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Laser Engraving

I am not sure I understand the path of the laser beam, does it travel back and forth, running parallel to each previous path? If so, an area that it travels over, that has already been etched to finished height or depth, the laser beam is shut down or stopped until it comes to the next area to be etched deeper and restarts/continues. If this is the case, the more that is removed/etched away, the less the laser runs, but this does mean that there is travel time but no laser power time. If the unit does do this it should not heat up as much as the etching progressed deeper.
The travel time when not extruding, appears to be faster then when extruding on my filament 3d printer.
 
The 3d sliced mode follows a grayscale image on a repetitive parallel path as you described, but the difference in depth according to the grayscale is achieved by changing the level of power the laser uses rather than the number of passes, in accordance to the darkness on the image. The settings of the 3d slice require both the maximum and minimum power, and the frequency and speed for every pass.
 
The fact that there are many areas on the image that stand out points out that a high percentage of every pass was not at full power or any power at all. I'm thinking this is why it did not overheat over such a long run.
 
After googling the Gwieke 50W laser, it's apparent why it struggled with that substrate, being only a Q-switched laser source doesn't give any opportunity to control pulse width which would make it easier for the laser to ablate. Copper is of course the worst substrate for even a MOPA but would have completed the task much quicker.
 
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After finishing this bronze plaque, and a smaller brass plaque I got more ideas and finished designing the next plaque, but found that my fiber laser had crashed and wouldn't even turn on.
I've contacted Gweike over the warranty, and they told me to test the electric power supply. The power supply doesn't work, so they confirmed they would send me a new power supply for repair.

Though they are sending me the electric power supply, I'm thinking that is not the only thing that is blown. When I opened the case to test the supply the machine was filled with vaporized metal dust which must have damaged other parts.

My plaques are some of my most popular items, so Im depating on investing in an upgraded machine like the Xtool F2 ultra 60w mopa/40w diode laser or the Acmer 100w mopa laser. I still have the d2pro and I don’t engrave much non metalic material; so I'm not sure how much benefit there would be in the additional 40w diode in the F2 ultra.
 
What have you engraved so far? The 8" work area, full enclosure and cameras of the F2 Ultra are what catch my attention, but most of the engraving I do is very demanding.
I'm not sure how much difference a power enhancement of only 60w would be from 50w of the gweike g2 max.
The Acmer SM is a 100W mopa laser, but it is a open frame.
 
Janger said:
@Chris Cramer - I think you should consider buying something better than the consumer grade gweike/ F tools etc. equipment. A quality galvo with good lenses. Perhaps @1018Machine can suggest some brands. Maybe buy used to bring the price down.

Maybe, and I have no idea, bosslaser, https://www.cloudraylaser.com/collections/laser-machine, dxtech just as some examples.
Click to expand...
Yeah, after doing research on different companies and what the market looks like for high powered galvo mopa fiber lasers ComMarker's Titan 1 looks to be a good option as a machine manufactured in the US instead of China but it would cost about 10,000 CAD. under that is the Acmer SM mopa which is about 7500-8000 but is Chinese.

The JPT M7 is the same control and laser source most 100w fiber lasers use but cheaper machines dont have a very sturdy frame or as precise galvo scanner.
 
I’m not really the guy to ask advice from, LOL. I have only just started playing around with mine, when I have a few minutes. I chose the F1 Ultra because I decided that I wanted the 2 laser option rather than a larger, single, Fiber Laser. The choices came in at about the same cost.
I went with the F1 vs The F2, solely based on cost. At the time, the F2 was double the cost of the F1. While the F2 has dropped about $2k, it is still about $3k more than I paid for my F1.

I have only played a little, as I know nothing about lasers or the software. So it is taking some time. I have made a wax seal in brass, which was my deepest engrave. But my main project so far was finial coins and Center bands for my pens.

IMG_8024.jpegIMG_0171.jpegIMG_0173.jpeg
 
Janger said:
@Chris Cramer - I think you should consider buying something better than the consumer grade gweike/ F tools etc. equipment. A quality galvo with good lenses. Perhaps @1018Machine can suggest some brands. Maybe buy used to bring the price down.

Maybe, and I have no idea, bosslaser, https://www.cloudraylaser.com/collections/laser-machine, dxtech just as some examples.
Click to expand...
I messaged 1018Machine for advice and he gave me pointed me to BWN tech. It's still a Chinese company, but their machines are industrial grade, they send any replacement part over a 3 year warranty and the price they put on a 100w 2.5D mopa fiber laser was only 6090 USD including shipping.
 
I think 1018Machine said he does not even use the max power of his machine much - so look carefully at what you are doing and the actual watts required - maybe you can save a lot and get a lower power machine.
 
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