Which Type of Laser should I use?

There are primarily 2 types of lasers use in the hobby/home industry market, CO² lasers and Diode lasers, pictured below.

Which one is needed depends very much on what you want to do with it. For example, a diode Laser cannot cut acrylic, whereas a CO² laser can. On the other hand the diode lasers tend to have a much finer point to them, so are very suitable for fine artistic engravings.

Both lasers will have no problem cutting certain woods (such as MDF or Pine Ply). The width of the wood it can cut depends on the strength of the laser. A 50W diode laser, or a 40W CO² laser will easily cut up to 4mm Pine Ply, or 3mm MDF, and both will of course engrave it easily.

The CO² laser will be able to move as a faster speed for similar results to the diode laser, so will be a much faster cut or engraving, at the expense of resolution. This resolution sacrafice is not often applicable – it very much depends on what you are trying to engrave or cut.

Where the diode laser stand out thou is engraving metal or glass, as the wavelength of the CO² will not be able to engrave either to any form of quality. The diode laser on the other hand is perfect or marking stainless steel for example, and doing complex engravings on glass. In both instances however it will be required to paint the steel or glass first with as fine yet thorough a coat of black Tempera paint as possible.

On scale of 0 to 10, where means ‘excellent, go for it, it can be done’, to 0 meaning ‘no can do. fat chance, don’t waste your time’, the following tables show which laser is suitable for which task.

Laser Type Cutting Suitability Comparison

Laser Type Engraving Suitability

Pricing

A CO² laser will always take a bigger bite out of your bank account, but a diode laser can be very affordable for home hobby use.