Fun with lasers, anyone?

@trekgod3 Does that etch deep enough to work for serial numbers per the ATF?

I can't believe @Michele hasn't chimed in on this thread, particularly after you etched your slide. Seems like she might spontaneously grow a woody over this machine and what it does.



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USApat said:
@trekgod3 Does that etch deep enough to work for serial numbers per the ATF?

I can't believe @Michele hasn't chimed in on this thread, particularly after you etched your slide. Seems like she might spontaneously grow a woody over this machine and what it does.



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No I don't think it's powerful enough to be up to ATF standards for engraving. I was going to engrave a "FU-ATF" serial on a p80 to give it a try. So far, it's only cosmetic. I can't feel the engraving with a fingernail
 
trekgod3 said:
No I don't think it's powerful enough to be up to ATF standards for engraving. I can't feel the engraving with a fingernail
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If you can't feel it, it ain't deep enough. Shucks.
Thanks for replying back so fast!
Cool stuff.
Another toy on my list!
 
I would want something that had enough power to be able to work with stainless and aluminum to the depth and clarity of a good roll mark. Chemical etching does not excite me. Being able to cut softer materials like wood or leather is also desirable. I would assume that anything that can burn steel would be able to do that.
 
Bobster said:
:D

About lasers: I had a 60W CO2 OMTech (Orion) big boy laser engraver for a short while similar to the one in the pic. I went and looked at as a lark because the seller didn't want a lot of money for it because it wasn't turning on so maybe I could fix it if the price was right. Plus it was about 10min away. Took some info off it and did a little research and was considering an offer when the seller got back to me and told me to "just come get it out of here!" :eek: :) I was there with my trailer in 15min! :) This was a big unit, about 4'x3'x4'.

Once back at the shop, I got it unloaded and plugged it in. Nothing. Reset the emergency button and BAM!, things started moving and buzzing so I turned it off and figured I better read the instructions. ;)

It came with a water cooler for the laser tube, a blower for the lens near the work piece and an exhaust blower to suck the cabinet dry of smoke. The unit was essentially new but 4 years old and had been sitting. I refurbished what needed to be refurbished, added new distilled water to the cooler and checked the focus of the laser on the mirrors, one at a time (there are three) with a piece of tape and all looked good. Put a piece of cardboard, then scrap wood down, adjusted the height of the laser from the work, pressed the demo program and it printed a machine logo, some Chinese characters and punched out some holes. :)

Kids weren't interested in it :( , I didn't want to have to buy LightBurn SW for it, I didn't have time for it nor did I have the room, so it got sold. A CO2 laser is more for wood, organic materials and plastics. With a cup spinner, they will also burn the paint off a metal cup made for the purpose. They are not really for metal as about all they can do is maybe discolor stainless.

View attachment 14063

I also had an Aufero diode laser, I think it was 10W. Good for coasters and such. I paid $100 and got it working with an old HP laptop worth about $75. Sold the package for $250.

What I really would have a use for is one of these desktop fiber (galvo) lasers that WILL do metal but the price of entry is at least a few thou... :(
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What's the deal with changing the text color to light gray?
 
Racer88 said:
What's the deal with changing the text color to light gray?
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Is this a better color change to try to read or is it difficult still?

Seriously though, good question. Wonder if someone uses the color pallet to highlight to another color such as red if standard text defaults to gray -or- maybe they hit gray instead of black to swap back (gray is above the black)??
 
brian said:
Is this a better color change to try to read or is it difficult still?

Seriously though, good question. Wonder if someone uses the color pallet to highlight to another color such as red if standard text defaults to gray -or- maybe they hit gray instead of black to swap back (gray is above the black)??
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I think it's best for everyone to tone down the anti-Skittleite rhetoric. Taste the rainbow.
Screenshot 2023-09-19 at 9.04.32 AM.png
 
gandrfab said:
That is horrible with the white background, goes unnoticed in dark mode
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Ah! I bet you're right... It's a combination of using the dark mode and clicking the wrong color box to turn back to regular / black text.

Almost unreadable with the standard "light mode," which is what I use.
 
Bongo Lewi said:
I would want something that had enough power to be able to work with stainless and aluminum to the depth and clarity of a good roll mark. Chemical etching does not excite me. Being able to cut softer materials like wood or leather is also desirable. I would assume that anything that can burn steel would be able to do that.
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Same here, but something like that would cost $4000 to $5000, or more
 
From the reviews and teardown on YouTube, the heart of this thing is a 3 watt 1064nm diode. Just powerful enough to "mark" metals. If you want to cut or engrave wood and leather, you need a different laser entirely. I also have a 20 watt ELEGOO phecda diode laser for that
 
Racer88 said:
Ah! I bet you're right... It's a combination of using the dark mode and clicking the wrong color box to turn back to regular / black text.

Almost unreadable with the standard "light mode," which is what I use.
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On a forum not so far away, one of the members will regularly post in blue. That is difficult to read in the black background. I'll highlight it as a work around.
 
Racer88 said:
What's the deal with changing the text color to light gray?
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brian said:
Is this a better color change to try to read or is it difficult still?

Seriously though, good question. Wonder if someone uses the color pallet to highlight to another color such as red if standard text defaults to gray -or- maybe they hit gray instead of black to swap back (gray is above the black)??
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Racer88 said:
I think that's what happened.
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THIS^^^^ I didn't think I should change the text to black because I am looking at a black background and thought I was picking white... Shall I go back and change it?

UPDATE: changed text to black and got this below so changed it to white... :unsure:

nope.JPG
 
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Bongo Lewi said:
I would want something that had enough power to be able to work with stainless and aluminum to the depth and clarity of a good roll mark. Chemical etching does not excite me. Being able to cut softer materials like wood or leather is also desirable. I would assume that anything that can burn steel would be able to do that.
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You will need something like this LINK. This is not an endorsement of machine, company or zamazom, just an example. The issue with the different style laser engravers is that they operate on different wavelengths so will etch different types of materials. It is not necessarily the power in watts that does what you need it to do. More power = deeper/faster engraving of the specific material the laser is built to engrave. Visit the omtech and lightburn sites for more info and of course do a gootoob search...

fiberlaser.jpg
 
Bobster said:
You will need something like this LINK. This is not an endorsement of machine, company or zamazom, just an example. The issue with the different style laser engravers is that they operate on different wavelengths so will etch different types of materials. It is not necessarily the power in watts that does what you need it to do. More power = deeper/faster engraving of the specific material the laser is built to engrave. Visit the omtech and lightburn sites for more info and of course do a gootoob search...

View attachment 14071
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Wow. Expensive. With tax, close to $4k.

Speed is really not a factor for me. Depth and the type of material it can engrave would be.
 

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