Allways follow the manufacture's instruction and precaution when operating these machines and used the minimum set of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) required. You should never leave the machine unattended when operating. I made statement in the video, but I did not explain that when I leave the machine alone; I got an enclosed box with the extraction system discharging outside, a camera, a fire alarm and a fire extinguisher in the room where my machine is located.
Hello Bibin Sagaram, thank you for your comment. I will need to check in the software, while editing it was fine maybe something happens when exporting the file as I did not watch it after that. Thank you again for your quality feedback. Ciao
Good show, a question and a suggestion. The texts are very difficult to read as it is often black on dark, maybe a white shadow behind the characters? Then the question, what is the effect of air assist? Would think it makes a huge difference.
Hello Abbo Fun, than you for your comment. Yeah, you are right, some text may not be very legible, I will keep that in mind for future videos, thank you for your quality feedback. As for the air assist, I haven't had the chance to try yet, but considering that the compressed air will make a clear stream for the laser, therefore allowing it to ha a bit deeper with the same parameters, and it will also take away some hear from there I believe that the cut will be cleaner than without. Ciao
Hi, I have an atomstack s20 max. The power of the laser is 18-20w. They cannot cut plexiglass (acryl) 3 mm at all. Is the problem that the laser power is low, or did I not set good parameters for cutting? I use the lightburn program
Everything precisely described and explained except the basic fact that you should never ever leave the machine without supervision. If you have no basic ventilation you should never even start operating a machine.
Hi, Nenad Markovic; thank you for your comment. I agree with your safety recommendations, and I covered that at the beginning of the video, although I re-watched it and realized that I mentioned something without further explaining. I do leave the machine to work alone, but; I got a camera, a fire alarm and a fire extinguisher in the room where my machine is located. After that video, I got an enclosed box with the extraction system discharging outside. If I were to write an RSA (Risk Safety Analysis) or OP (Operational Procedure), I would detail all the precautions. Each machine should have its minimum set of warnings as part of the documentation. The notice should also be posted on the device in close vicinity to the area of interest in a well-visible and contrasting manner. This is for Europe a Machine Directive and a bunch of other specific standards requirements. It is also the requirement of any developed country in its respective sets of guidelines and standards. The user is also expected to read the machine manual and the precaution listed in it. The user should apply common sense in using any tool and equipment where an operator licence is not required by any statutory or local legislation. Ciao
Hello Zakaria Khouni, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, with diode lasers, I do not see an easy way; as you can see, the semi-transparent acrylic is already hard, and it does not come clean, but I will keep on experimenting and make a video of it if I find a solution. Ciao
I was wondering a toolpath with different settings for vertical and horizontal lines would help make the finish in the two directions even? Or you will just always get poorer finish in one direction due to beam shape?
Hi, ideegeniali; thank you for your comment. Yes, you can do that, but this will work only for projects having straight and orthogonal lines. Also, you will need to break your design into horizontal and vertical, which is not easily implementable. While all the other projects composed of inclined lines and curves will not benefit from this trick. I did test this on my own, but I don't think I discussed it in the video because of the above reason. Ciao
Probably i found a very good source of acrylic. LCD TV screen. 1 is transparent (not good for diode but others) and one white. Could you guys also check and confirm if its really acrylic? They also call them Perspex.
Hi, thank you for your comment. That is an interesting question. I haven't tried, but I believe it won't make a big difference. The temperature may change the refraction of the material but not of a significant amount to allow the cutting. I hope it helps. Ciao
Very interesting high light on crucial parameters for acrylic cutting : the shape of the laser point, and the inner- material focus to reduce melting outcomes.. I’m considering to get a laser cutter (xtool d1 pro 20w) for cutting 0,5 or 0.3 mm acrylic transparents sheets (I know , I said transparent 😅) I’m no beginner Into material behavior as I’m using every day CNC, tig welding or 3d printers sla or FDM, BUT, at your opinion, would it give enough heating power to cut this kind of sheet if we place it for example on a black flat surface, and if we put let’s say some black not reflecting tape, or black paint (I think you see the picture) ? I’m wondering if the heat transfer of both « sandwich » dark layers could cut the transparent acrylic sheet (even if the cut accuracy could be obviously reduced) Btw I think there s a little difference between extruded and casted acrylic. I’ve read that casted one is less brittle and has a way better behavior for laser cutting or usining in general. Maybe that could help ! Thanks for your vid ! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Hi, ◼️ BLACKBETON ◼️; thank you for your comment. For such a low thickness of 0.3 to 0.5mm, I think that heat transfer by the sacrificial layers as you described could work, leaving behind a rugged edge, but I guess using not less than 10W optical power. I have also read about the type of acrylic, and cast sheets are actually the most common product you can buy; that is what I tested in the video. The extruded type is most probably affected by the alignment of the internal structure as a result of the thermal and mechanical processes. The Xtool D1 is an expensive but great option for desktop laser Engravers. Here you can find some of the latest offers about two of the most powerful machines at the moment. Xtool D1 pro 20W www.xtool.com/?ref=MRW& Atomstack X20 Pro 130W s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDFlpjz Ciao, and happy engraving.
