I expect to see updates over in the laser cutter community!

It is obviously unique to each person’s use case but I have heard lots of anecdotal conversation around people getting membership to makerspaces to get access to CNC machines and end up spending the bulk of their time on the laser cutters.

I am a hobby woodworker so I think a CNC would be cool, but spend more time wishing I had a bigger laser cutter than wanting a CNC.

I think it would probably be worth looking into an 80w-100w lasers with larger cutting beds for you. There is a huge community around the Chinese Red/black style laser cutters that are a steps above the k40 but still significantly cheaper than other commercial/consumer models.

That will likely be what I upgrade to next.

I have not tried cutting pcbs with a laser cutter but I am sure someone has so the results are out there somewhere.

I stick to mainly 3mm Baltic Birch plywood and acrylic for cutting. I have done up to 6mm. There are lots of things it can cut/etch you just have to be careful understanding what should/should not be cut. For example, vinyl can be cut but should not because it releases caustic gases that damage the machine and your lungs.

For engraving there really isn’t a thickness limit, more just what fits inside the machine. I have engraved hardwoods, plywood,cork,slate, painted tiles,

As a CO2 laser it cannot cut metal. It can cut clear acrylic and etch glass.

I love it!

I did a write up on the original purchase and unboxing here !lasercutting@lemm.ee

Initial price was $365, I have added mods and upgrades over the years.

I ended up going down a rabbit hole which ultimately led me to K40 laser cutters, which I ended up buying and starting a whole new hobby!