Russ, I purchased a fiber laser from Cloudray a week ago. Reading their manual I find that it talks about the software they use but not about ANY of the parameters of the machine for different materials. They have been nice and say they will send some shortly. This is a MOPA 60watt laser and is able to burn colors. At the moment I know very little and have a lot of questions! I thought I'd learn with you as much as I can. All that you helped me learn on the 50 Watt laser has been unmeasurable as my grandson and I have had a lot of fun together. Thank you for ALL you time, talent and knowledge.... Rick
You're never an ex-engineer!!! You have too much knowlegde and experience. It;s not a job title, It's a state of mind and you Sir will be an engineer until you get the call.
8:55 - Fiber laser is extremely complicated laser engraving machine, due to the level of precision required. It's at the heart of what's inside the machine. It uses multiple high quality laser diodes of all equal parameters which then shoots laser light into a same spot of a laser crystal rod which combines their total optical power and shoots out a stronger laser light which then goes into a fiber wire which then shoots out to the galvo mirrors. That big lens u see at fiber lens is actually just as important as the laser diodes and costs more than the laser diode unit. The quality of the lens and galvo motor will produce quality results in engraving. Fiber laser switches on/off at incredible speeds of something which CO2 lasers can never do. To truly understand how fiber lasers work, you need to understand the theory of optics and lasers, then high speed microcontrollers or FPGAs(another breed of advanced microcontrollers) and how to program them effectively for high speed switching of the laser diodes and computing feedback sensors and controlling various components like galvo motors, and lastly electrical engineering to design the PCBs and schematics needed to make everything work. Fiber laser is some really complicated stuff, anyone can make them if they understand the theory from what I have just mentioned. I couldn't watch any longer after you start describing q-switch with as a "cotton wool" lmaoo.
Ooh! Got to 25 minutes and realized the action of the photons whipping past the excited atoms was similar to the phenomena of the FET or field effect transistor, and Bernoulli's principle of velocity vs pressure. I have been interested in LASERs most of my life. It's only recently that their new skills has stirred my interest. :-) And soldiers marching seems less accurate than a scared mob running to and fro...
Hi Bryan The scared mob is a nice idea but everyone in a scared mob is looking after themselves. That is a description of normal light where the photons are random and disorganized.. The differentiating property of a laser beam is its coherence where all the photons are completely in phase with each other. Marching soldiers is a very crude analogy but it tries to convey the order and strange phase locked property of a laser beam that comes about by the STIMULATED emission of light by the direct influence of other photons. Best wishes Russ
I saw it go through the glass almost but I never saw Russ focus so I wonder if it auto focuses or how that works since materials are different thicknesses?
An Interesting fact for you, A short pulse of height energy is more destructive to the surface of the material than a longer pulse of lower energy. The overall energy of the two pulses can be the same, but due to how quickly the material can disepate the heat generated, the longer lower energy pulse will be at a lower temperature. A short high energy pulse will produce higher temperatures. This is one of the key advantages of MOPA lasers over QSwitch. Also, the test you did with the glass and the aluminium that showed damaged to the underside of the glass was due to the aluminium being in very close proximity to the glass and it's the heat from the aluminium that has damaged the glass, not the laser itself.
Hi John I already have completed several videos in this new series and as you will find out, I try to answer to this "how much damage can each pulse shape do?" in the next session. I do not find a complete answer but I have plans afoot to equip myself with kit to examine this question in detail in a later session. Although what I can see with my little cheap USB microscope has been fine up to now, I need to see more with greater clarity. My workshop is no science laboratory , so I do not have the luxury of scanning electron microscope. However, I do have a very old low magnification stero microscope which has revealed some staggering surface damage. So I already have a bit of feeling for the damage regimes you describe. Although this is not a particularly riveting machine to see in action. , there is a lot of process and material property details to discover. Your point about the glass surface contact damage is well observed. As I edited the video, I noted the vapour damage occuring to the glass and in another episode I do address this issue and take the testing a bit further. Please keep your comments, knowledge and observations coming because I greatly value the external input. Any help that allows me to cut corners in my learning journey is always welcome. You are watching an old dog learn new tricks, so by definition it may be a slow process. Best wishes Russ
Very interesting Russ. I hadn't realised the fibre itself lased, I thought it was just coupling because a have a second hand 12W diode laser with a fibre coupled output. Something completely different, unless it perhaps was used as a pump.
