Fiber Laser Engraver – The Complete Buyer’s Guide

When it comes to laser engraving, you have two options, fiber or Co2 lasers. You can go for a standard laser engraver, which you can get for a couple hundred dollars, or you can go for a much higher quality yet more expensive fiber laser engraver.

A fiber laser engraver, also known as a laser marking machine, will set you back at least a few thousand dollars. However, in return you get greater precision, durability, and versatility than you do with a regular laser engraver. But how do you find the right fiber laser engraving machine for you?

In this guide, we reveal the best fiber laser engravers on the market right now, ranging from affordable to expensive machines. If you’re new to this technology, we’ll first explain exactly what fiber laser engraving is, how it’s different from other techniques, why it’s better, and what you can use it for.

Here’s a cheat sheet of the best fiber laser engravers

• Datouboss 20W Laser Marking Machine
• Raycus Fiber Laser Engraver
• SFX 30W Fiber Laser Marking Machine
• Triumph 30W Fiber Laser Engraver

What is a Fiber Laser Engraver?  

A laser engraving machine works by projecting highly concentrated beams of energy onto materials. The laser beam vaporizes the surface of the material and leaves a permanent crevice, or “mark”. 

With a fiber engraver, instead of being projected straight from the laser diodes onto the material, the laser beam first passes through optical fibers. An optical fiber is a very thin, flexible, transparent rod of glass. 

The glass rod absorbs very little of the laser beam, instead internally reflecting it. As the light passes through optical fibers, it becomes pumped with photons, resulting in an intense energy build-up. This energy is then pumped through a lens that focuses it to accurately engrave materials.

Why Use a Fiber Laser Engraver? 

So, why you would use a fiber laser for engraving when you can buy a regular laser engraving machine for much cheaper? Well, there are several benefits that come with choosing a fiber laser marking machine. 

One of the main benefits is that the increased power offered by fiber laser engravers means they can be used on more materials. Whereas other, cheaper laser types can only be used on soft materials, a fiber laser can easily engrave hard metals like steel. 

Due to their light-guiding properties, optical fibers offer higher beam quality and greater focus. This makes fiber laser engravers incredibly precise – much more so than some other laser sources.

Fiber laser engraving is also an extremely durable technique, as a fiber laser source has a typical lifetime of 100,000 hours before failure. That’s over 10 years of full-time work! They’re also low maintenance and have low running costs, so they’re overall much more efficient than other options.

Fiber Laser Marking Machine Applications 

Fiber laser engravers are incredibly versatile in terms of the materials they can work with. You can use them to engrave a whole range of metals, including steel, stainless steel, silver, copper, brass, aluminum, and alloys.  

However, they can also be used with a variety of nonmetal materials, ranging from leather and nylon to plastic, PVC, ABS, and more. The main material they’re not suitable for is wood, for which you’re better of using a CNC router as lasers do not mark wood cleanly. 

This versatility makes laser marking machines useful to hobbyists and professionals working across a wide range of different areas and industries. They’re commonly used to mark things like jewelry, ornaments, hardware, metal parts, plastic parts – the list goes on. They’re incredibly useful for businesses offering these products, and they’re also used by hobbyists to create personalized items, art, home decorations, and so on. 

That being said, not every fiber laser marking machine may suit you. You need to consider the power output, working size, efficiency, and usability – to name just a few factors. We cover all these in the reviews below, so you can easily choose the engraver that best suits your needs. 

Some of the best fiber laser engravers

Datouboss 20W Laser Marking Machine – Best Cheap Fiber Laser Engraver 

• Price: From $2,559.26 — Available on Amazon here

The Datouboss 20W Fiber Laser Marking Machine is one of the more affordable machines on the market. However, it’s still of very high quality, so it’s a great option for beginners and fiber laser engravers working on a budget. 

This machine uses a powerful MAX laser source with a thin light spot for really accurate marking. It can engrave up to 3mm and also has a photoelectric conversion efficiency of up to 60%, so it’s very efficient.  

We really like that this laser marking machine has different marking settings. You can use the rotating operation to perform markings on areas outside the workbench, so you can still engrave pieces that are larger than the standard working area. 

The Datouboss 20W engraver can be used on a wide range of different materials, including steel, stainless steel, silver, copper, and aluminum. It’s also compatible with non-metal materials like plastic and leather. Whether you’re working on serial numbers, pictures, barcodes, logos, QR codes, or anything else, the Datoubouss will do the job. 

This cheap fiber laser engraver is available in four different sizes – 110mm x 110mm, 150mm x 150mm, 175mm x 175mm, and 200mm x 200mm – so you can choose the size that best suits you. The price increases by around $100 for every size you go up. 

