Laser cutting

[cowasaki]

I have now bought a Prusa Mk3 3d printer and very happy with it as enclosures etc were the main thing stopping me doing several projects.  Having built this and got the bug I'm now looking at laser cutting.....

I'm looking at a system from bang good which seems pretty good but comes with a 2.5w "violet" laser which will do to get me started but I then plan to upgrade it bit by bit having seen the same machine upgraded by others.  My question is what laser would I need to cut acrylic or non-transparent plastic plus softer sheet metals such as copper, silver, gold and maybe bronze?

Any alternative suggestions re the original kit?  Is it worth foregoing the kit and just building it - I understand the frame X/Y parts etc

Anybody done this already?

[coppercone2]

1) look at cost of metal cutting lasers
2) use a chisel and a hammer to cut sheet metal

its actually pretty cool


I wanna see if you can chisel cut stainless steel with a tiny chisel to make a solder stencil lol

[cowasaki]

Thanks.  Cutting acrylic and/or normal plastic is the main thing.  If I can't cut metal without spending silly money then I'll continue to use the air nibbler which actually does a pretty good job.  My metal supplied has a high power cutter that can be programmed to cut most shapes from even thick sheets of stainless although I haven't taken any real notice of it so not sure which method it uses other than it isn't a laser!

[Benta]

My metal supplied has a high power cutter that can be programmed to cut most shapes from even thick sheets of stainless although I haven't taken any real notice of it so not sure which method it uses other than it isn't a laser!

Plasma cutter.

[coppercone2]

that won't do SMD cut outs though. IMO stencils and air vents are appealing for lasers.

what companies usually do for precise stuff (if not a laser or plasma for larger stuff) thats cut out is use a special punch press that dances around. IDK if they do it for really small stuff though. I think you pay per hole (its like a auto switcher I think, so if you need a big hole they use a bigger punch), if you need small holes they use smaller punches. I think you pay like a fraction of a penny every time the machine hits or something like that.

[cowasaki]

My metal supplied has a high power cutter that can be programmed to cut most shapes from even thick sheets of stainless although I haven't taken any real notice of it so not sure which method it uses other than it isn't a laser!

Plasma cutter.

To be honest I think it's probably a water and abrasive cutter and it's HUGE probably about 5 or 6 metres in each direction!  Last time I had something done by them they cut me a piece of 3mm aluminium with two 52mm holes for dials and holes for switches then folded the tabs over for me.  Only charged me two large boxes of biscuits :-) Also done lots of other bits for the landrover. Just would have been nice to have that ability myself.

[coppercone2]

i thought water jet was a higher end more expensive process because stuff wears down quick?

[cowasaki]

i thought water jet was a higher end more expensive process because stuff wears down quick?

The place I get my metal from is a large company!  They have two large buildings on the old British Leyland industrial estate and you could easily park 30 buses in the building I'm talking about.

[james_s]

The diode laser based machines are toys really, they can work reasonably well for marking and engraving but if you want to cut something that isn't paper thin you really need several tens of Watts, CO2 being the most common laser used for this sort of thing. A cutter with a 40W CO2 laser ought to do a nice job on acrylic. Keep in mind you're burning plastic so outside ventilation is a must.

[beanflying]

2.5W will cut paper and light card or engrave on timber. Forget about it for plastics unless you get to the higher power Diodes at 10W or more. Seriously consider the overall cost of a build including preferably a full enclosure and laser proof plastics windows or goggles and some form of extraction.

The entry level K40 has some 'quirks' and needs some mods to help it get good results. Partial thread of my improved toy here 3-4mm Acrylic no problems and some other plastics too along with Balsa and 3mm Ply or MDF. As I had an unresolved issue with the supplier on some shipping damage I haven't added any further posts to it but the laser itself cuts really well. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/40w-300x200mm-laser-cutter-engraver-vollerun/msg1665956/#msg1665956

Metal of any sort needs 100W+ and generally a lot more if not a specific style of laser for some metals.

[cowasaki]

2.5W will cut paper and light card or engrave on timber. Forget about it for plastics unless you get to the higher power Diodes at 10W or more. Seriously consider the overall cost of a build including preferably a full enclosure and laser proof plastics windows or goggles and some form of extraction.

The entry level K40 has some 'quirks' and needs some mods to help it get good results. Partial thread of my improved toy here 3-4mm Acrylic no problems and some other plastics too along with Balsa and 3mm Ply or MDF. As I had an unresolved issue with the supplier on some shipping damage I haven't added any further posts to it but the laser itself cuts really well. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/40w-300x200mm-laser-cutter-engraver-vollerun/msg1665956/#msg1665956

Metal of any sort needs 100W+ and generally a lot more if not a specific style of laser for some metals.

Thanks