Hello from the US. Just ordered a 50w Chinese Laser. Hanging on your every word say on your videos. You explain things in a very friendly, informative, enjoyable style. I was wondering why the two channels “Think laser limited” and this one.
Hi Bill I have replied to this once but You Tube has posted it into a parallel universe The simple short answer is that the RDWorks channel is for all my learning and experimentation whereas the channel for Thinklaser was to demonstrate the capabilities of the Lightblade machine using knowledge I had already acquired. So the Lightblade Learning Lab is a more concise learning vehicle but it lacks all the background and mistakes which form part of the learning process. Best wishes Russ
SarbarMultimedia Thank you Russ for your speedy reply. I too am retired, and know the feeling of being needed, and of being of value. You sir are very much needed, and of tremendous value. Keep up the great work.
I enjoyed watching your videos and I got lot of information's clarified from theory of lasers. thank you so much sharing your great knowledge Eng. Jakup Berisha, Germany
Hi Lulu I have spent several years as a total amateaur, using and learning about the machines and laser technology of CO2 lasers. that use the constant current principle. A local company, that uses JPT equipment in their machines, decided to lend me a machine to explore some of the unique capabilities of the MOPA method of controlling the power of the fibre output. As you will see if you follow my learning journey videos, I have no previous fiber laser skills, just a great curiosity about how the technology works and what interesting things this marking technology can do that a CO2 laser cannot do. You write to me at a very strange moment in time because I no longer have the machine. As I mentioned , this machine was on loan to me and now the company has a client with an urgent requirement for a MOPA system and they will be selling this machine. I am now back to playing with CO2 machines but I am currently building an RF low cost machine. I made some interesting discoveries about colour marking stainless steel that may be of interest. Best wishes Russ
SarbarMultimedia Got it. You are very experienced at MOPA fiber lasers too. You could let me know if you have any problem or question regarding the MOPA fiber lasers. Bty, may I know which company offers this demo to you?
Hi Russ, Got it. Thanks for your info. Do you have any question during your use or further information you’d like to know? Feel free to contact me for any question. Best, Lulu
It is good to see that you are thinking about protecting your eyes by using safety goggles. Please do the same with your camera. Even tens of milliwatts can damage CMOS sensor. I know that from experience. Even if camera is off!
Hi Milan I appreciate your concern and have heard the same expressed by others. I must let you know that I am always several feet away from the action and always zoom in for my shots. I am ever aware of possible reflections from the many different materials I use and chose fairly low angles for most shots. After 5 years my damage count is zero. Am I lucky or does that mean statistically that I will soon get struck by lightning? Best wishe Russ
@@SarbarMultimedia Does that mean 5 Years of fiber laser, or total included CO2 laser? You know the difference. CO2 bounced beam will just scratch the surface of settled dust on the lens, but 1 micron wavelength will go deeper.
@@MilanKarakas Hi milan 5 years of 10.6 microns where the beam will just etch the lens if ever I had a real strike and 9 months of 1 micron work where the light would have passed through the glass if I got into the wrong position. I was particularly careful when doing colour marking of mirror polished stainless. Just today, I had to "unlend" the fiber machine. Lotus Laser came and collected it because they needed it back to sell. So now the higher risk to my camera has disappeared and you can breath easy again. Best wishes Russ
@@MilanKarakas Hi Milan How did I convey offence? I am too old. grey, ugly, fat and thick skinned to take offence at anything. My hope is that I will always make a joke out of any intended barb because the sender will more likely be upset that it missed the mark. No, I genuinely appreciate you suggestions or constructive criticism. I am still a student of life and willing to learn from those that are REAL experts Best wishes Russ
I know this session was about another laser technology, Nonetheless, I do have a question id like your option on, how big on the X and Y axis could one make a cutter with a 35 AKA 40w Co2 tube before the power starts to degrade?
