(https://i.imgur.com/38zpnRu.jpg)
The fates were shining on me, too, since I ordered the smallest frame they sell, but got a bump, either accidentally or intentionally because they were sold out of that particular SKU I wanted. Bonus!
(https://i.imgur.com/wQd8yXq.jpg)
The test piece of ancient deco ply from the garage was warped pretty badly, and the mag-safe-like laser shroud popped off durign the burn. Betcha can't tell where :P the single thumbscrew for height adjustment (focus) is tricky, too. Thought it was tight, but the popping off of the shroud (probably due to the thumbscrew slightly drooping the laser) went out of focus after a point.
Might've also mucked up where it's outlines and where it's fills. I've only had it for a day :P
Excited to start testing this on some donations from a fellow pedal builder to work out settings for paint and powder coating. Definitely waiting for my fume extraction solution to get here before I do anything other than wood. Even that irritates my eyes without the doors open.
Noice!
I can't recall the name of the product but there is an paste like compound you can laser onto/through on bare aluminum that will etch it on lasers that wouldn't be powerful enough otherwise. I've seen others use a condiment, that I also can't recall. Mustard I think?
Excited to see where you go with it.
Quote from: jwin615 on May 19, 2023, 12:05:08 AM
Noice!
I can't recall the name of the product but there is an paste like compound you can laser onto/through on bare aluminum that will etch it on lasers that wouldn't be powerful enough otherwise. I've seen others use a condiment, that I also can't recall. Mustard I think?
Excited to see where you go with it.
Lol mustard? Okay now I have to search that (or whatever condiment) and try that.
I was chatting with Gordo and there's also this laser marking paint, one brand of which will work on these diode lasers. The other brands need CO2 or fiber high power pro stuff. Paint's not cheap :( like $40 for a paltry can of the stuff.
I'm definitely excited to see what kinds of mischief I can get up to with it
Ooooo, looking forward to seeing how this all goes.
Hell yeah!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: jessenator on May 19, 2023, 12:27:22 AM
Quote from: jwin615 on May 19, 2023, 12:05:08 AM
Noice!
I can't recall the name of the product but there is an paste like compound you can laser onto/through on bare aluminum that will etch it on lasers that wouldn't be powerful enough otherwise. I've seen others use a condiment, that I also can't recall. Mustard I think?
Excited to see where you go with it.
8
Lol mustard? Okay now I have to search that (or whatever condiment) and try that.
I was chatting with Gordo and there's also this laser marking paint, one brand of which will work on these diode lasers. The other brands need CO2 or fiber high power pro stuff. Paint's not cheap :( like $40 for a paltry can of the stuff.
I'm definitely excited to see what kinds of mischief I can get up to with it
It is indeed mustard. The other is Brilliance.
Here's a video of some guy ruining silverware with both.
https://youtu.be/1zpHbs_80Qc
Go to 6:26 for results.
Ahh, right I blitzed through that one. He's got a glowforge with CO2 laser >30W output. I read lady night it was the acidic concentration (?) or something like that, but in a paste it's definitely easier to apply. Looks like ot works, though!
I nearly tried it last night on some foil, but the focus distance on mine is really close and I didn't want mustardy laser after just a few days :'(
Super exciting! I started looking into lasers after my last water slide decal debacle...definitely need to keep saving my pennies.
Quote from: jessenator on May 19, 2023, 12:27:22 AM
Quote from: jwin615 on May 19, 2023, 12:05:08 AM
Noice!
I can't recall the name of the product but there is an paste like compound you can laser onto/through on bare aluminum that will etch it on lasers that wouldn't be powerful enough otherwise. I've seen others use a condiment, that I also can't recall. Mustard I think?
Excited to see where you go with it.
Lol mustard? Okay now I have to search that (or whatever condiment) and try that.
I was chatting with Gordo and there's also this laser marking paint, one brand of which will work on these diode lasers. The other brands need CO2 or fiber high power pro stuff. Paint's not cheap :( like $40 for a paltry can of the stuff.
