u/AlexKholyanov

Hey, I’m running a small sign shop in the Vancouver area and looking to get a CO₂ laser (probably 100–150W, 1390 size).

Main goal is cutting acrylic up to 6 mm + some engraving.

I’m considering the usual options (Omtech / Vevor / Alibaba machines), but I’m trying to understand the real situation locally.

A few questions:

• Is anyone here in Vancouver actually running these machines?
• How bad is maintenance in real life?
• Are there any local techs who service/repair them?
• Where do you source parts (tubes, mirrors, etc.)?
• Any suppliers in Canada worth dealing with?

Also curious if it’s worth going cheap first or just jumping straight to something like Thunder Laser / Boss Laser.

Would really appreciate input from anyone local.

Hey, I’m running a small sign shop in the Vancouver area and looking to get a CO₂ laser (probably 100–150W, 1390 size).

Main goal is cutting acrylic up to 6 mm + some engraving.

I’m considering the usual options (Omtech / Vevor / Alibaba machines), but I’m trying to understand the real situation locally.

A few questions:

• Is anyone here in Vancouver actually running these machines?
• How bad is maintenance in real life?
• Are there any local techs who service/repair them?
• Where do you source parts (tubes, mirrors, etc.)?
• Any suppliers in Canada worth dealing with?

Also curious if it’s worth going cheap first or just jumping straight to something like Thunder Laser / Boss Laser.

Would really appreciate input from anyone local.

Hey, I’m running a small sign shop in the Vancouver area and looking to get a CO₂ laser (probably 100–150W, 1390 size).

Main goal is cutting acrylic up to 6 mm + some engraving.

I’m considering the usual options (Omtech / Vevor / Alibaba machines), but I’m trying to understand the real situation locally.

A few questions:

• Is anyone here in Vancouver actually running these machines?
• How bad is maintenance in real life?
• Are there any local techs who service/repair them?
• Where do you source parts (tubes, mirrors, etc.)?
• Any suppliers in Canada worth dealing with?

Also curious if it’s worth going cheap first or just jumping straight to something like Thunder Laser / Boss Laser.

Would really appreciate input from anyone local.