Monport 100 watt MOPA fiber laser detailed engrave on brass

[@CutItOutWithUs]

Hi John, we don’t have a business at the moment; perhaps someday when my husband retires. I think the only businesses that are viable even right now, let alone into the far future, will be those who are doing custom pieces. You’re right; there is a lot of duplication out there that gives rise to a race to the bottom. I think original art, which will also become more scarce as AI tightens its grip, will be the last bastion of value. For now until who knows when, we are hobbyists who make the occasional sale.

[@KevinLee-b4s]

I noticed you guys are using LightBurn with a Mac. I just received our GA100 and I can not get it to run with latest version of lightburn. Did you have to install additional drivers for the ga100?

[@CutItOutWithUs]

@@KevinLee-b4s Hi Kevin. Congratulations on your new fiber laser! No, we didn’t have to install additional drivers. My husband had a copy we had been using for about 18 months with our CO2 laser because we didn’t receive the code for the download in our shipment, but it was the same version as the one that eventually reached us via the code sent by email. We followed the instructions in the manual skipping the first three steps because they’re for Windows. So we started with step 4 in the instructions for a manual setup. Double check all your settings, on ours the fiber type setting was incorrect/did not match the laser we have. Please let us know if this helps and reach out if you have any other questions. Dana

[@KevinLee-b4s]

@@CutItOutWithUs Thanks for info. Still no joy here though. One question I am assuming your GA100 is also a seacad board machine? What version of LB are you running? 1.7.05 rc1 here. Reached our to LB support but nothing back yet.

[@CutItOutWithUs]

@ Cameron doesn’t know if we have a seacad board machine but it is a JTP laser. The LB version we are running is V1.7.03 if that helps. He hasn’t yet upgraded to the latest version. Have you tried running it on any other software? Just curious. Cameron said that LB support is probably your best bet at this point (which you’ve already initiated). That sounds very frustrating. We are hoping it’s a simple fix for you. If you don’t mind, will you let us know what your contact with LB yields? We are interested in your problem; we’d like to learn from it. My husband is at work but I suspect he will find out if we have a seacad board tonight. I’ll loop back with you either way. Dana

[@JohnHansknecht]

unfortunately, with the huge proliferation of these machines, it is going to be harder and harder for any one small business to compete in the market because everyone will undercut the other guy. I found this to be the case with my CO2 laser 10 years ago. Everyone makes the same stuff.

[@matchstickdesignco]

That's funny. You keep on thinking that. . . I'll keep on making money with my lasers.

[@JohnHansknecht]

@@matchstickdesignco That's funny. I was in the business and watched it crumble. Now every Tom, Dick, and Harry has one. Craft fairs are full of the same lasered junk. Same with Etsy and other venues.

[@CutItOutWithUs]

For us, it would be unrealistic and honestly undesirable to pursue a full time business out of lasered items even if my husband was retired for a few reasons. The commonality of what was once novel is one reason, but I imagine you have to be a pretty enthusiastic/gregarious networker to sustain a full sales funnel month over month. My husband and I just aren’t energetically inclined to beat the bushes. I’m happy for anyone who is making it work; but I do think the customer base for lasered items is shrinking somewhat due to the proliferation and simplification of the tech. If you look at all the pretty, Apple-fied desk top units coming out with increasingly intuitive software it’s easy to see why even the most casual hobbyist would be inclined to buy it and make their own trinkets for family and friends. But again, I applaud anyone making a go of it. It’s not for us, I don’t think.

[@matchstickdesignco]

@@JohnHansknecht I live (literally) right across the street from Fort Campbell, so I have a constantly rotating, never ending supply of clients. Promotions, retirements, deployments, births, and (unfortunately) deaths keep me in business. Not to mention all the firearms & knives that need to be personalized.

[@CutItOutWithUs]

@@matchstickdesigncoThis is such fortuitous positioning for your business! That’s fantastic for you!