Laser engraving machine

[Mickwhitt 4,624]

Hi all.  Does anyone have any experience of laser engraving machines.

I'm thinking about getting one to use in my workshop but I've no concept of what to look for or if there are any pitfalls.

Just thought I'd use the power of Red Square to start the process. 

Mick 

 

[ri702bill 8,319]

Mick:

Hmmm.... Laser Engraving is usually NOT a "Backyard" or workshop tool. Most are a Class 4 type - the type that can blind you or start fires.

We had a Class 4 Laser welder in the Lab where I used to work for prototype use. 

In a "secure" cinderblock room, no windows, 2 interlocked doors with flashing "Laser in Use" lights outside. Even a pressure sensative floor pad to detect if anyone other than the sole operator was in the room...  ALL required by the local Fire Department BEFORE a permit would be granted.... Not actually a hobby piece.

Bill

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

a laser engraver for wood or metal? 

[8ntruck 7,003]

The high school robotics team that I am mentoring for has a laser cutting machine in their shop.  Has a bed size of about 3' by 4', self contained in its own cabinet.  It will etch aluminum, and wood.  Might etch steel, too, but we'be never tried it.  Cuts wood, plastic, masonite, cloth, cardboard and other soft materials.

 

Definitely not a home shop machine,.

[CCW 1,295]

Be careful of etching or cutting anything that would produce a chlorine gas such as PVC and some sheet plastics.  We had one in the last high school shop I worked in and it was vented outside the building.

[Mickwhitt 4,624]

Hi all, some really important advice here thank you.

I'm going to a show on Monday where laser engraving machines will be demonstrated. I'll doubtless get a lot more of a view on how suitable these things are for hobby use. 

There are desk top ones than can engrave six inches square and bigger beasts that can cover much larger areas.

Metal cutting is apparently way out of the home machine range as it requires a lot of power and obviously produces metal waste. But cutting wood up to 15mm thick is pretty standard.

I'll report back on Monday when I e been to this trade fair. 

Mick 

 

 

[wh500special 2,179]

We bought one at work earlier this year.  We wanted one quick and didn’t really know how suitable it was going to be for making dataplates and labels so we bought a “cheap” unit.  And we plan to buy a big laser for cutting metal and whatnot in the next couple of years so didn’t want to invest much into it. 
 

 It’s this one from omtech.  One of the engineers picked it out and I just approved it.   I wasn’t so sure about getting an economy model, but it’s been OK. 

 

We also bought the chiller for the cooling water too.  I think all-in we were in the $5000 range.  Obviously, cheap is a relative term and I was spending company money and not my own  

 I don’t know if this one is available in your neck of the woods, but as an Asian import it probably is but perhaps under a different brand name.  
 

It cuts and engraves plastic. We’ve stuck wood and plywood in it to tinker and it does nicely on them too.  It’s not powerful enough for metal.  We do mark on aluminum and stainless steel by spraying on a coating that gets “burned” on to the surface and then when complete the excess is cleaned off.  
 

I don’t personally use it.   But it is pretty easy to set up and use from what I’ve been told.  It comes with software that lets you lay out your design and make adjustments.  
 

I suspect I will probably occasional engrave something from a personal woodworking project.  So it’s nice to have.  
 

The user manual isn’t great.   And our unit had a host of poor assembly problems when it arrived that required replacement parts including the laser tube.  In fairness, the manufacturer was very responsive and we haven’t had issues after making the repairs.  
 

They take some fussing to get the markings and cuts to come out clean and sharp.  There aren’t many variables to adjust so it’s just a matter of ensuring proper focus alignment, speed, and power.   If you’re systematic and willing to scrap a little bit of material getting set up you can get good results pretty quickly after a bit of familiarization. 

 

we are finding this winter that the room we have this living in isn’t ideal as it’s a bit cold in there and we had to tweak settings that had been working to get the performance back where we wanted.  I assume the cooler substrates we are engraving need more energy pumped into them to get the marks and cuts we need. 
 

We have it ducted outside and don’t have any odor or smoke problems unless we have a really fierce Easterly wind blowing.  
 