I'm definitely excited to see what kinds of mischief I can get up to with it
I use Enduramark with a CO2. I'm not sure how it would work with Diode. Laser marking spray always seems to be pricey stuff, regardless of what engraver it works with.
Do you have ventilation setup? It's always important, but even more so with an open frame like that. You really don't want to breath in pulverized powder coat or acrylic fumes.
Quote from: pickdropper on May 20, 2023, 11:37:21 AM
I use Enduramark with a CO2. I'm not sure how it would work with Diode. Laser marking spray always seems to be pricey stuff, regardless of what engraver it works with.
Do you have ventilation setup? It's always important, but even more so with an open frame like that. You really don't want to breath in pulverized powder coat or acrylic fumes.
I was looking at the various brands and most only support higher power and non-diode lasers, but Omtech (the company's Amazon seller page) answered in the affirmative they their stuff works on aluminum with 5W output lasers. 100% output and a slower speed obviously required; definitely will have to experiment with it.
Oh yeah, I hear you on the ventilation there no way I'm going to do anything non-wood until my setup arrives. Even the small amount of wood engraving was terrible enough. Wore a respirator, but still my eyes got a bit irritated from the smoke; used a box fan on the open garage, but even then I know it's not ideal. I've got an enclosure, filtration, and extraction fan en route; should be here today. And a better pair of eyewear. I know the green "crap" they ship with these hobby jobbies might be enough to avoid litigation, but I bought ones certified for the wavelength of my laser and beyond.
My engraver took forever to arrive and I just neglected to pull the trigger on everything else until I had it in hand and it worked properly.
It's the LU2-4-SF (short focus) module, which had the best power to detail ratio in my budget, so no real cutting for now, which suits me fine. The nice thing is the modules are easy to swap out. Apparently Ortur makes a 10W optical one now. Oh but I love watching how fast those industrial fiber lasers work!
Quote from: Aleph Null on May 19, 2023, 03:39:45 PM
Super exciting! I started looking into lasers after my last water slide decal debacle...definitely need to keep saving my pennies.
Oh for sure, I've put this off for a year, making sure I really was serious about one, and not least of all budget.
One hair brained thought I had was off there's any chance of multi coat etching. Where I can stack several colors and then only etch away the topmost coat on some parts. Probably won't work, but nothing ventured and all that.
That's a really cool idea, similar to how multilayer plastics work with milling. I've only ever seen two colors but would be cool to see if you could push that envelope as well. One of the issues with lasers is that because heat is involved there's significant charring, but then again you can sometimes use that to your advantage as well.
Quote from: jessenator on May 20, 2023, 12:09:55 PM
Quote from: pickdropper on May 20, 2023, 11:37:21 AM
I use Enduramark with a CO2. I'm not sure how it would work with Diode. Laser marking spray always seems to be pricey stuff, regardless of what engraver it works with.
Do you have ventilation setup? It's always important, but even more so with an open frame like that. You really don't want to breath in pulverized powder coat or acrylic fumes.
I was looking at the various brands and most only support higher power and non-diode lasers, but Omtech (the company's Amazon seller page) answered in the affirmative they their stuff works on aluminum with 5W output lasers. 100% output and a slower speed obviously required; definitely will have to experiment with it.
Oh yeah, I hear you on the ventilation there no way I'm going to do anything non-wood until my setup arrives. Even the small amount of wood engraving was terrible enough. Wore a respirator, but still my eyes got a bit irritated from the smoke; used a box fan on the open garage, but even then I know it's not ideal. I've got an enclosure, filtration, and extraction fan en route; should be here today. And a better pair of eyewear. I know the green "crap" they ship with these hobby jobbies might be enough to avoid litigation, but I bought ones certified for the wavelength of my laser and beyond.
My engraver took forever to arrive and I just neglected to pull the trigger on everything else until I had it in hand and it worked properly.
