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Low Cost Chinese Laser Engraver For Marking Wood Projects

Started by 21incher, January 14, 2020, 12:56:27 PM

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aigheadish

Ouch to the lost affiliate money! That sucks. I looked into them a bit after the looooong delay of shipping my stuff and there were claims of some semi-fraud relating to something along the lines of using money someone paid them to ship stuff that folks ordered months previously and an apparent never ending cycle of that. Seems to have caught up. 

I'll have to check my records to see if I can dispute the charge.
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

Stephen1

Sorry to hear about this. We like using the laser and no problems so far. 
IDRY Vacum Kiln, LT40HDWide, BMS250 sharpener/setter 742b Bobcat, TCM forklift, Sthil 026,038, 461. 1952 TEA Fergusan Tractor

21incher

Well I just wanted to do an update about how far these diode lasers have come. Just got the latest generation one to try and it's right up there with the Co2 lasers. Cuts 3/4 pine in one pass and with the concentrated beam does great at engraving. speeds are now mm per second instead of mm a minute like the early versions. Here is a quick look at the newer technology. It's getting pricey though.
XTOOL D1 Pro 20 Watt Sets The Bar Higher - YouTube
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

aigheadish

Pretty slick 21! Burning through that much wood is pretty nuts for 20w. Looks like it does good clean work, thanks for sharing. 
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

21incher

Quote from: aigheadish on September 12, 2022, 06:54:55 AM
Pretty slick 21! Burning through that much wood is pretty nuts for 20w. Looks like it does good clean work, thanks for sharing.
It's unbelievable how they are stacking the diodes up and refining  the lenses to push them  into the Co2 market. Just wish they could  cut clear acrylic.  I was ready to buy a big 80 watt Co2 machine and this change  my mind with no water cooling  to mess with or lenses to align. after trying this one I will wait to see what's next as they are working on different wavelengths for the diode machines now. They are like iPhones and become  obsolete before  they wear out.

Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Old Greenhorn

Yeah, acrilyic you can only do with Co2, but if you get polycarbonate (lexan) it engraves great with any laser. Just mention it in case you weren't aware, but I'm sure you are. Acrylic doesn't last long in UV anyway, lexan is the better bet, but more expensive by far.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

21incher

They don't recommend cutting  polycarbonate with the blue diodes.  . I tried  a little  piece once and just wound up with  a brown mess. I buy sheets of lexan from home depot for projects and it actually costs less then cast acrylic at .236 thick they call it or basically 6mm. 

This is what the manual of one of my diode lasers says

Polycarbonate is often found as flat, sheet material. The window of the laser cutter is made of Polycarbonate because polycarbonate strongly absorbs infrared radiation! This is the frequency of light the laser cutter uses to cut materials, so it is very ineffective at cutting polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a poor choice for laser cutting. It creates long stringy clouds of soot that float up, ruin the optics and mess up the machine.

Not sure how it cuts with co2.
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Old Greenhorn

Well, first I have to say I am a bit shocked at your experience. Second, I will be clear that this is, no doubt the case, I am not doubting what you say, because, of course, it happened to you.
 However, I can tell you a cut hundreds of logos and other artwork in polycarbonate with a HeNe (Helium Neon) laser with no ill effects. Yes, the carbon streamy things did happen and it took a bit to get the intensity right or you would wind up with that brown/black glob of mess, but we worked it out and would routinely did our company logo and other details in lexan and they looked great. It doesn't take a lot of power because that carbon absorbs it and turns it into heat. 
 What is the actual laser wavelngth your are using now? Is it a HeNe?
 Sorry I didn't mean to mislead anyone, I just know what worked for us when I was doing that sort of thing, which is long past these days, thankfully. :D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

21incher

These  blue lasers are 455nm compressed spot lasers. They use pwm power regulation and very simple grbl controllers.  They do a great job on colored acrylic that will absorb  the heat but go right through clear. You can engrave clear if placed on a dark steel sheet that basically gets hot and melts the back but it's not pretty. Glass can be engraved by coating  with black acrylic  paint or cermark that's very expensive. Haven't tried the paint on lexan that could  possibly help by concentrating the heat. 
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

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