If you’d like to see more information about the machine, checkout the link below. shop.epiloglaser.com/collections/epilog-laser-engraving-and-cutting-systems/products/fusion-maker-12?ref=makerexperiment
Awesome that they have made a laser, that is actually an entré level Epilog laser :) About half the price of the Edge (not sure about the pricing) and still have great speed and quality 😁👌 Thanx for the vid 👌
Maybe you can tell Epilog that their light-grey text on their website might be easier to read if they used black text. Those web designers...so much fun!
I am surprised to see an Epilog with an RF tube for so cheap. I looked up the specs and at first I was a bit disappointed it didn't have an encoder strip on the X/Y axis, but considering it has a camera I guess needing to disable the servos to manually position the head for a secondary home position isn't really needed. Hopefully they take any improvements to the USB driver and apply them to the Mini driver because the USB driver for that is pretty terrible right now. Good work on the video.
You’re the first person to say that about the price. They don’t have encoder strips on any of their machines anymore. They seem to work much better from what I can tell.
Super easy machines to use , repair and maintain. Didn't realize they had an entry level version. I normally calibrate the laser using the target first before doing the demo, Do the demo then calibrate the cameras before working a piece of a material.
@@oneskateboardco normally I do calibrate. I didn’t specifically for this test because from my research the majority of people just run it out of the box and don’t know do these things.
The machine starts around $10K. It uses its own laser driver. It doesn’t use lightburn. I don’t think it can either. I’ve never tried because I’ve always just used the Epilog software.
Would you go with a Boss HP 2440 or an Epilog Edge 24? Side comment Some of your commenters either don't understand or don't appreciate the value they would receive when purchasing an Epilog laser
Personally I’m an Epilog fan so I’d have to say the Edge 24. You’d love it. That being said, it’s completely up to you based on budget and what you want to make whether that’s the right machine for you. I agree with you that a lot of people don’t understand why Epilog is more expensive and where the value is. If you have any questions about Epilog, let me know.
How does the Maker do with UV printing and only having one camera? You can't do print and cut with registration marks. So would the drag and drop work to cut odd shapes?
I haven’t tried to print then cut. What I’ve been doing is cutting and then printing afterwards. That way I’m not reliant on registration marks or anything. I do plan to test that though.
You can always use the x/y origin to make sure everything is lined up as you want. It's only the Fusion Pro models that have the second registration mark camera. I am a service engineer for these machines in Sweden, and many of our customers uses their machines with printers this way!
Oh man I don’t even remember. It wasn’t very long. Maybe a few minutes at most. I’d have to rerun it. A lot of the run time just depends on the settings you use.
It depends on what you’re doing. If you’re going to be doing a lot of cutting, yes. If you’re going to be doing a lot of engraving, maybe not. The higher wattage just helps you run things faster and get more throughput.
Trevor another question for you on the Epilog suite. What is the secret when printing from Illustrator to get the lines to CUT as a vector? I have tried creating some simple circles. Set the stroke to .001 as requested for cut lines, but when it prints to the epilog dashboard, the art disappears when switching to vector.
Hi, nice vids :-) i have recently bought a Fusion Edge 24 / 60 Watt. Can you share settings so i can put right away in my pc ? at the moment there is not so much in it. Before i had a ZING 16, but as i have a new one now, i have to restart and do not have the time right now, so some more presettings would be great, thanks a lot in advance, best regards
@@ninolefevre756 to be honest, all settings are machine specific because every environment and setup is different. The settings it comes with are pretty close but usually need to be dialed in as you use it more.
@@MakerExperiment okay thanks a lot :-) will have to find me time to play with it :-) i'm going for it :-) keep on making such a nice vid's , very interesting and educational, you have a new fan :-) have a nice day, kind regards, Nino
I’ve made a lot of my laser made parts on it since that video released. I’ll be doing a wood engraving one in a couple of weeks when some materials I ordered show up. Was there something specific you wanted to see?
@@MakerExperiment well I’m buying a Maker this week 40 watts and I own a promotional products company. I will be engraving pocket knives and coasters with logos around 1 inch by 2 inch art work. How long does it take per piece you figure. Can I run this machine everyday without problems?
@@rickdavis7060 you can definitely run it every day. If you send me a design via email I can get a time estimate for you on wood engraving if you’d like.
@@MakerExperiment I just emailed you a couple products that I had contracted out. If you can give me a rough estimate on time frames per piece would be awesome. Thank you so much. Greatly appreciated.