I think the answer is hundereds of meters. If you look at specs for some tubes they quote a beam divergence number. .Even with a big machine, the beam path is unlikely to exceed about 5 metres. I suspect that a beam that is in total 12mm diameter when it leaves the tube may growo to 16 mm diameter by the time it hits mirror 3. In normal air there will be no loss of power just because the diameter has grown. You will still collect all the power and focus it down with your lens. The bigger losses will be typically 3 or 4% loss for each mirror and anothe 4% for the lens. Best wishes Russ
Hi, I am looking at buying a 3d fiber laser for my Troop. Looking for something that can engrave deep into stainless steel. Build surface from 6 x 6 inch up to 12x12 or higher. Do you have a recommendation?
What brand laser glasses are you using? I'm in need for pair or 2 but i cant wrap my head around on which one should i get even if i knew we are talking about 1064nm wavelenghts (i just dont trust any chinese or amazon seller who is selling those chinese glasses). Can you point me to right direction? Cheers from Finland (Had my 30W Raycus laser for few months and it is heck a lot of fun!)
There is a lot of fear mongering and lack of understanding when it comes to laser safety. I was ultra cautious when I first got the fiber laser because of the messages I was getting from Lotus Laser. However, I have skepticism built into my DNA and I like to UNDERSTAND for myself how things work. I fully understand the risks with 10.6 micron light from the CO2 laser but needed to get my head around the supposed extra risk with 1.06micron (1060nm) fibre laser light.. Laser light is only "dangerous" because it is light that is fully phase synchronized and working in harmony. Raindrops are not dangerous until they combine and form a raging torrent. Light travels in straight lines and is not going to jump sideways and attack you or leak out of the beam . It does not radiate like sound in all directions otherwise it would be a light bulb . No, the two special properties that define a laser beam are 1) it is monochromatic (the same colour, even though it is invisible to our eyes) and 2) It is coherent, meaning all the light waves are exactly in phase with each other and acting together.. It is this second property that keeps the beam tightly "stuck together". and powerful when focused. So unless you put your eye directly into the laser beam it is not dangerous. However , although metals are less reflective at 1060nm, curved metal surfaces can reflect a significant proportion of the light energy back at you. if you are using an open unguarded work table I would urge you to put up a small clear polycarbonate screen , This will give you two levels of protection. First it will absorb any reflected light, and if the light intensity is great enough it will damage the work side of the screen. Secondly it will act as a UV light filter. UV light????? Yes, the REAL dangers of a laser are not from the beam itself . When the light energy of the beam hits the material you are working on. it excites the SURFACE molecules to extreme temperatures where cHemical reactions occur . This can result in either a carbon arc or a very intense plasma light. This light has intense spikes of UV radiation which we all know can damage human cells. Protective glasses (even cheap clear polycarbonate industrial ones) at $2 will protect your eyes from this radiation. And yes, this is RADIATION because it is an ALL directions.. Glasses will protect you eyes but it will not stop you getting sunburn on your face or other exposed skin areas. Finally the biggest hidden danger that is so obvious that people never consider it dangerous, It's the INTENSITY of that bright white light. Would you sit and stare at an arc welder? How about staring at the sun? A quick glance at the work now and then is safe enough but if you close your eyes and see white spots then you have overloaded the light receptors in the back of your eye. I absolutely know just how hypnotic it can be to watch the beam doing its damage but this is the REAL damage you must protect yourself against. Hopefully this explains the many and varied risk factors associated with the laser beams that are in the IR part of the electromagnetic spectrum. I hope you will now see that a polycarbonate face shield and a pair of reasonable sunglasses will afford more protection than expensive glasses that only shield your eyes. Now hopefully you can make your own judgement. Best wishes Russ
@@SarbarMultimedia This was more than adequate answer for my question, an small lecture. As engraving area is small i could easily be done with by just building small portable enclosure that has went hole on a side and hole on top for the laser to shoot through. I'v read that acrylic has high UV absorbant capabilities so i might cut one with my 90w reci co2 laser. Thanks russ for the answer 👌
@@JuusoKolehmainen Hi Don't believe everything that you hear. Always check things for yourself. Acrylic is great at absorbing IR light but in its pure condition is poor at filtering UV light. For that you need real glass or polycarbonate . However , Some named acrylic brands such as Plexiglass include UV blockers in their formulation. Make sure you buy the right material. Best wishes Russ
