http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/8.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net I quite like scratch building terrain and out of curiosity started to look a the prices of laser cutter/engravers. I was surprised that even the cheaper end were still in the hundreds. I wonder if I'm looking at things that are I little overkill for what I need. I think thick cardboard (2mm) would be the densest thing I would be looking to cut.
Anyone have any experience with this?
Cheers ?]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831002.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831002.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831009.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831009.page GMT
Maybe look into a Cricut or Silhouette if your use case is primarily cardboard. Smaller, cheaper and much easier to use, also less lasery]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831011.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831011.page GMT

Stairs, base and railings:

or huge block of flats, few sets of objectives for Warhammer and many other things.
It was a big CO2 laser that required water cooling and fumes exhaust. I had to sell it when my children grew up and I needed a place for their room. Nowadays you can buy cheap LED lasers, for example on Aliexpress. They usually can cut cardboard in few passes but I don't know if as thick as 2mm. If you want to buy it be sure the engraver software can process vector graphics for precise dimensions.

Unless you want to make something very big I would recommend a 3D printer which is easier to use - FDM for terrain or resin for more detailed models. FDM printer can be used on your desk, it doesn't emit any smell or fumes, just some sound. Fro resin printer you need a place with ventilation that can get dirty like basement or garage. There were also 3D printers with optional laser cutter module (like very old DaVinci Pro 3 in 1), but I don't know if any modern printer still has this option.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831019.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/819251/11831019.page GMT