Langmuir Systems Opens the Apollo 4 Website With Three Packages From $11,995

Langmuir Systems has put the Apollo 4 website live and opened a VIP list ahead of reservations on November 3. The fully enclosed, 4-by-4-foot, 1.5 kW CNC fiber laser starts at $11,995 in the Well Equipped package, with an Advanced package at $14,495 and a Pro package at $17,495. Langmuir announced the machine to its forum on October 9 and publicly on October 12. VIP list members get access to reservations one hour before everyone else.

Three packages

The Apollo 4 page sells the machine as three ready-to-run bundles. The Well Equipped package at $11,995 includes the 48 by 48 inch machine, a 1,500 W Max Photonics source, a wireless jog pendant, standard doors without windows, a nitrogen or compressed-air assist gas system, a RayTools BT220 manual-focus head with an amplifier for auto height control, and an S&A CWFL-1500 chiller.

The Advanced package at $14,495 adds a PC with a 21.5 inch touchscreen running LaserCAM, a camera, lighting, and 10 inch monitor system, a gas and chiller hook-up kit, oxygen assist, a laser head consumables kit, two doors with laser safety glass, and a fume extraction adapter. Langmuir says it saves $413 over buying those pieces separately. The Pro package at $17,495 adds a RayTools BM110 AutoFocus head and the Pro-Series CWFL-1500 chiller, which Langmuir says saves $1,411.

The page lists each upgrade separately: PC and touchscreen kit $749, camera system $499, gas and chiller hook-up kit $399, oxygen assist $149, consumables kit $79, two glass doors $999, fume extraction adapter $39, AutoFocus head $1,999, and Pro-Series chiller $1,999. It marks those options as not available with the Well Equipped package.

Apollo 4 loading a 4x8 sheet through the pass-through

Specifications

The cutting area is 48 by 48 inches, and a material pass-through on the front or back lets a 4-by-8-foot sheet extend through the enclosure. The active cutting area stays 48 by 48 inches. Travel is 48 inches on X and Y and 3 inches on Z, with 2.25 inches of Z clearance, and positioning accuracy is listed as plus or minus 0.002 inch per 12 inches. A three-axis closed-loop drive moves the head at up to 400 inches per minute, which is well below the 1,350 inch-per-minute jog speed Langmuir lists for the 4x8 Apollo. The machine measures 75 by 60 by 75 inches.

Langmuir lists maximum cutting thickness as 3/8 inch for steel in the spec table, 7/32 inch for stainless, 3/16 inch for aluminum, and 1/8 inch for brass. The FAQ says carbon steel up to 1/2 inch depending on conditions, and gives 5/32 inch for aluminum and brass, so the page disagrees with itself in places. The spec table gives a 6 inch exhaust port, while the forum announcement says 10 inches.

Power is the main shop requirement. The laser needs a 240 V, 30 A single-phase circuit and the chiller needs a separate 240 V, 20 A circuit, and Langmuir says it cannot run on 120 V. The enclosure has removable doors with interlocks that stop the laser firing unless the enclosure is secured, and optional safety glass. LaserControl, the same software family as Langmuir's FireControl, runs the machine, and LaserCAM takes a DXF file from USB, a shared drive, or a network location so parts can be nested at the machine.

Shipping, assembly, and reservations

Apollo 4 ships as a kit. Langmuir estimates 20 to 40 hours of assembly, depending on skill, and recommends a hoist or several people for the upper enclosure. It ships by freight from Conroe, Texas, to the lower 48 states only, and the buyer needs a forklift rated for 1,000 pounds with forks at least 6 feet long. Langmuir says liftgate service is generally available through its freight partner ABF. Local pickup needs a vehicle with at least 84 inches of bed width. Shipping costs vary by location, and the page gives no figure.

A $500 credit-card deposit reserves a machine, and Langmuir offers financing for the balance through Geneva Capital and Affirm. The company recommends ordering accessories with the machine to save on freight. Each machine is engineered and assembled in Texas, and the company says its support team handles parts, warranty, and technical help by phone and email.

The Apollo 4 is the second laser in the Apollo line. The 4x8 Apollo launched a year ago at $19,995, so the Apollo 4's base price is $8,000 lower and even the Pro package costs $2,500 less. The two bundles differ, because the 4x8's base price included the touchscreen PC and the Apollo 4's does not. Langmuir engineer Mike G said forum members had asked for a more compact machine, and that the Apollo 4 keeps the Max Photonics X-Series source, a RayTools head, closed-loop controls, and the pass-through that handles 4x8 sheets.