I read the reviews for this product and many more, and thought this particular unit would be perfect

I personally would recommend this unit to any out there that is interested in a low cost unit and very dependable.

Yes, there is a screw you need to remove (although our manuals did say to do so) but that is to protect the unit in transit

but I highly doubt this unit gets hot enough to laminate at that thickness

I either have a defective unit that was repaired improperly or this unit is not worth the money.

I either have a defective unit that was repaired improperly or this unit is not worth the money.