It's the LU2-4-SF (short focus) module, which had the best power to detail ratio in my budget, so no real cutting for now, which suits me fine. The nice thing is the modules are easy to swap out. Apparently Ortur makes a 10W optical one now. Oh but I love watching how fast those industrial fiber lasers work!
Quote from: Aleph Null on May 19, 2023, 03:39:45 PM
Super exciting! I started looking into lasers after my last water slide decal debacle...definitely need to keep saving my pennies.
Oh for sure, I've put this off for a year, making sure I really was serious about one, and not least of all budget.
One hair brained thought I had was off there's any chance of multi coat etching. Where I can stack several colors and then only etch away the topmost coat on some parts. Probably won't work, but nothing ventured and all that.
Slightly odd as their website specifically says it won't:
https://omtechlaser.com/collections/marking-spray/products/metal-laser-marking-spray-usb-pw01-01?variant=40376681332801
It might be worth an email to their customer service directly to get the correct answer. The folks that answer questions on Amazon often aren't the same people doing tech support from the company. It'd be a bummer to spend $40, just to have it not be useful.
Quote from: pickdropper on May 21, 2023, 11:36:44 AM
Slightly odd as their website specifically says it won't:
https://omtechlaser.com/collections/marking-spray/products/metal-laser-marking-spray-usb-pw01-01?variant=40376681332801
It might be worth an email to their customer service directly to get the correct answer. The folks that answer questions on Amazon often aren't the same people doing tech support from the company. It'd be a bummer to spend $40, just to have it not be useful.
Good call. I wrote them an email.
Not to be too pedantic, but the language on the product page is "not recommended" which is rather noncommittal on the surface. If they didn't want hobbyists using it, they might've done better (or I would, anyway) to completely ward them off. But from my jaded marketing experience eyes, money is money, I suppose.
(https://i.imgur.com/fvfaVDX.jpg)
Anyway, hopefully they'll be able give me a more insightful answer (and perhaps reconcile the differences on the Q&A).
Quote from: jessenator on May 21, 2023, 03:58:01 PM
Quote from: pickdropper on May 21, 2023, 11:36:44 AM
Slightly odd as their website specifically says it won't:
https://omtechlaser.com/collections/marking-spray/products/metal-laser-marking-spray-usb-pw01-01?variant=40376681332801
It might be worth an email to their customer service directly to get the correct answer. The folks that answer questions on Amazon often aren't the same people doing tech support from the company. It'd be a bummer to spend $40, just to have it not be useful.
Good call. I wrote them an email.
Not to be too pedantic, but the language on the product page is "not recommended" which is rather noncommittal on the surface. If they didn't want hobbyists using it, they might've done better (or I would, anyway) to completely ward them off. But from my jaded marketing experience eyes, money is money, I suppose.
(https://i.imgur.com/fvfaVDX.jpg)
Anyway, hopefully they'll be able give me a more insightful answer (and perhaps reconcile the differences on the Q&A).
Yep. If you're willing to roll the dice, it's only $40. Hardly life-ruining money.
I was just trying to give you a heads up because I've seen marking spray/paint not work all that well on a 30W CO2 laser, so I'd probably ask a few questions, that's all.
Quote from: pickdropper on May 22, 2023, 07:19:36 PM
I was just trying to give you a heads up because I've seen marking spray/paint not work all that well on a 30W CO2 laser, so I'd probably ask a few questions, that's all.
Oh for sure—I appreciate it! Yeah, I'm not throwing down, even if it is only forty bucks, until I get a solid answer back from OMTech.
