Fiber & Galvo Laser Machines

Fiber lasers (1064 nm, generated by a laser-pumped fiber resonator and steered by a galvo mirror pair) are the right tool for marking and deep-engraving bare metal, plastic blacks, anodized aluminum, and (with MOPA pulse-width control) producing color on stainless steel. Different physics, different software, different price band from CO2 / diode. For software see Laser Galvo & Fiber Software; for the JCZ controller see Laser Firmware & Controllers.

Source types (the fiber inside the box)

• ★ Raycus — Chinese, the volume leader in hobby/small-shop fiber sources. 20 W / 30 W / 50 W / 100 W Q-switched. Cheap, reliable, ubiquitous in OMTech / Cloudray / generic boxes.
• ★ MAX (Maxphotonics) — Chinese, slightly higher quality than Raycus; common in mid-tier hobby + light industrial. 20 W / 30 W / 50 W / 60 W (MOPA available).
• ★ JPT — Chinese, considered the premium Chinese pick for hobby. JPT MOPA M7 (20 W / 30 W / 60 W / 100 W) is the de-facto MOPA pick for color marking on stainless. JPT LP / LP+ are the Q-switched lines.
• IPG — German, the industrial gold standard. 5–10× the cost of Raycus. You'll see "IPG fiber" on machines >$30k.
• nLIGHT, Coherent, Trumpf — industrial only.

Q-switched vs. MOPA

• Q-switched fiber (cheaper) — fixed pulse width (~100 ns); great for marking, engraving, deep-engraving steel. Cannot produce color on stainless reliably.
• ★ MOPA fiber (premium) — variable pulse width (4–200 ns); enables color marking on stainless ("rainbow stainless"), better plastic marking, finer control. ~30–50% more expensive.

Hobby fiber-galvo machines

• ★ OMTech 30 W / 50 W / 60 W fiber — Raycus or MAX source in a generic JCZ-card galvo enclosure. ~$2,000–$4,000. The default "I want a fiber for under $3k" pick. Ships with EZCAD2; pay for LightBurn Galvo for sanity.
• ★ Cloudray GM / LiteMarker / GP series — premium-Chinese fiber-galvo with better optics/enclosure than OMTech; same JCZ + Raycus/MAX/JPT inside.
• xTool F1 — closed-stack 2 W diode + 10 W fiber portable hybrid; XCS or LightBurn Galvo; popular for vendor booths and tumblers.
• xTool F1 Ultra — 20 W fiber + 20 W diode hybrid in a portable; mid-2025.
• OMTech LF1620 / LF2028 (large-bed fiber) — flatbed gantry fiber for large/heavy parts; cheaper alternative to a galvo + rotary jig.

MOPA-specific machines

• OMTech 30 W / 60 W MOPA — JPT M7 inside; the budget MOPA pick.
• Cloudray GM Neo MOPA — same JPT M7, better build.
• Atomstack iKier M1 / M1 Pro — newer entrant in the consumer MOPA space; small format.

UV galvo (355 nm) and green galvo (532 nm)

• OMTech / Cloudray UV galvo — 3 W / 5 W UV; for cold-marking glass, plastics, electronics PCBs. Short wavelength = tiny spot, no thermal damage. Pricier (~$8k+) and slower.
• OMTech green galvo (532 nm) — niche; copper, gold, plastics that don't take fiber well.

CO2 galvo (sealed RF tube + galvo head)

• Synrad-based CO2 galvo systems — RF CO2 source + galvo; for high-speed engraving on plastics, leather, paper at production rates. Industrial; Synrad sources are paid + niche.
• Thunder Bolt — hybrid 60 W RF CO2 + galvo head; production-grade, ~$25k+.

Industrial / production fiber

• Trumpf TruMark — German industrial gold standard for marking.
• Coherent ExactMark — US industrial.
• HBS / HGTECH / Han's Laser — Chinese industrial brands you'll see in factories.

Field / handheld fiber welders & cleaners (adjacent)

• Raycut / OMTech 1500 W / 2000 W handheld fiber welder — adjacent product class, same fiber tech, different optics. Outside engraving scope but worth knowing they exist on the same supply chain.
• Laser cleaner (1000 W / 2000 W pulsed fiber) — rust removal; same fiber source, different head.

What fiber/galvo does well vs. badly

• Excellent: stainless / mild / tool steel marking + deep engrave; aluminum (especially anodized); brass; gold; titanium; plastic blacks (ABS, PP, nylon); silicon wafers.
• Poor: wood (poor absorption — use CO2/diode); clear acrylic (poor); paper/fabric (use CO2); copper, gold (low absorption — green/UV better); reflective polished metal (back-reflection risk on Q-switched).

Pick this if…

• Default hobby fiber, marking + engraving steel: OMTech 30 W Raycus.
• Want color on stainless: OMTech / Cloudray 30 W or 60 W JPT MOPA.
• Portable / vendor booth: xTool F1 or F1 Ultra.
• Large heavy parts beyond galvo bed: OMTech LF flatbed fiber.
• Plastics / electronics / cold marking: UV galvo.
• Production marking with warranty: Trumpf or Coherent (industrial).
• You want to engrave wood: stop — go CO2 or diode.