My neighbor makes little woodworking items he sells on Etsy.  His sales increased hugely when he bought a Universal Laser  a few years ago.  He has complete satisfaction with his and the reliability has been great.  It’s in the basement of his house and he has a simple blower ducting the smoke and fumes outside.  It’s a nice unit.  
 

one feature that he has that we don’t and regret not having is the camera for the bed that shows the placement of your substrate in relation to the program.  If you’re swapping in random things all

the time or don’t have a way to fixture things for repeatability it’s a nice thing to have.  
 

If I was buying again I would put more effort into finding something that could be serviced by a local tech.  The one we have is more or less a do-everything-yourself sort of thing.   
 

Before your conference it would probably be worth planning out what you see yourself doing with the thing in the long term and spending as much time with the various reps as possible to see how their machines can suit your needs. Have them

Walk you through the initial setup of

aligning mirrors and how to load cut files and make tweaks.   I would guess the levels of user-friendliness vary widely. 
 

Good luck. 
 

Steve

Edited January 19 by wh500special

[Mickwhitt 4,624]

Steve,

Can I thank you for the very detailed and informative reply you gave regarding my request.

OMtec was one of the machines I'd been looking at, but it was shown as being built in the USA I believe.

As I mentioned a British company gave me details of this show on Monday and it looks like all the major UK players will be showing their machinery off.

I'm still looking for some uses I can put the machine to and while it'd not going to be a business it would be nice to make a bit of pin money from learning to use such a machine. 

I will of course post any progress as I learn more.

I did visit a local anodising and engraving firm to look at their equipment but it was cnc mill style machinery. They also do photo etching and some of the control panels they made were truly beautiful,  apparently they make a lot of things for submersible and the marine trade such as instrumen panels etc. If indeed a new dash for the wheelhorse I know where to go. 

 

[wh500special 2,179]

No problem.

 

I probably made it sound like I am less of a fan of this machine than I am.  Aside from some initial teething problems, it's been good for us.  We use it every day for a couple of hours and I'm not aware of any breakdowns or malfunctions yet.  Although you're supposed to babysit them since there is a risk of fire we do run ours with only casual supervision by people who working in the vicinity and doing other things.  We are basically surrounded by stiff that won't (easily) burn so the risk is minimal.

 

In our manufacturing environment it's usually a better value for us to contract out maintenance and repair rather than mess with specialty things on our own.  Generally I'd rather buy something that costs more if we can get a local service tech to come in and PM it a couple of times a year or make the occasional repair.  That doesn't really apply to a personal use application of course.

 

I don't know the exact origins of this machine, but I am quite sure it is not made in the USA.  It's too inexpensive.  And the shipping crate it came in certainly wasn't sourced in North America. 

 

I'll post some examples of things we'd do with it including the nameplate one of the jokesters made for my office door.  This is the two color laminated plastic sheet.  She was setting it up and learning the settings so the white background wasn't as bright or crisp as we get now.  (i edited some of them to hide some details)

 

Those of you who thought I was a know-it-all on this forum should feel vindicated that it extends to the rest of my life too.    What can I say, people are observant.

 

Steve

 

 

Edited January 19 by wh500special

[Mickwhitt 4,624]

Well, we are in the middle of two storm systems here in the North of England,  so travelling was not something I wanted to risk just to attend a trade show.

To be honest reading your replies and looking at the current situation in my area (there are quite a few small businesses making laser engraved gifts so the market is pretty saturated) we decided not to progress the idea any further at this time. 

There are small engravers available that are becoming more powerful and affordable, so that may be something to look at in future. 

Once again Red Square comes up trumps with advice and information on topics not related to our core hobby.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. Mick. 

[wallfish 16,999]

1 hour ago, Mickwhitt said:

Well, we are in the middle of two storm systems here in the North of England,  so travelling was not something I wanted to risk just to attend a trade show.

To be honest reading your replies and looking at the current situation in my area (there are quite a few small businesses making laser engraved gifts so the market is pretty saturated) we decided not to progress the idea any further at this time. 

There are small engravers available that are becoming more powerful and affordable, so that may be something to look at in future. 

Once again Red Square comes up trumps with advice and information on topics not related to our core hobby.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. Mick. 

What about using it for cutting? There might be a market for NLA gaskets and the applications are endless. I've had to send stuff to a guy out in California to get diaphragms and gaskets cut. They come back perfect as the original NOS stuff when the proper material is used for each application. If you attend engine shows you can get a pretty good handle on what's needed and get the customers all while enjoying yourself at a show!