Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Laser cutting
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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:

--- Quote from: cowasaki on December 29, 2018, 07:51:26 pm ---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!

--- End quote ---

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.

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