My comment was more from the cynical market side of my experience, and knowing that sort of language they used won't deter some but then they'll still get all butthurt if it doesn't go their way. Money... it's a...whatever Waters said :P
(https://media.tenor.com/FQfYmkNoQBoAAAAM/pizza-poppa-mustard.gif)
Quote from: jwin615 on May 22, 2023, 08:39:03 PM
(https://media.tenor.com/FQfYmkNoQBoAAAAM/pizza-poppa-mustard.gif)
lol maybe I will. I'll just need to try it on a thicker piece that doesn't have weird elevation changes like foil does. That reminds me; I've got to go to ACE and get some ducting
I wonder if I could just do cornstarch and vinegar... something that doesn't stain like mustard/turmeric
Quote from: jessenator on May 22, 2023, 08:51:48 PM
lol maybe I will. I'll just need to try it on a thicker piece that doesn't have weird elevation changes like foil does. That reminds me; I've got to go to ACE and get some ducting
I wonder if I could just do cornstarch and vinegar... something that doesn't stain like mustard/turmeric
Honestly...
I feel your going to run into an issue with any enclosure vs testing medium due to the larger thermal capacity of said enclosure. That's the kicker with aluminum. You may have more success with faceplates of varying materials.
Maybe buy some enclosure bottoms when you're ready for test runs on Al?
For sure.
My thought was just "see if it works at all" but then I got cold feet, because I don't want mustard/acid staining on my laser. It'd definitely need to be tested on enclosure-thickness material.
I found a few other things, one where a dude uses a balsamic soaked napkin, lets it dry then runs it on the slowest speed his laser goes and at max power. <10% acidity but >5% is what he got to work. His laser is comparable to mine, so it'd just be something to test. Less mess than mustard at any rate.
So there are a few things to try.
I have a number of sacrificial/test pieces of enclosures/lids to test everything on. I'll just use small enough test patterns and a variety of speed settings. Power is going to be at 100% no matter what, so at least there's that.
Bit of a setup update:
I managed to get the (hopefully) last bits of extraction hardware.
The caulking on the exterior vent didn't go well on round one, so I had to start over. Should be cured tonight and I can hook up the lines to it. I've got close to 200cfm fan, so hopefully that's enough (at least it was based on what I looked up, but I'm still at a point I can return it if need be).
Got the extraction set up—not enough for my liking, so I need to source another fan. I tested first with wood and it was only mildly smoky. Thought it might be okay to move on, so tested on paint today. It was not okay (for my body).
Settings:
(https://i.imgur.com/04irmNAl.jpg)
300ppi | overscan of 3% | and then the passes are indicated next to the speed and power settings
Results (ignore the horizontal gash—from a previous mishap) :
(https://i.imgur.com/O1tdGkX.jpg)
Also, forgive the weird shape... I just did it in Lightburn itself, and its design tools are not my jam
I'm pretty pleased! just toothbrushed with warm water followed by a few wipes with iso. I think I'm going to run another test with cross-hatching turned on, but I think the deeper pits are because I didn't pre-sand this one. This was a few coats of self-etching primer, and several coats of Rustoleum black hammer finish.
Wow! :o Did not know a 5w was capable of that. And so cleanly. Curious how it handles lighter colors, specifically and scorch marks. Or, I suppose, how well lighter paints handle it...
While you're testing, why not feed it some (mad) beans?
Quote from: jwin615 on May 28, 2023, 02:33:15 AM
Wow! :o Did not know a 5w was capable of that. And so cleanly. Curious how it handles lighter colors, specifically and scorch marks. Or, I suppose, how well lighter paints handle it...
While you're testing, why not feed it some (mad) beans?
it's got 300dpi/ppi res for raster... probably the same for "fills" for vectors. The main outline is all vector, so it's a bit more crisp than popping in a JPG or something.
Unless OMTech gets back to me (which is doubtful at this point), I'm struggling to think of a use on light enclosures. Although, I did see Bricksnbeatles' build on pedalpcb forum that utilizes white and cyan on a bare enclosure to good effect. Anyhow, I was thinking about marking paint being used in the etched-out paint/powder coat, but like I say, still not willing to drop money into that quite yet—too many other things I need first.
The next project is going to be a madbean build! I can finally put the finishing touches on the Dragon Thlayur hand-etch board I bought. its base is a dark green
I think I'm also going to do my Fat Rat build as an etched enclosure: dark-ish red
Great progress. Very clean and sharp edges.