As someone with 25+ years in the industrial C02 game and currently running a 6000 watt Trumpf laser, if you have any mechanical inclination I would suggest learning with a less expensive machine, if you have money to spare and value customer service and good support the spend the money and get these beautiful Aeon units.
Just want to throw something out here for your consideration. I also considered buying a big, expensive one like the Aeon Mira 9, or the 11, as my first laser (they were both on my short list). But, given that I was also a complete laser newbie, I decided to really think about what I wanted to make with it before I made my choice. I did up a pros and cons list for each machine I was looking at, listing what functions I wanted, and what I wanted to make with it. After a lot of thought, I decided in the end to go with the new xTool P2, with the automated conveyor feeder (not available with any other brand), rotary tool, riser base, honeycomb panel, and smoke purifier. It has some very innovative functions that were unavailable on other, more expensive, lasers. For instance, it does engraving on curved surfaces like the insides or outsides of bowls and the curved sides of a ukelele, without the need for extra accessories. It can cut 18" walnut and 23" acrylic in one pass, and can engrave with 100% accuracy on something as tiny as a grain of rice, or a toothpick. With the automated conveyor feeder (also not available with other brands) and the riser base, I can cut or engrave pieces up to 118'' long continuously × 19.6" wide, and 8.4" high. Plus, their customer service has been absolutely stellar, they have an amazing and very supportive user community, and it was more than 1/2 the price of the other, larger lasers I'd been looking at. So, as nice and as big as the Aeon Mira 9 is, do you really need a laser that big and costly at all? Or at least while you're just starting out and still learning? Plus it doesn't have the new innovative functions of the xTool P2 that I'm sure other brands will soon start to develop for their own devices, in order to be more competitive and stay relevant within the industry as newer advancements in tech arise. Getting a smaller, but still powerful laser as your first, will pay for itself in no time, and will make paying for a larger laser like the Mira 9 should you still want one, much more affordable. Regardless of what you choose, I'm excited to see what you create when you do get one.
Thanks for your advice! I actually started with the xTool laser and had a not great experience with it. It was fine for engravings, it after minimal use it would no longer focus properly, I couldn’t get it to cut through material in 1 pass without it being fully charred and I found it very hard to exhaust properly even with all the accessories. I’m going to be mass producing items rather than making one off projects so the Mira makes sense for my business but a smaller laser is for sure a great way to get started
@@OakAndFeatherDecorOk, glad you found something that will meet your needs. I only threw it out there because you said you were a complete laser newbie, and were asking if you should spend 16K on a laser. If you've already had an xTool laser, and it didn't meet your needs, then you're not a complete newbie, and it makes sense to find something that will.