Motor speed. The Edge max speed is 120ips with high speed servo motors and the Maker is 60ips using stepper motors. That’s really the only main difference.
@@MakerExperiment a comparison video would be awesome. Similar to your glow forge vs maker. I'm in the process of upgrading our Aeon Mira for our business and I am struggling between the Maker and the Fusion. Is Fusion 20k better than the Maker?
Epilog, Trotec always seem to miss the point that if it's an entry level machine, users will most likely be coming to it from a previous machine - co2 or diode. They'll have a stack of designs in LIGHTBURN and yet epilog / trotec don't get the fact that users don't want to convert everything they have already spent hours and hours on designing and transferring out of lightburn to another company's own stuff. This is exactly why when I wanted to upgrade to a production machine epilog / trotec out the window and went for Thunderlaser. I dunno, it just seems like their obsession with their own software is a negative user point. Don't matter if you can get the machine up and running in 3 minutes, you still got a stack of jobs that have to be converted. I'm not sure 'hobbyist pricing' is accurate as you can't even see pricing in the UK - 'Contact Us For Pricing' is always a red light :o) I think if Epilogue are going for the 'Hobby' Market, they need a bit of a rethink, the competition for mid range machines is absolutely fierce.
They aren’t going after the hobby market. It seems like they’re focusing on small businesses and those looking to start businesses. I’d keep an eye out in the future to see if either company does anything about the lightburn situation. That being said, I understand a lot of users won’t want to convert files. It’s also not unique to the laser market. A lot of companies want you to use their software because it was developed in house and they know it works well with their machine. In order to use third party software, it requires more testing to verify it’ll work and not cause issues. I think to a point, adding lightburn adds a potential failure point to any manufacturer. It’ll be interesting to see if they address the lightburn usage.
@@MakerExperiment That's a good point about the lightburn failure issue thingy. I don;t know anything about how Ruida controllers work but I would imagine they could make some sort of universal interface. I dunno. I think that sort of machine is brilliant for mobile use - fayres, trade shows etc but then you have to add in teh fume exctraction stuff and that whacks up the cost more. I'm not trying to diss on Epilog or Trotec or anything, I'm just not sure where these machines fit in the market. The bed size is really small, the Rf laser is great for engraving but can be limiting for cutting or dark burn engraving on wood, I dunno, I really don't know. Be interesting to know how well it sells and to whom. I do think that epilog, trotec are playing catch up, Laserscript - god knows what they're innovating, Wid Laser are being massively promoted in the UK (no idea about them except they're Portugal based) What I never thought I'd see is people switching from RF to CO2 machines, all tools for the job at the end of the day I guess :o)
I run a business, and will be in the $20-25k market later this year for a new laser. I specifically will not buy an Epilog/Trotec just because they use proprietary systems (including rotaries). Just give the end user the option. Top contender for me at the moment is the Aeon Super Nova, which is dual-source co2/RF with engraving speed up to 2,000mm/s, so comparable-ish. I can't comment on build quality. I would love to support US made, but can't get behind their dumb software compared to Lightburn.
@@Meyerwoodworks I’ve never used lightburn so I have no experience with that. All I can say is not every machine is meant for everyone. You just need to find the one that suits your needs the best.
It depends on the wattage. This 30watt cut 1/4” but I wouldn’t recommend doing it a lot. It’s better suited for 1/8”. A 40watt would be better for 1/4”.
@@MakerExperiment Thnaks for the swift answer. I´ve seen in the catalog that there is a lens available to cut thicker materials. My intention is to cut at least 10 to 15mm wood thickness. Would it work or I will need a more powerful machine?
@@user-kn8wn5tw1j that’s roughly 0.6” thick. For that kind of thickness you’d need something closer to probably 100watts. The lens will help make a better cut but the lens alone will not help that thickness change.
@@mansfieldartguy85 it’s a great machine so far. Not as fast as the Edge but it wasn’t designed to be so it makes sense. I actually expected more of a difference between the edge and the maker.
@@MakerExperiment Last question I promise. Which one would you buy? The maker at its price and features or the Edge at it price and features? I am not sure what your edge bed size is.
@@mansfieldartguy85 the Edge bed size is the exact same. The only differences are wattage options and speed. If I was running a business focused on producing products quickly, I’d go with the 60 watt Edge. If I was just doing light business usage or hobby level stuff I’d go with the Maker. What are you wanting to do with it?
