I am interested in a laser engraver. Does anyone have any recommendations? Something that will do anything from wood to medal to cylinders.
I have the Nextwave Automation Moray laser. It is a low power diode laser with a full enclosure. You can get add on diode modules for your X-carve such as Jtech, but you need to be aware of the safety issues of running them unenclosed.
Diode lasers are fairly low power. They can mark things and they can cut through thin materials like fabric, paper and wood veneers. They struggle to cut through materials like fiberboard and 3mm basswood. There are some coatings that you can apply to metal so that lasers can leave a mark and some lasers can burn away the anodized coatings on aluminum. Other than that, you need a fiber laser for metal.
I don’t know of any diode lasers with rotary attachments. Rotary attachments are more common with CO2 lasers. CO2 lasers are typically more powerful than diode lasers and are good for cutting acrylic and marking glass. The Flux Beamo can be purhased with a rotary table at a $4K cost. Other CO2 lasers can be purchased with a rotary attachment and there are after market rotary tables, but it’s not clear how easy it is to fit them into existing laser systems.