Hi All, many of you have used or own laser cutters, so any advice or suggestions for a dependable desktop laser cutter would be much appreciated. (Not interested in a CNC machine).

It'll be used primarily to cut 1/16" - 1/4" balsa for gliders. Not sure if it's okay to also laser-cut hollow and solid carbon rods with a thickness of 1/8" but if heating doesn't produce any problems like toxic fumes, I'd also be using it for that purpose too.

Is 40W overkill or is it in the ballpark? A laser cutter with a pass through would be ideal, but if that jacks the price too much, an effective cutting area of 16" long x 3" - 4" wide should handle most if not all of my needs.

Ease of adjustment, whether the manufacturer includes laser cutter control software (not design software, I already have Adobe Illustrator), any maintenance issues, decent customer service and life of the laser tube would also be concerns. I won't need to use it continuously to make kits or anything, just on an as-needed hobby basis for my own projects. I'm looking to get something that doesn't require water-cooling, just air-cooling, and preferably something US-made and serviced. Recommendations?

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