I decided to add this to my shop

[Joe Jones]

Joe, License plates and stuff you are removing paint and powdercoating from can be a cheaper laser..
I have a Boss laser, hp series that is supposed to cut thin metal.. I haven't used that option yet...
If you are on facebook find the boss owners group and from there they have a sellers group.. Some great deals on used machines..
Kern from doing research is probably the best option with cutting metal as opposed to epillog or trotec...(Higher end Co2 lasers)
Boss is a chinese laser with American support..I'm not sure eppilog and trotec aren't imported as well...
Like anything it's tough to get one machine to be good at cutting and engraving.
Lightburn is a program that comes with the Boss and it works very good. I'm using it to export dxf files sometimes now..

I believe I will quickly run up against the limitations of this machine. Still, it is fun, and if I can do nothing more than sell custom gun cases with it, then the investment was still worth the money.

Joe

[Joe Jones]

First attempt to etch ceramic marble tile.

[Joe Jones]

Slow progress, but it is working!

I will fill the etched pockets with flat black paint, and then sand and polish the face again.

I just wish I had three or four of these lasers. I have projects to do, and they are NOT FAST!

Joe

METAL MAGIC PLATE PROGRESS JPG.jpg

[cstroke]

Joe, a 150 watt Co2 laser would probably do that in 7-10 minutes.

[Joe Jones]

Joe, a 150 watt Co2 laser would probably do that in 7-10 minutes.

Yes ... I am sure it would. I have not convinced myself to get into a REAL laser yet. When I do, it won't be a small investment.

Joe

[Joe Jones]

The piece is done, and it came out great! I could not decide whether to fill in the etching with black paint or not. The recipient likes it "Natural."

Joe

METAL MAGIC DONATION PLATE.JPG

[cstroke]

Etching in stone is amazing isn't it???
I'm sure pictures don't do that justice..
There's a cleaner that is fairly cheap called L.A. Awesome( I think they actually sell it in dollar stores) It cleans up lots of laser stuff.
I use it for cleaning up powdercoat residue and even some leather stuff..
Try some leather, the ideal stuff to use isn't already dyed but it will engrave dyed..
Slate coasters work great too the finish is really cool...

[acourtjester]

Joe the Marble tile looks great thanks for posting.

[Joe Jones]

Thanks. I was surprised to see this little blue laser "cat toy on steroids" etch this material.

Joe

[Joe Jones]

Now I want to see if this will cut 1/2" black Sintra Board.

Joe

[rdj357]

Now I want to see if this will cut 1/2" black Sintra Board.

Joe

"Sintra® is a lightweight yet rigid board of moderately expanded closed-cell polyvinyl chloride (PVC) extruded in a homogenous sheet with a low gloss matte finish."

[adbuch]

Now I want to see if this will cut 1/2" black Sintra Board.

Joe

"Sintra® is a lightweight yet rigid board of moderately expanded closed-cell polyvinyl chloride (PVC) extruded in a homogenous sheet with a low gloss matte finish."

Do you think his machine will cut this material?
David

[cstroke]

PVC isnt good to cut on a laser, double check me on that but I think it releases chlorine gas.

https://www.troteclaser.com/en-us/learn ... processing

[Joe Jones]

PVC isnt good to cut on a laser, double check me on that but I think it releases chlorine gas.

https://www.troteclaser.com/en-us/learn ... processing

If the laser is outside and I am inside, the gas is a non-issue. I only need a fan to disperse the gas away from the laser.

Joe

[Joe Jones]

A new front plate for my truck.

Joe

AGIT PLATE.JPG

[sonbakler]

Thats awesome Joe! So Was the entire plate black to start and the laser burned off what you didnt want or did it add the black to the plate?

[Joe Jones]

Thats awesome Joe! So Was the entire plate black to start and the laser burned off what you didnt want or did it add the black to the plate?

The plate is black anodized on one side, and white on the other. I burned off the black to expose the aluminum.

I have 200 black matte finish aluminum plates arriving tomorrow. I can't wait to see what those will look like when etched with the laser.

Joe

[Joe Jones]

I was also amazed to see that this Chinese blue diode laser could actually engrave glazed tile!

Joe

GLAZED TILE.JPG

[Joe Jones]

First I cut a small square, believing that NOTHING would happen to the tile with this "cat toy on steroids." Holy $#@$%^

Then I cut the text at 70% power, and faster to achieve those results.

Joe

TOO DEEP.JPG

[cstroke]

You really need to try slate, The results are nothing short of amazing..

[rdj357]

PVC isnt good to cut on a laser, double check me on that but I think it releases chlorine gas.

https://www.troteclaser.com/en-us/learn ... processing

You are correct. Aerosolized hydrochloric acid couldn't care less about being inside, outside, or being blown around with little a fan. It will condense on surfaces and it will rapidly oxidize any ferric surface. Effects might be mitigated but I doubt eliminated.

[rdj357]

Now I want to see if this will cut 1/2" black Sintra Board.

Joe

"Sintra® is a lightweight yet rigid board of moderately expanded closed-cell polyvinyl chloride (PVC) extruded in a homogenous sheet with a low gloss matte finish."

Do you think his machine will cut this material?
David

I'm not sure. I have never used a diode laser. Plastics have to cut with enough power to vaporize and not melt the material. My 80 watt CO2 will cut 4mm corrugated plastic sheet (Coroplast) easy enough but I have to use high power and move reasonably quickly to not scorch or melt the edges.

[rdj357]

When lasering true anodized aluminum, the goal is to vaporize the ink from the oxide layer. Aluminum does not absorb dye but since anodizing is just chemically/electrically increasing the thickness of the oxidized layer - that layer absorbs the dye. Moving quickly with the fiber laser is dramatically faster at this process over a CO2 or diode laser. I've made adjustments to the hatch and have sped the process up even further since this video was taken.

[Joe Jones]

When lasering true anodized aluminum, the goal is to vaporize the ink from the oxide layer. Aluminum does not absorb dye but since anodizing is just chemically/electrically increasing the thickness of the oxidized layer - that layer absorbs the dye. Moving quickly with the fiber laser is dramatically faster at this process over a CO2 or diode laser. I've made adjustments to the hatch and have sped the process up even further since this video was taken.

I will have to experiment with my 30W galvo fiber laser on these plates, to see what the difference is. The blue diode laser does a nice job, but it is painfully slow.

Joe

[cstroke]

When lasering true anodized aluminum, the goal is to vaporize the ink from the oxide layer. Aluminum does not absorb dye but since anodizing is just chemically/electrically increasing the thickness of the oxidized layer - that layer absorbs the dye. Moving quickly with the fiber laser is dramatically faster at this process over a CO2 or diode laser. I've made adjustments to the hatch and have sped the process up even further since this video was taken.

Nice... Could you post the details of the fiber laser you have??
TIA..