Fibre lasers

[Clarence3815]

Does anyone know about this technology please?

When using it for lettering on something how small could the lettering be (20 thou, 1mm, 2mm)?

TIA

Bernard

 

[adrian]

Not too sure to be honest, you could always ask a question on youTube here - at 14:50 he's etching a Midland plate. It looks okay but no better than a traditional etched plate.

They are just far to expensive at the moment for hobby use - also not too sure of any benefit, the metal was flexing and distorting due to the heating effect. For cutting out frames a CNC router would be better IMHO.

 

[simond]

I purchased laser cut frames for three locos, the convenience, and rapid turnaround, combined with the capability of making one-offs seem to me to be massive advantages over, eg, etching. And of course, the kerf is tiny, and there are no broken tools, which are advantages over milling.

The downside is that the parts were thoroughly annealed and are dead soft. Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen that one coming, and would go for steel in future, which might mitigate that to some degree. It’s a learning curve for sure.

i winced, watching the unboxing video, every time he put his hand on the table. Some form of enclosure seems to me to be vital, both from a laser safety POV (eyes & permanent tattoos, a bit like seaside rock, all the way through…), and to contain the fumes for extract.

the pricing does not seem much above the latest Emblasers, and they won’t cut metal. I’m still using my £300 Chinese CO2 with revised drive controller, but I’d certainly consider one if the price came down considerably. Short term, I’ll continue to order laser cut parts from Model Engineers Laser - Home rather than invest.

 

[adrian]

the pricing does not seem much above the latest Emblasers, and they won’t cut metal. I’m still using my £300 Chinese CO2 with revised drive controller, but I’d certainly consider one if the price came down considerably. Short term, I’ll continue to order laser cut parts from Model Engineers Laser - Home rather than invest.

That was my take - laser cutters have come down in price my Comgrow 20W laser cutter with air assist, enclosure and air extract in total was a shade under £500, within the realms of the hobby market. I wasn't sure if he was testing the £2200 or the £4400 30W fibre laser cutter, so maybe okay for small businesses but not a hobby unit yet for what it delivers. Hence I still contend that a small CNC router is better value for one off things like loco frames.

Likewise I have a few ideas in the pipe line for laser cut steel items and for that I will be trying Model Engineers Laser.

 

[Fitzroy]

I purchased laser cut frames for three locos, the convenience, and rapid turnaround, combined with the capability of making one-offs seem to me to be massive advantages over, eg, etching. And of course, the kerf is tiny, and there are no broken tools, which are advantages over milling.

The downside is that the parts were thoroughly annealed and are dead soft. Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen that one coming, and would go for steel in future, which might mitigate that to some degree. It’s a learning curve for sure.

i winced, watching the unboxing video, every time he put his hand on the table. Some form of enclosure seems to me to be vital, both from a laser safety POV (eyes & permanent tattoos, a bit like seaside rock, all the way through…), and to contain the fumes for extract.

the pricing does not seem much above the latest Emblasers, and they won’t cut metal. I’m still using my £300 Chinese CO2 with revised drive controller, but I’d certainly consider one if the price came down considerably. Short term, I’ll continue to order laser cut parts from Model Engineers Laser - Home rather than invest.

Yes! That gave me the screaming abdabs too!

 

[Bexhill west]

Does anyone know about this technology please?

When using it for lettering on something how small could the lettering be (20 thou, 1mm, 2mm)?

TIA

Bernard

Hi Bernard,

Here's a picture of a couple of nameplates which I have etched using the machine in the video. Sorry for the picture quality, but hopefully it answers your question. My CAD software tells me that the 4mm version of the plate has letters 0.271mm high, the 7mm version corresponding larger. 0.271mm is tiny, and difficult to read even with a magnifying glass.

I have not cleaned these plates, and you can still see the burr which is raised by the laser around the edges. This of course doesn't appear with a chemical etch.



With regard to other matters raised by your question, I agree completely with what others have said. These machines are currently too expensive for hobby use, very slow and will never be a direct replacement for chemical etching. That said the prices are tumbling and non-branded equivalents can be found at a third of the price of this particular machine.
Fibre Lasers can do things however that chemical etching cannot, such as variable 3d etching which does open interesting possibilities.

I agree with simond that an enclosure will be a necessary addition should I keep the machine for any length of time. I currently have it on loan - it's not mine, I'm just trying to ascertain its suitability as a prototyping tool.
Finally, regarding the comments about my hands being on the machine bed, only once in the video was my hand 'in-shot' whilst the laser was active, and then it was outside of the laser frame. I was trying to draw attention to the amount of smoke produced whilst engraving, which was difficult for me to see with the laser glasses on. It turned out whilst editing the video that the camera had picked it up perfectly and so I needn't have bothered.


Cheers,

James

 

[Fitzroy]

James, the lettering is extremely impressive. How much depth were you removing per pass? I'm curious about your cutting of frames with the 0.45 mm nickel silver. What was the kerf width you ended up with? And have you tried cutting, as opposed to etching, brass yet?

 

[simond]

Hi Bernard,

Here's a picture of a couple of nameplates which I have etched using the machine in the video. Sorry for the picture quality, but hopefully it answers your question. My CAD software tells me that the 4mm version of the plate has letters 0.271mm high, the 7mm version corresponding larger. 0.271mm is tiny, and difficult to read even with a magnifying glass.

I have not cleaned these plates, and you can still see the burr which is raised by the laser around the edges. This of course doesn't appear with a chemical etch.

View attachment 222542

With regard to other matters raised by your question, I agree completely with what others have said. These machines are currently too expensive for hobby use, very slow and will never be a direct replacement for chemical etching. That said the prices are tumbling and non-branded equivalents can be found at a third of the price of this particular machine.
Fibre Lasers can do things however that chemical etching cannot, such as variable 3d etching which does open interesting possibilities.

I agree with simond that an enclosure will be a necessary addition should I keep the machine for any length of time. I currently have it on loan - it's not mine, I'm just trying to ascertain its suitability as a prototyping tool.
Finally, regarding the comments about my hands being on the machine bed, only once in the video was my hand 'in-shot' whilst the laser was active, and then it was outside of the laser frame. I was trying to draw attention to the amount of smoke produced whilst engraving, which was difficult for me to see with the laser glasses on. It turned out whilst editing the video that the camera had picked it up perfectly and so I needn't have bothered.


Cheers,

James

thanks James,

regarding the laser not being active, I'm reminded of something @daifly said along the lines of "trust nobody, and especially not the pilot sitting next to you".

really informative video and a massively interesting product, so thanks for that too

Simon