Laser Engraver For Mac
Laser engravers are widely used in the manufacturing industry for laser marking and in some cases laser cutting a material as well. Desktop Laser engraving machines can be used for marking on wood, glass, metal or leather depending on the type of laser engraving machine available with you. This article covers various types of Laser engraving machines, their applications and How to select them?
Is software included with engraver? Software is included with every engraver. Q.3 Which Laser Software is compatible with it? Q.4 Is it compatible with MAC. The laser works with all windows, MAC and Linux device. Q.5 Will this do finely detailed carving? A.5 Yes, it can. Laser Engrave an Apple iPod Touch utilizing Epilog's new (beta) Mac Driver and a Fusion 32 Laser system. Now you can easily design and print directly from your favorite Mac computer without using Boot Camp or Windows.
Don’t miss this article on the difference between laser marking vs engraving vs etching.
Table of ContentsWhat Material Can be Laser Engraved ?
Lasers can be used to cut, etch or engrave a material. Metals (such as Aluminum, stainless steel), Thermoplastics, jewelry, coated metals, wood, acrylic, paper glass and stones can be laser engraved.
Applications of Laser Engraving
Laser engraving is extensively used in the manufacturing industry and by hobbyists for marking and cutting materials. Compared to stickers, Screen printing or pad printing, laser marking has the advantage of printing variable information and low cost. Here are the applications of laser engraving in manufacturing:
- Marking variable and fixed information such as QR code, Serial number, Mac ID on products.
- Mark Brand name or logo on products.
- Used to create artwork on jewelry (Gold and Silver).
- Marking on printed circuit board(PCB).
- Artwork Printing : Such as printing photographs on acrylic.
Selection of Laser Engraver Machines
Various types of Laser engraving machines are available in the market. Each machine has its own advantages and limitations. Therefore before buying, analyzing engraving machines on following parameters is a good approach.
Laser engraving machines are available in various engraving area options. It is the maximum area where a laser engraver can print in one go.
Laser engraving machines come with different technology and power options. One machine can not print all materials. Therefore you need to consider the type of material to be engraved before buying the machine.
How frequently you want to engrave your parts has a direct impact on your machine selection. For example laser engraving machines for production are very costly ($ 15000). Whereas for home you can buy it for approx $500.
Laser Engraving Machine Technology Available
According to how a material is engraved. Following technologies are available for Laser engraving Machines.
- Fiber Based Laser Engraving Machine : Mostly used to engrave metal, anodized aluminum and Plastic.
- CO2 Based Laser Engraver : Used for engraving jewelry, Rubber Stamps, Name plate, Rating Plate, Thermoplastic etc.
- Green Laser Engraving Machines : Can mark on Reflective materials (Copper silver gold), Plastic, Glass and Ceramic.
- Hybrid Laser Engraving Machines: Organic Materials and Metals Can be Engraved.
Best Laser Engraving Machines
Before the selection of a machine for your application, we suggest you discuss your application with the machine manufacturer. Having a detailed discussion with the manufacturer is the best way to select the machine. Here are some of the best laser engraving machines available in the market.
Laser EngraverBed Size (mm)Laser TypeLaser PowerPriceSnapmaker 3-in-1 3D Printer125 x 125Blue Laser Diode200mw~$800Cubiio Laser Engraver100 x 100Blue Laser Diode1600mw~$560Morphon 40W Laser Engraver200 x 300CO240w-Qiilu 1500mw Mini42 x 42CO21500mw~NEJE MASTER 3500mW 150 x 150CO23500mw~$220Emblaser 2500 x 300 x 50Solid State Diode-~$2500Insma Laser Engraver80 x 80CO23000mW$80TEN-HIGH Laser Engraver300 x 500CO250w$2000Snapmaker 3-in-1 Engraver and Printer
Snapmaker is a complete metal open Design. If you are looking for a 3D printer, CNC Carving and Laser Engraving. This is one of the best budget laser engraver option available. With this one device you can do 3D printing, CNC Carving and Laser Engraving. It was started as a kickstarter project.
Work Area : 125 x 125 mm
Laser Type : Blue Laser Diode
Laser Power : 200mW
Supported File Types: SVG, JPEG, PNG etc.