Hi Robert I'm not sure whether the question refers to the glass tube or the fiber. I am confused because the only electrons are in the glass gas tube gas . Nitrogen is a non conductive and flow of current requires free electrons It is not until you use 25,000 volts to ionize the nitrogen (the pink bem) that current can flow thanks ti the free electrond. The electrons are negatively charged and will always be attracted towards the positive anode in the tube at almost the speed of light, On the other hand you speak of light pulses which makes me think you are speaking of the fiber laser where there are light pulses but no electrons . On the other hand, there are electrons but no pulses in the glass tube gas system. Best wishes Russ
Hi Robert Upon reflection I think you may be puzzling about the light slowing down in the fiber . The same happens as it passes through a lens. It is a weird concept to imagine but here is an analogy that might make it clear. If you stand on a road bridge and count the rate at which cars pass under the bridge, when the cars are travelling fast the separation between the cars is large but when the traffic builds up a bit, the cars slow to half speed and the gap between the cars decreases to half the previous spacing, but your count rate will remains constant. The same happens to light in glass. The frequency (count rate) remains constant but the wave spacing decreases but the FREQUENCY remains constant and no laws of physics are broken. Best wishes Russ
Hi Travis Thanks for the advice. However, I have already learnt that if you understand what a laser beam is and how it damages material , you respect it rather than fear it. The intense light at the material/beam interface contains nasty UV spikes and is a is a more insidious danger to your eyes than what comes out of the hole. You will never spend time staring at the sun or watching arc welding so do not be hypnotized by the beam doing its job. The dangers are less than my two examples but long term UV build up will damage your eyes. Best wishes Russ
@@SarbarMultimedia you definitely seem knowledgeable in technical subjects. It was more a phallus joke for the comments section about playing with it and it going off in the face. Sorry I couldn't help myself
@@traviskeller3641 Hin Travis If you really want to lower the tone , you may like this joke A duck hunter was out enjoying a nice morning on the marsh when he decided to take a leak..... He walked over to a tree and propped up his gun. Just then a gust of wind blew, the gun fell over, and discharged... Shooting him in the genitals. Several hours later, lying in a hospital bed, he was approached by his doctor. 'Well sir, I have some good news and some bad news.. The good news is that you are going to be OK.. The damage was local to your groin. There was very little internal damage, and we were able to remove all the pellets.' 'What's the bad news?' asked the hunter. 'The bad news is that there was some pretty extensive pellet damage done to your penis, so I'm going to refer you to my sister.' 'Well I guess that isn't too bad,' the hunter replied. 'Is your sister a plastic surgeon?' 'Not exactly.' answered the doctor. 'She's a flute player in the Symphony Orchestra and she will teach you where to put your fingers so you don't piss in your eye.' Best wishes Russ
@@traviskeller3641 Hi Travis. I am very careful to reply in a very simple factual manner to comments such as yours because without the person in front of you it is often difficult to read the real intention. As you can see from my videos I am old, grey, fat and ugly so there is very little that can offend me . I was not in the least upset and could actually see the potential humor in your comment. Thanks for the smile Best wishes Russ
Just an observation but your explanations are all based classic pre quantum physics, where light is a wave and atoms are planetary rotation model, that’s said you know more than me in general in engineering, I just watched some stuff on RU-vid which challenge this same model I learned at school, just raising this to say is the standard assumptions the whole picture?
Hi John The good news is that I never intend designing anything, so the exactness of my modelling is not critical. It is intended as a pictorial animation that locks into my brain and intermixes with all the other oversimplified models of the world that are in there already. I have already found for myself that some lens theory stuff that was pumped into me many years ago is very flaky when it comes to working with lasers.. Theories like the lock and key model of smell are now becoming superseded by the quantum theory of bond vibrations. so I am aware that the quantum world is creating all sorts of new models. Many thanks for the comment because I need to know if my classic stuff is really junk. Best wishes Russ
@@SarbarMultimedia I enjoy the stream of thought. The quantum stuff seems to raise many questions maybe it’s a distraction and classic physics is still most relevant a suitably macroscopic scales.
