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A project log for MultiBot CNC v2

A low cost 3D printed CNC that can be built with minimal tools yet is capable of great things.

david-tuckerDavid Tucker 05/08/2021 at 21:180 Comments

It is important to keep in mind who is talking to you when asking for advice online.  I keep seeing people post simple questions like "what is the best laser to get" with little or no context given, and others respond in kind with little or no context as well.  This can lead to bad advice, so be aware of it.

For example that person that tells you not to waist your time on anything short of a $10,000 100w laser is not wrong, but only if your needs are there needs.  If you are running a small business with the laser running 8 hours a day 5 days a week and you rely on it for your income then for sure that 100w laser is a better buy than a much cheaper $200 5w laser diode.  Your $10,000 machine represents 16 weeks of labor at $15 an hour but if productivity was even just 4x faster for the 20x increase in power then you should be able to make that up within a year.

On the other extreme if you are not planning on making any money at all and this is strictly a hobby then your time may not be worth nearly as much to you as the money you have to put into the hobby.  In that case going with a $200 machine is a much better investment.

The point is that you should not ask simple open ended questions online and hope to get an answer that applies to your situation.  And on the other end you should not give simple answers without stating your assumptions or needs.  You need lots of info to make an informed decision.  

This of course applies to all things in life, not just lasers or CNC's in general.  if your choosing a career from a few lines of text online, or making any other large decision without at least taking context into account then you are probably making a mistake.

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