it tastes like ...burning

[jessenator]

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!



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   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

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.

[jwin615]

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.

[jessenator]

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

[gordo]

Ooooo, looking forward to seeing how this all goes.

[jimilee]

Hell yeah!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jwin615]

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.

[jessenator]

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 

[Aleph Null]

Super exciting! I started looking into lasers after my last water slide decal debacle...definitely need to keep saving my pennies.

[pickdropper]

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.

[jessenator]

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!

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.

[gordo]

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.

[pickdropper]

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!

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.

[jessenator]

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.


Anyway, hopefully they'll be able give me a more insightful answer (and perhaps reconcile the differences on the Q&A).

[pickdropper]

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.


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.

[jessenator]

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