks
chris

[acourtjester]

If you are running a real company, these things are business expense, and qualify for a bank loan. You will need a Laser strong enough to etch metal, that puts it in a larger expense bracket. How about using a metal scribe, these can be attached to a table and they are much cheaper. You can make some nice looking Logo with a diamond scribe. They sell Easy scribes here, viewtopic.php?f=172&t=31131 And you can use Inkscape to draw up your custom Logo.

[adbuch]

Also getting ready to order a laser engraver, so many parts I'm making the guys want their logo on and I think I can use this to promote more work that I like to do through the shop..

Chris - what particular laser engraver are you getting ready to order? As was suggested, another alternative would be to use an engraver mounted to your plasma table or the EasyScribe which installs into your torch in place of the nozzle/electrode/swirl ring. You could also use a router with engraving bit mounted in place of the torch on your table to do some nice engraving. If you are a high production facility, you would probably want to consider a dedicated cnc table for your engraving. Although I mainly do "hobby work" I use a separate 4x4 Plasmacam table set up to do strictly engraving, as I find this much more convenient than swapping out the torch on the cutting table.
David

[cstroke]

Yes, there is no happy medium with these things. I wont be cutting much metal with this, primarily cutting logos through powdercoat and glassware.
Hoping to get into etching glass bottles, mugs, wine glasses etc... Wife is getting ready to retire, she uses the cricut a fair amount and I am thinking this could turn into a small "pay for insurance business".

[acourtjester]

Since your wife does Cricut have you thought about using sign vinyl and acid etching glass. I did that with aluminum for a test logo, used the table with a drag knife for the pattern. Also images of diamond etching on metal.

[cstroke]

Yes, she etches glass now, it's just time consuming when making several.
And i've used it several times with the salt water etch method on metal.