As it’s also a very compact and small fiber laser engraver, the Datuoboss 20W is ideal for those who have limited space to work with. 

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Raycus Fiber Laser Engraver – Best Affordable 50W Fiber Laser Engraver 

• Price: Available on Amazon here

The Raycus Fiber Laser Engraver is a great choice if you’re looking for an affordable 50W fiber laser engraver as it’s available in 20W, 30W, and 50W. It also comes in four different sizes ranging from 110mm x 110mm to 210mm x 210mm. 

Whatever power and size you go for, this machine can be used to mark a wide range of materials and is excellent for fiber laser engraving stainless steel, silver, copper, plastic, ceramic, and leather. 

It boasts a compact Fθ field lens with air spacing design and a protective anti-reflective coating, This means the machine offers excellent flux and a distortion rate of less than 1%, resulting in highly precise, extremely clear marking.

We also have a buyer’s guide for the best laser engravers for metal.

It has a marking speed of up to 7m/s, a re-position precision of 0.002mm, and a high electrical-optical conversion rate of 70%, which means fast rapid, high-performance engraving. Like the Datouboss machine, this engraver offers up to 100,000 hours of work time. 

The Raycus Fiber Laser Engraving Machine uses a configurable 80mm rotary chuck which boasts 360-degree rotational marking, no shaking, and high accuracy. It’s also super easy to load and unload for optimal efficiency. 

This is also a really versatile laser marking machine thanks to the removable workbench. You can easily disassemble it by just removing four screws so that you can work on workpieces that exceed the standard working area.

Another nice aspect of this fiber optic laser engraving machine is that it’s compatible with a wide range of top CAD and CAM software, including AutoCAD, Coreldraw, and Photoshop. You’ll need to use a Windows operating system in order to control the Raycus fiber laser engraving machine with the EZCAD operating software. 

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SFX 30W Fiber Laser Marking Machine

• Price: Available on Amazon here

The SFX 30W Fiber Laser Marker is an exceptionally high-quality machine that’s ideal for professional markets and engravers. 

This fiber engraver uses a JPT laser source which offers fantastic flexibility, a wide range of frequency adjustments, and higher precision control. It has MOPA configuration that adopts pulse compensation and enables minimum pulse deformation, rising the peak power of the fiber laser. 

You can work on a wide range of materials with this laser marking machine, from steel to plastics, and it’s suitable for a wide variety of different projects. With a 7000mm/s marking speed, 0.002mm re-position precision, and 70% electrical-optical conversion, this machine offers quality marking whether you’re working on metal, jewelry, or even memory banks. 

There are three different size options for this laser marking machine – 110mm x110mm, 150mm x 150mm, and 175mm x 175mm. There’s also the option to purchase an 80mm rotary axis with each size variant. 

If you choose to add on the three-jaw rotary chuck, you can benefit from fast spring mounting, stable positioning, and improved accuracy and efficiency. 

It’s also really easy to get started with this machine, even if you’re a beginner – the laser comes fully calibrated and it’s simple to install. 

If you’re wondering what other users make of this laser engraving machine, it has a full 5-star rating on Amazon, which indicates lots of happy customers! Users have praised the machine’s easy installation, the versatility, and quality of the laser, as well as SFX’s customer service. 

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Triumph 30W Fiber Laser Engraver – Best Laser Marking Machine for Industrial Use 

• Price: Available on Amazon here

Triumph’s 30W Fiber Laser Engraver is the most expensive and powerful machine on our list, and it’s ideal for use in businesses and industrial settings. 

This engraver uses a JPT laser and engraves at a depth of 0.3mm and a width of 0.02mm. It’s an extremely powerful and precise marking machine, and with an engraving speed of 9000mm/s, is the fastest on our list by some distance. The laser source has a lifetime of up to 100,000 hours, so it’s very durable. 

One of our favorite things about this DIY fiber laser engraver is that it has a standard 110mm x 110mm engraving area, but it also includes an additional 200mm x 200mm free of charge. In contrast, moth other providers only offer one size option and charge more for larger areas. 

It also includes an 80mm rotary attachment for cylinder engraving. The product’s Amazon page also states that you can request them to send you specialized ring engraving parts if you’re working on jewelry. 

Like the other engravers on our list, this fiber laser marking machine can be used on a wide variety of metals and non-metals. There’s a really impressive showcase of projects that have been completed on this machine, including firearm engraving, hardware engraving, and intricate jewelry marking. 

Like the SFX 30W engraver, this fiber laser marking machine has a flawless five-star rating on Amazon, so you can trust its quality. Reviewers on Amazon have said the machine is easy to set up and offers fantastic quality. 

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