Hi This is free for anyone to watch. It is not monetized so there is no gain for me if you use/link it. Just remember , this is not an expert tutorial but an old guy sharing his learning, it may contain errors and wrong assumptions because I do not have a laboratory full of high tech kit to help me, I have to rely on basic scientific theory then testing followed by acute observation. Best wishes Russ
Hi Lionel Add your disguised email address (johndotsmithatyahoodotcom) to another comment and I will contact you. I will also delete your email/comment Best wishes Russ
Quite interesting and very enlightening..............but as the best lasers for any practical purposes within the reach of the average mortal is only capable of marking and burning or cutting thin wood or plastics I think the cost factor for what it can do is still in the too hard basket......that is unless you have a real need to burn wood and cut out paper shapes etc. When it comes to working on metals it's far away from the ideal tool to do any metal working as opposed to the EDM process that can cut the hardest of metals.
Hi Ian For 10 years I ran two metal cutting lasers as part of my precision sheet metal business. Playing with low power CO2 lasers as a retirement activity has been great fun. There is a significant niche in business for these low power machines and many small business have blossomed from these low cost beginnings. Fibre lasers are an amazing tool for metalwork and other applications when working at the kilowatt scale . However at this low watts end of the market they are specifically for marking and I have to say (from what I hear so far) a very limited range of materials. There are some specialist mass market applications where these machines fit in perfectly and other small business applications like engraving precious metals in the jewellery trade , where they are a viable tool. However, in the hobby market where CO2 lasers have made such a big impact, no,. this technology is just way too expensive and has very limited practical use as a general workshop tool. I would not buy one but have been lucky enough to be loaned this machine to dig around the darker recesses of the technology.. After coming to terms with how the machine works during the first two or three sessions the main focus will be on exploring the science behind all the different marking processes that this technology can undertake . Yes, it can engrave metals and even cut very thin foils and shim (cost effectively ? I am yet to explore) neither being possible with the hobby CO2 laser.. This is no marketing exercise for Lotus Laser because they are very happy for me to be honest/brutal/critical/amazed by what I can discover. I emphasize I am very much a student and not a tutor. I enjoy learning and solving riddles and there will be plenty of those in this journey. The processes and marking techniques are well practiced and developed over many years but it is amazing that there is so little scientific analysis of the physics and chemistry for the various material /light interactions. That is where my real interest lies. Sadly I am neither a physicist or a Chemist so I will be flailing around in a deep pool without buoyancy aids. I am not proud, so if any professionals in these disciplines wishes to jump in and rescue me I will always be glad of help and guidance. Thanks for the comment Best wishes Russ
@@SarbarMultimedia Yep, I think the cost effective part is the main reason why many people don't "invest" in a laser of any description. Cutting out wood or paper shapes is not my cup of tea as I'm a metal worker per se. I browsed EBAY to see what the fibre lasers were going at and a figure of A$5 grand was about the average for a 20 watt fibre laser.....those fibre lasers are so neat in their work footprint I almost want to get one......making parts to sell is not my interest zone. Being retired and a pensioner with nothing to spend the dough on I still have to think what would I really want to do with a 20 or 30 watt laser if I wanted to indulge myself........my main interest in that area is with CNC mills for model engineering and messing about in the garage so I spent 10 grand indulging in that arena.
Hi Richard we need to talk via email to understand your problem. Add your disguised email address (richarddotgomatgmaildotcom) to another comment and I will contact you. Best wishes Russ
Hi. Do you work with 50w Raycus fiber laser for metals? I really need help to get black annealing print on plated gold, rose gold. Metal is stainless steel
Hi Marouane. The answer is I don't know and sadly I can no longer carry out a test for you because Lotus Laser needed their machine back to sell (it was only ever on loan to me)/ Best wishes Russ
Hi Mustafa Add your disguised email address to another comment (johndotsmithatgmaildotcom) and I will a) write to you and b) delete your comment. Best wishes Russ
Thanks Russ. I'm looking forward to this series. Fiber Lasers are amazing. If you havn't seen this video yet, have a watch. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ofEqFlqkiS0.html