Turns out Epilog Maker is a bigger piece of trash than the Glowforge. I cannot believe this! What an absolute piece of garbage machine. Two weeks of ownership, one week of use and broken
Why don't you ever talk about the machines breaking down constantly? I've owned an Epilog since around May 29th (today is 7/12) and I've already had 3 breakdowns and one entirely new machine replaced. I own a rapidly growing company and to me, this is an absolute joke. They also filter your posts on their groups to control any negative posting. You're just a mouth piece for them. You should be ashamed of yourself, man. You push this brand but never talk about how their machines constantly break down.
First of all, I’m sorry that you’re experiencing the issues that you are, but that has not been my personal experience. I’ve been using Epilog machines since 2013, long before I started working with them and I’m not going to pretend they’re perfect but they are great machines and in my experience they stand behind their product. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be trying to replace your machine. Secondly, I don’t appreciate you telling me I should be ashamed of myself. I work very hard to make sure the companies I work with create quality machinery. Again, the ones I’ve used haven’t “broken down”. I’ve had consumables need to be replaced but that’s been all. I don’t know where you think they’re filtering your posts but in my experience they leave the majority of negative posts. The only time I’ve seen any post be removed is if it contains derogatory language. The experience you’re having isn’t a typical experience and it’s unfortunate you’re having that experience. Without knowing what your breakdowns are it’s hard to say what the problems even are. The fact that you’ve had 3 and have had a machine replaced tells me that it could have been a manufacturing defect. From what you wrote I have a key takeaway. It’s been a month and a half since you bought your machine. They’ve replaced a machine with a new one. To me that says they’re trying to make it right and trying to help. If you’re not happy with the experience, I understand and maybe they aren’t the company for you. However, don’t disrespect people that haven’t had these issues.
@MakerExperiment why don't you ever talk about those experiences and share the truth about how they constantly breakdown instead of making them out to be the greatest company out there. It's funny how anyone related to Epilog all use the famous line of maybe its not the company for you. I have tons of people in my DMs telling me their machines are also complete garbage. There no way I'm the only one and that this is unique to me. Yor videos were a huge factor ad to why I wrote with epilog amd of course I should have seen through the fact that you never post anything negative about them. I thought maybe they are the company people claim to be, "work horses". A plastic green army man seems to be higher quality than these machines.
@@Captainhairyass again, I’m not having this breakdown experience that you’re claiming to see so there’s nothing in that for me to share. Normal consumables that I’ve had the issue with parts that have to be replaced and aren’t considered abnormal. I work hard to try to portray a fair image of my experience. I don’t hide anything. I’ve just never had the issues you’re claiming to have. Therefore it’s not something I can say I’ve experienced. I don’t receive DMs about machines breaking down. The types of DMs I receive are always related to trying to get settings to work, troubleshooting a design, or asking questions about machinery in general. I’m sorry you’re having this experience, but I haven’t had the same experience. I’m not going to share something I haven’t experienced first hand.
@MakerExperiment maybe I should make those videos then and encourage all the people in my dms to do the same so that there's a fair and balance viewpoint for potential customers to see before they dish out 20k on a paperweight.
@@Captainhairyass you’re welcome to make your own videos and I encourage you to make whatever videos you feel you need to. I’m all for a fair representation of experiences. Asking me to make videos on stuff I haven’t experienced wouldn’t be a fair assessment to me.
Looks nice but ultimately overpriced due to the rf metal tube as apposed to a standard co2 liquid cooled tube. I would prefer to drop the10-15k on a full sized machine with 4x the power for the same price. The website is also very light on actual spec... you have to request details to get any real specs.... hard pass
In a business speed and quality is what is preferred :) Most Chinese "full sized machines" as you call em, are good for cutting, but engraving they are subpar to machines with an RF/Ceramic tubes 😉 Glass tubes are inferior to RF and Ceramic :)
I kind of had those same thoughts when I was first hearing about this, but upon further thought and investigation I changed my mind. Thunder Laser has a rf metal tube laser with the same wattage and a similar size bed, but it is actually more expensive than the epilog fusion maker. And I can say one thing, given the choice between the two, I'd pick the epilog every time, plus it's cheaper.
It’s an entry level production machine. I agree it’s not the price point for everyone, but there’s s big difference between entry level and entry level production capable.
Having gone that route, you will spend the couple of thousand you save on an omtech in lost time tinkering with it or dealing with issues or in the long run simple durability. This machine isn't built to the lowest cost point and is intended to work hard, work easy, and realistically if your using it to make money, a better investment.