Hi, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, the trick is only useful for surface engravings; the inside of the material will be still transparent therefore remains unable to absorb the light and convert it into heat. This laser teck is not suited to cut transparent and semi-transparent materials for that you need CO2 laser. I hope it helps Ciao
Hello , i have a sculpfun s30 pro , i have tried to cut acryl and managed to do only black one. I have mirror gold , transparent and i couldnt do it , any idea if i can do something for mirror gold ? also are other colors except black that can work ? Thank you
Hi, Pavel Cristian; thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, the diode laser technology cannot cut through transparent, semi-transparent, or mirrored sheets without fully opaque interiors. Only Opaque colours can be cut, that is, sheets that do not allow you to see the light through them. The reason lies in the wavelength of the laser; the most suitable laser for these materials is the CO2 Laser. I hope it helps. Ciao
Hi, get olvid, thank you for your comment. Let's say yes, but to be exact; we are looking at different laser technologies. There are several types of laser tech, among which you find Diode Lasers, normally found on cheap desktop machines like ours, CO2, normally found in industrial machines but in the recent year available to the hobby market as well (see the k40 desktop laser priced at about 400 to 700$); and Fiber Lasers. The 3 techs I mentioned rely on different ways to produce the laser beam and subsequently produce different wavelengths (the most important parameter), which make them more suitable for certain types of materials than others. For example, CO2 is suitable for non-metal and can cut any colour acrylic, including transparent ones; the diode laser is actually more versatile because seats in between the two technologies, while the Fiber laser is more suited for metals. Said so, there are always tricks to go around some of the materials but not all. I hope it helps Ciao
Hi, how are you? On the video, at 10:39 minutes, we can see some text engraved on the acrylic. Please, is possible to print text smallest than those? I have a plate (20cmx10cm, of polystyrene) and I need to engrave a small text do describe the function for pontentiometers (like ON/OFF, Volume, etc), to apply in an electronic device. Did you try to engrave over painted plastic, for example white plastic painted with black color? I would like to know, for example, if a blank color plate, painted with black color, after the laser engraving of some text, results in a text in white with a black color for the background. Sorry to disturb you, but I tried to find some example, envolving plastic engraving, and the more similarly case is your video. Thanks in advance, best regards.
Hi, @andreluizguimaraes3786; thank you for your comment. The font size that can be engraved depends on the spot of your laser module; in general, a 5 and 10W module can engrave very small details without problems, also smaller than the one in the video. Regarding your objectives, yes you can coat the surface of your material. The engraving will remove only the portions of the coating and in your case leave a black surface with a text having a white background, however since the coating layer is very thin you need to use an extremely low power or high speed, especially considering that you do not want to carve the bottom layer. I hope it helps Ciao
Hi niko DB, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, the paint, like for the glass, will only help you transfer the heat to the surface, but not to the whole thickness of the material, therefore just for engraving, after that, you are left off with paint to clean, which is harder than with glass. Ciao
Hi, Monkey Sausage Club; thank you for your comment. I used cast sheets of Acrylic, this is the most common type of acrylic you can buy. Ciao and Happy New Year.
Hi, Kattekola Kartheek; thank you for your comment. As long as it is not a semi-transparent colour, you can cut acrylic, also white. The only thing that varies is the thicknesses which depend on the actual module you have on your machine. In my test, I used both 5W and 10W optical power laser modules, and I was able to go through; just remember to keep the heat low, so rather go faster and do multiple passes than blast the laser at low speed because that will end up remelting the cut on its own producing rough or not complete cuts. Ciao
Hello inesinesines 1912, thank you for your comment. I am sorry if you got disappointed, but the title doesn't lie, Aufero is a subbrand of Ortur, and the laser module that I did the test with, I.e., the LU2-4-SF, is the same used in the Ortur's machines. The only difference is that they wrote Aufero on it. Ciao
Thank youuuu so much for the quick answer to be honest I’ve tried so many settings and I couldn’t cut my PMMA sheets 😥 so I’ve decided to sell my ortur master 2 15 w Now that I saw the video I will try again And I hope it will work
