Laser engraving / cutting of leather

[Bert03241]

2 hours ago, Nikos69 said:

FYI... a CO2 laser cannot engrave metal -- you will need a fiber laser for that. The CO2 laser can remove powder coating and anodization to reveal the silver base color. You can also using a marking spray to get a black mark on various, uncoated metals.

Edit: just noticed this answered above.

As for software, it depends on which machine you purchase and most will be compatible with Lightburn. There are tons of videos on Youtube that will show you how to prep your image for engraving.

No one sais a co2 could engrave metal please read the posts!

[Nikos69]

On 5/31/2022 at 2:41 PM, Bert03241 said:

No one sais a co2 could engrave metal please read the posts!

It was clearly implied so please keep your ignorant condescending attacks to yourself.

 

On 5/30/2022 at 2:19 PM, Dwight said:

Would like also to be able to do some on metal . . . like initials on a belt buckle . . . etc .

I'm thinkng looking at some of the models offered on Ebay . . . they do 400 by 500 mm or so . . . was thinking of doing the first 400 mm of the belt . . . move the leather and have the laser pick up where it left off by some imaginative designs.

 

First sentence he mentions engraving metal.

Second sentence, he mentions the $400 Ebay machines which are CO2.

Edited June 14, 2022 by Nikos69

[Dwight]

6 hours ago, Nikos69 said:

First sentence he mentions engraving metal.

Second sentence, he mentions the $400 Ebay machines which are CO2.

And what exactly is your problem???  I asked a couple of questions . . . because I did not know the answers.

If you have a problem with people asking questions . . . maybe you ought to go somewhere else where people are more like you . . . . and know all the answers all the time.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Bert03241]

2 hours ago, Dwight said:

And what exactly is your problem???  I asked a couple of questions . . . because I did not know the answers.

If you have a problem with people asking questions . . . maybe you ought to go somewhere else where people are more like you . . . . and know all the answers all the time.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thanks Dwight , you never implied that a co2 could cut or engrave metal , were this guy read that I can't . figure. I probably know more about co2 lasers then he'll ever know

[Dwight]

29 minutes ago, Bert03241 said:

Thanks Dwight , you never implied that a co2 could cut or engrave metal , were this guy read that I can't . figure. I probably know more about co2 lasers then he'll ever know

Gotcha . . . but for what I'm looking to do on the leather only . . . do these 300 . . . 400 . . . 500 dollar lasers do what I'm looking for???

Some guys use theirs for cutting . . .  I'm not really interested in that . . . more just the engraving . . . decorating . . . etc.  

And . . . how does it do the engraving?  I'm thinking it just uses the power of the compressed CO2 . . . would that be how it is done?

Thanks, may God bless,

Dwight

[Nikos69]

Dwight, I was not targeting you, just showing your new BFF how you wanted to engrave bare buckles in one sentence and you referred to CO2 machine in the next sentence.

And for Bert, you also explained that CO2 "won’t engrave bare metal". Hypocrite much? 
Shouldn’t be casting stones brother.

On 5/30/2022 at 9:24 PM, Bert03241 said:

A 60 watt co2 laser will do all you want and more and do it much faster then a diode laser. You should be able to find a decent 60 watt for under 5k maybe a lot less then that even. It won't engrave bare metal but will mark bare metal with cermark. It will engrave most coated metals, painted, powder coated, anodized ect ect.

 

 

[Bert03241]

Dwight a 40 watt co2 laser will engrave Veg tan leather nicely . I will also engrave wood, glass, and many other materials. It will not engrave bare metal but might mark bare metal with the help of cermark, but I wouldn't count on that cermark needs slow speeds and more power.

1 hour ago, Nikos69 said:

Dwight, I was not targeting you, just showing your new BFF how you wanted to engrave bare buckles in one sentence and you referred to CO2 machine in the next sentence.

And for Bert, you also explained that CO2 "won’t engrave bare metal". Hypocrite much? 
Shouldn’t be casting stones brother.

why dont you go some place were you have a clue as to what your talking about your talking in circles.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2022 by Bert03241

[Double Daddy]

On 6/14/2022 at 10:00 PM, Dwight said:

Gotcha . . . but for what I'm looking to do on the leather only . . . do these 300 . . . 400 . . . 500 dollar lasers do what I'm looking for???

Sir...I can't/won't wade into the back & forth of these other fellas' technical conversation about this & that type laser (not that well versed in the matter quite frankly)...but...here's some work I had done up on my brother's AtomStack (it is listed as a "40watt"...not sure what that rates out to as far as output but it does what he and I need...woodworking for him and leather for myself). He purchased it as a "test tool/toy"...just to see if it was something that would be worth the time and effort...I also gave him some scrap leather pieces to play with from my inventory. Aside from his butcher blocks, charcuterie & cutting boards and other pieces going "under the light"...he practiced with the leather I gave him, then I turned him loose.

First...I'm no photographer and my phone is old. Sorry for the pic quality.

I started by drawing up a coaster pattern in CAD (the "camouflage stamp" took a little bit to duplicate but now I have it...subsequent coasters will see this image scaled down and re-arrayed so that there are more of them, smaller in size)...all that needs doing per order is changing the text for what the customer wants...there's plenty of room around the border for sewing to a backer material (cork, etc...I use an oil tanned leather that has a grippy texture on the bottom). We ran a "test" coaster first (second pic)...you can see that the border is a bit light on the RH side vs. the left. Once we got the settings dialed in, the little AtomStack even managed to cut out the (4) I sent the customer (farthest to the left in the third photo)...this was 5/6oz drum-dyed veg-tanned.  The portfolio fronts and their initials also turned out pretty well...it's not stamping or carving AND the laser etching of leather STINKS to high-heaven (really need to get your exhaust worked out, even in a shop situation)...but...you can be doing other things in your shop while this is cooking.

I believe Lil' Brother's AtomStack was in the $300-400 range...I've looked at them myself and they head upwards from there (up to around $16-1800 or so, maybe more for models with work area extensions and air-assist and other add-ons).

Just my recent experience...

[Dwight]

1 hour ago, Double Daddy said:

Sir...I can't/won't wade into the back & forth of these other fellas' technical conversation about this & that type laser (not that well versed in the matter quite frankly)...but...here's some work I had done up on my brother's AtomStack (it is listed as a "40watt"...

Thanks, Double Daddy . . . 

That's all I'm looking to do . . .

May God bless,

Dwight

[Northmount]

1 hour ago, AndreaRotela said:

For those who visit this thread later and want some piece of advice from a regular user of laser cutting and engraving machines — 2.5W diode laser is definitely not the best choice for their small precision and power. You should better start with something more serious

You seem to add spam links to vendor sites every so often.  Please provide info, not spam.

Moved this thread to 3D Printers and Lasers