Laser Questions: Rotary Attachment, Hardwood, and Alignment

[Asa Alger]

Hey friends. 

I was talking to a friend about Rotary attachments for laser cutting machines, and it made me wonder if we had access to anything like that at the shop?  I saw some whispers about one in old threads, but nothing concrete.

Also, has anyone tried  to cut through hardwood on our lasers?  I have a client who wants to cut 1/2 hardwood.  I'm guessing it would take multiple passes if possible.  Has anyone tried something similar?

Lastly I would love love love to have a hands on demonstration of how to align the mirrors of the lasers, and how to clean the lenses to try and keep them in better shape, and fix them as needed.  Let me know if that's possible.

Asa

[Steve Altemeier]

Per your question on rotary attachments, we do have one at the makerspace.  I would be happy to give a tutorial on how to use that at the October 3 meeting for you and anyone else interested if that time works for you.  If you need to learn sooner than that, just let me know.

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[Zak Smolen]

I replied to your alignment question in the makers-members group, so take a look there. Regarding hardwoods: 

Yes it is possible. Different woods laser better than others, it depends on a few things like how oily and dense the wood is. Multiple passes is the correct way to handle something like this, and there is even a property in lightburn to set a pass count for line mode. Pretty much every incidence of major damage to the lasers has been caused by people improperly or inefficiently cutting hardwoods. For example, purpleheart is known to be a very oily wood and when cut at too high of a power it lets off a jet of flame straight up... See the currently very crispy belt on the 60W for a reference of what this can do to a laser.

So if you are careful, do multiple passes, possibly even lower the focus between passes, and test your materials, you can get great results. I made a hanging sign like in an old west saloon out of a solid slab of black walnut and it was beautiful. I didn't cut through but I did some very deep engraving and it looked great. 

The best thing to do is as with any material, run some test cuts and engraves to see what works best. If 60% power is cutting, there's no need to crank it to 80%. That just means more charring and extra wear on the very expensive laser tube. In your case, since you will need multiple passes, it's better to do a bit lower power instead of cranking it to the max. It might take a bit longer, but if you're running a few passes at very high power levels you're going to toast the edges from all of that waste heat.

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[Asa Alger]

Thanks so much Zak & Steve.

I definitely will only be cutting hardwood with the lasers if absolutely necessary, especially for thick pieces, I'd rather use traditional tools if I can.  But that is a great primer of the risks involved and the techniques that can help.

Steve, I'm very interested in learning about the rotary attachment next Tuesday, and I'm planning on being there.  Perhaps a laser alignment walkthrough could be possible as well? I unfortunately am already booked tonight Zak, otherwise I'd pop in and watch you.  

Asa

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Asa Alger

portfolio: www.asaalger.com

linkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asaalger/

[Steve Altemeier]

Depending on the designs, you could also use the CNC mills for cutting hardwood.

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