I got a Laser Beam and it makes me Happy
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I have been 3D printing for awhile now. This laser stuff looks cool. Now I just need the place to do it.
My gun Smith buddy who has a commercial version (still fairly small though, maybe the size of an end table or something,... it doesn't have any kind of shield. Just has glasses if you want to actually look at the laser, and it had an exhaust set up that is a booster inline type hvac fan, but it has a small hood on it. It also has a chuck that is motorized that fits with the little table.
If you want to do metal, this is about as cheap as you can get. Alot of gun business use them since US sourced lasers are about $1K per watt or more. Get one with a rotary so you can do round things.
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30W is as low as you want to go to be able to easily do .003 engraving on AL/Steel/TI which is minimum for ATF compliance.
Find one of the ebay sellers that sources from a US location. They already "made" it through customs so you won't get hit with the 25-30% customs fee.
Comparable US machine would start at $35K.
You wear special glasses for the wavelength of the laser you have. No need for sheilding. Certain plastics you want a fume evacuator due to nasty shit but most metals are not really an issue if you aren't huffing the fumes 8 hours a day. Decent evacs start around $3K as well.. I rather just open a window and save the money.
It's here, we've set it up. Are using it. Are going through a HECK of a learning curve. All that we had intended to get done "for Christmas" and whatnot has been held back.
Smarter Every Day, sure. But then everything seems to reset while sleeping and it's a 'learn it all over again' each day. NOT recommended. (TBI's that is)
A fiber laser transmits a large amount of heat to the work piece. If you do this near the base you risk annealing depending on how deep/long you engrave. It can also cause micro fracturing in thinner pieces of metal.
This was a common problem with titanium and super thin suppressor tubes. In order to meet the AFT requirement, the markings have to be .003 or deeper, which takes a bunch of passes with a 30/50w laser. This generates a ton of heat in the area and over time when it gets stressed, you get cracked tubes. Its why most titanium cans are mechanically engraved or use some other method. Most have round count limits and if you run them hard and fast, these issues show up quick.
This was a common problem with titanium and super thin suppressor tubes. In order to meet the AFT requirement, the markings have to be .003 or deeper, which takes a bunch of passes with a 30/50w laser. This generates a ton of heat in the area and over time when it gets stressed, you get cracked tubes. Its why most titanium cans are mechanically engraved or use some other method. Most have round count limits and if you run them hard and fast, these issues show up quick.
I use a 30W fiber laser to engrave suppressors and barrels with. I can grab the suppressor bare handed over the engraving when done. At 90% power level it takes just over 4 minutes to do 3 lines of engraving on stainless at .0035/.004" depth. Spend the money on the laser(German ) and use the Chinese galvo. The galvo will last a fairly long time and isn't real expensive to replace if needed. Mines been in use 5 years so far.