Supported Materials : Wood, bamboo, leather, plastic, fabric, paper, non-transparent acrylic, etc.
Click Here for More Details on Snapmaker 3-in-1 Engraver and Printer.
Cubiio Laser Engraver
Cubiio is a portable laser engraver that you can control remotely with a smartphone. As claimed this is the first laser cube started as a kickstarter Project. Apart from engraving it can also cut materials upto a limited thickness.
Work Area : 100 x 100 mm
Laser Type : Blue Laser Diode
Laser Power : 1600mW Adjustable
Supported File Types: G-CODE, BMP.
Connected : Yes Through BLE
Supported Materials For Engraving : Paper Board, Cardboard, Fabric, Leather, Felt, Wood, non-transparent acrylic
Click Here for More Details on Cubiio Laser Engraver.
Morphon 40w Laser Engraver
Its a low cost DIY Laser engraving machine.
Work Area : 200 x 300 mm
Laser Type : CO2
Laser Power : 40w
Supported File Types: Corel Draw
Connected : Through USB Port
Supported Materials For Engraving : Bamboo piece, double-color planks, boulder, horns, Leather, crystal, wood, organic plastic, abrics, paper ,film, canvas , acrylic and plastics.
Qiilu 1500mW Mini
This Laser engraver is a high power laser engraving machine that can be controlled by a laptop or smartphone.
Carving Space : 42 x 42 x 78 mm
Laser Type : CO2
Laser Power : 1500mw
Image Resolution: 550 x 550 px
Connected : Through USB Port and Smartphone Bluetooth
Supported Materials For Engraving : Wood, Plastic(fire-proof material not included), Acrylic, Bamboo, Rubber, Leather, Paper and other Flammable Materials
NEJE Master 3500mW
Its a low cost affordable open structure Laser engraver with moderate laser engraver.
Work Space : 150 x 150 mm
Laser Type : CO2
Laser Power : 3500mw
Image Resolution: 2000 x 2000 pixels.
Supported File Type : nc, dxf, bmp, jpg, png
Connected : Through USB Port and Smartphone Bluetooth
Supported Materials For Engraving : Acrylic, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
Emblaster 2
This is one of the advanced IoT enabled 3D laser cutter and engraver with a relatively large bed area. It comes with an in build camera for material alignment.
Work Space : 500 x 300 x 50 mm
Laser Type : Class I Solid State Diode Laser
Laser Power : Equivalent to 15-20w CO2 laser.
Supported File Type : nc, dxf, bmp, jpg, png
Connected : WiFi and USB
Supported Materials For Engraving : Cotton Fabric, Leather, Corrugated Cardboard, Acrylic (except transparent), Plywood, Balsa, Anodised Aluminium, Corkboard, Rubber.
Other Features: Automatic Laser Optic Calibration, Laser Height Set and Control, Built in Camera.
Click Here for More Details on Emblaster 2.
Insma Laser Engraver 3000mW
This is a low cost laser engraver for beginners.
Work Space : 80 x 80 mm
Laser Type : CO2
Laser Power : 3000mw
Supported File Type : JPEG, JPG, PNG, BMP
Connected : USB
Supported Materials For Engraving : Wood, Paper, Plastic Leather and non-transparent acrylic.
TEN-HIGH Laser Engraver
This is a high power laser engraver that can be used to engrave metal and plastics with relatively good quality.
Click Here for More Details on TEN-HIGH Laser Engraver
What is LaserGRBL?
Laser Engraver Software For Mac
LaserGRBL is one of the best Windows GCode streamer for DIY Laser Engraver. LaserGRBL is able to load and stream GCode path to arduino, as well engrave images, pictures and logo with internal conversion tool.
Unlike other GUI, LaserGRBL it is specifically developed for use with hobbist laser cutter and engraver. In order to use all the features your engraver must supports power modulation through S command.
Laser Engraver Machine For Hobbyist
With image engraving (raster to gcode convertion) LaserGRBL could be a good free and easy alternative to picengrave, benbox, T2laser for who don’t need more then a simple and effective tool.
Laser Engraver Machine For Metal
I have written it to use with my own engraver, and I like to share it with everyone who needs. LaserGRBL is compatible with Grbl v0.9 and Grbl v1.1