$2000 Laser Cutter Suitable For Leather

[cgleathercraft]

Wow!....for ONLY $999 he'll make a wallet for me out of <$25 of Stingray??? WHERE DO I SIGN UP??????

LOL I thought the exact same thing.

Joking aside i'd be interested in a laser cutter for leather. Can't afford it now but it would be really nice to have around and would allow for more customizations to be done to projects or items that customers would bring in. The bed size is huge consideration for me.

[danshapiro]

Thanks so much for your interest, all! We're planning to bring Glowforge to market in December. It's great for lots of materials, but leather is probably my favorite. I can't even imagine what all of you will be able to do with it - as amateur leatherworkers, we've only just scratched the surface of its capabilities in the medium.

We're not being terribly public yet with specifications and full capabilities, but I am looking forward to being able to share all of that with you when we get a little closer to launch.

Dan Shapiro

CEO, Glowforge

[SantaFeMarie]

Dan, if using this for leather, does it have to be vented to the outdoors or a fume hood?

[camano ridge]

Not if you like the smell of burnt dead cow.

[jwt]

I use lasers to cut a lot of leather. The edges do char but a quick wipe with a damp cloth takes off most of it. To further cut down on charring, just soak the leather in water for a couple minutes before cutting. Wetting the leather is not a great idea for engraving. It works, but poorly (at least for our needs). Do not cut or engrave on dried out leather that's been sitting around your shop for months or years as it will burn and I've never been able to get rid of the char short of sanding all the burned areas off.

Laser-cut leather will smell terrible for at least a few days. We let all our laser-cut leather air out for at least a week before handing it over to the customer. For suede we wait two weeks.

You need to properly vent any laser cutter to avoid smoke build up in the cutting chamber as it reduces laser efficiency and with some materials (waxier leather) there is a real risk of damaging the laser optics. And yes, you really need to vent that out of the room you're working in -- preferably outside. I've never tried a fume hood.

[lolly]

I just returned from a trip to India where I visited a manufacturing facility that uses a laser cutter to cut their patterns out of leather. They can then employ women with minimal skills to sew their satchels by hand using an awl sewing method (which still takes considerable practice and skill in my opinion). They can produce a very high end product this way. They use leather from a local tanner who employs more environmentally friendly practices to produce a dark veg tanned hide. I got to see this in action and then sit with the women as they sewed. It was an incredible experience, one that has me investigating this option for my own leather products here! The name of the business is The Loyal Workshop, they are just getting started but I believe they have so much potential. Anyway, I'm very interested in this discussion even though I realize its a few months old....

[chuckgaudette]

One thing to be aware of with the Glowforge laser is that it requires both WiFi and an Internet connection to run. Your computer file goes up to the cloud and then back down to your machine. So unlike a more expensive machines where the software is installed locally, if your internet connection goes down you will need to wait for it to be restored before you can continue to work.

[Nuttish]

Anyone know if discoloration along the cut edge is a problem? Particularly on lighter colored leathers.

Yes, it's a big problem. Ideal settings will still char the inside edge and all the way down the kerf, leaving you to spend extra time sanding even if you paint your edges. You'll be spending a lot of time tuning speed vs. power to achieve an acceptable compromise.

See if there's a hackerspace in your area you can join to fuss with a laser engraver before you start thinking they're a great idea.

[SmokeyPoint]

I bought a CNC laser machine a year ago thinking I could cut some parts and pieces with it more efficiently. I still cut those parts and pieces by hand, and my wife bugs me about how much I spent on a machine I don't use much. I'm not happy with the:

1. Time it takes to create cut files
2. smell
3. discoloration of the kerfs
4. slowness
5. waste
6. idea of not being completely hand made

My next task is to try to make the thing cut acrylic templates for me so I can get perfect templates to make my completely hand-made leather items. Then at least it'll earn its keep.