"Do you have a Laser Cutter/Engraver for gaming hobby use?" Topic

The inexpensive Chinese 40 Watt Laser Cutter/Engravers are flooding into countries around the world. They come with free software (there are better freeware programs to make them work even better!).

These Laser machines can be used to cut out MDF into custom bases; they can cut thin plywood into pieces for models which can be assembled (Dog Might Games is offering a laser cut plywood catapult, powered by a rubber binder/band, for launching dice, as a desktop toy). They can be used to engrave wood sheets, to build custom engraved artwork on dice towers, DM Screens, custom mugs, and many other things. Litko offers custom, and standard, bases cut from plywood, and MDF(?), made with a Laser Cutter, along with a multitude of acrylic products, also laser cut.

A friend of mine has a 50 Watt Laser Cutter/Engraver. He has decorated Dice Towers by burning in fantasy images for me. He also used it to cut up MDF sheets into building walls, with doors and windows cut out, for an upcoming 54mm Army Men game (assembly required…). Commercial companies have previously produced numerous building models in diverse scales, which must be assembled from laser-cut plywood, and MDF.

So have you purchased a Laser Cutter/Engraver yourself, for gaming related hobby uses? If so, what do you use it for? Cheers!

I have not purchased a laser cutter

working on it

i have a small letter sized one at home and have access to one 4 times as big at my local makerspace. i have used them for hundreds of different things

A friend told me that since I like thingsfromthebasement and Sarissa so much that I should get one.
I told him I would after he got the 3D printer.

No, and have no plans to.

My wife teaches engineering at a local high school. Hence I have access to the laser cutter and 3D printer. I found the laser cutter was far less useful than the 3D printer – not least because there were a lot less designs available for free.

I am cautious about anything that could burn my house down.

… like children, cigarettes, or electric appliances?

I want to upgrade my XYZ printer to the one that comes with a laser engraver. Basically, I need to set up a sniping system to get one because as soon as they show up, they are gone.

There are a whole lot of interesting computer aided manufacturing devices coming on the market in the last few years, at semi affordable prices.

While I like the concept of a 3D printer, it has a steep learning curve, which I do not wish to devote the time and effort to learn. Aside from that, I do not wish to get caught up in the 3D printing fever. I do not have the storage, nor the need, for dozens of heavy, brittle, 3D printed terrain pieces; I do not need to print out hundreds more miniatures for myself to paint; and I do not need another hobby…

I would love to get a $400 USD laser, which I could use, heavily, for a year… Then, I would no longer need it, and it would collect dust, while the laser tube died from the gases inside decaying.

Ideally, I would like to use a MakerSpace laser to do what I need, but my city (100k+ citizens) does not have one. I thought it would be fun to see how many TMP'ers might have taken the plunge and purchased one for hobby use. Hence this post.

My friend who has the 50W laser, runs a business, and he would charge me full business rates to use it, so that door has closed. I paid him for some projects, but the cost is too high. I assisted him in learning how to use it, initially, so I know the learning curve on lasers. It is the long-term issue that is holding me back on buying one: I would be done with it, in a year. Too much time and materials, and too big of a footprint, in my garage. Cheers!

I have a 40w Chinese laser for terrain building. After four years of fiddling I gotta say I love being able to quickly design something and run out and cut it at 11 at night. On the other hand something is always needing adjusted or replaced.

I don't think the technology is there yet for me. I am waiting on them to become as easy and user friendly as computer printers are today and price about the same. Maybe waiting a long time.

I have not yet found a project that would benefit from a laser cutter or 3D printer. I have invested in a number of power and bench tools for carpentry and 1:1 scale modeling.

Ask me again in a year…

No, for many reasons. Not worth it for me.

MakerSpaces are neat things, and our library considered one for our teens and adults. But after a survey, we found little interest among library patrons. In the end, that was probably a good thing, as laser cutters and 3D printers are not trivial devices to set up and use, and our library (like most) just doesn't have the space, or the budget (or foresight) to pay someone for the technical expertise required to run a Makerspace long term. Instead, it would have been shuffled off on some part-timer with limited experience who was actually hired to do other things, and who would receive no pay boost as a result of having his duties effectively doubled.

So, although 3D printers and so-called "3D" laser cutters are nifty things with a lot of promise, right now I just don't see them as extremely viable tools for the casual hobbyist. Even for a business wanting to sell products, it seems the costs in materials, labor and maintenance, not to mention design time, means that such devices still don't compete well with "traditional" sculpting and molding, as far as I can tell. But I'm certainly no expert, and would really like to be wrong.

Muahahahahahahahaha! DOM just bought me a new 3D printer with a bigger bed, better resolution, and … <drumroll> …. a laser engraver! Happy Father's Day/Prime Day/Birthday/Whatever to me!