Laser And Leather

[Capnclive]

While at my son's industrial modeling shop today, I asked if the laser machine would cut or print on leather. The answer was "let's try it". Naturally I didn't have any leather with me so I took off my old belt that I made 20 plus years ago and stuck it in the machine. We didn't have enough time to look up a cool font, out doors-ey or cowboy-ish, and they were just doing me a favor. So without much planning or thought, we just pushed the green button and away it went. It came out upside down on the belt, (oh well) and it is a little too formal looking for my taste, but I can see some possibilities here. It looks like a tiny random camouflage backgrounder was used - kinda pretty, but the lines are far too perfect. Notice a darker area at the top of the belt, and just above the letters. The laser burns the leather, and the suction fan was pulling the flame up toward the top side of the belt scorching it a little.

I was wondering if any of you have used a laser engraving machine to put patterns on the surface of leather or to cut shapes with it?

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Yep, lasers are everywhere now. Do a search of the forums for laser, and see what pops up. I believe there was some Steampunk items that were done with a laser recently.

[bruce johnson]

I've got a few I have had done. I've got friend who has a laser and uses it on all kinds of things. This one I tooled the cover first and then she lasered in the graphics for the logo and lettering. I oiled it and assembled it afterwards. The lasering has held up better than I expected. Used daily and carried on a lot of travel.

I have talked to a few people who have used lasers to transfer tooling pattern outlines onto leather and skip the tracing film/stylus deal.

[RustyMelton]

I've got a few I have had done. I've got friend who has a laser and uses it on all kinds of things. This one I tooled the cover first and then she lasered in the graphics for the logo and lettering. I oiled it and assembled it afterwards. The lasering has held up better than I expected. Used daily and carried on a lot of travel.

I have talked to a few people who have used lasers to transfer tooling pattern outlines onto leather and skip the tracing film/stylus deal.

I think that looks great with the tooling around it. I think John Barton uses one from time to time on some of his cases. I'd love to have one to play around with especially if it could eliminate some of the tracing.

[gtwister09]

In the past when working in a place where we had a couple of lasers we used them in vector and bitmap modes. In the bitmap mode we used a mask and just swept the laser across the wood, leather or whatever material we were shooting at the time. To answer your question you can use it for all sorts of graphics (both vector based and bitmapped based) as well as cutting leather.

Regards,

Ben

[Double U Leather]

I've had some stuff lasered. Just small pocket notebooks for ranchers, but they turned out slick.

[Capnclive]

Neat ideas. Thanks. I am going to try to use it as a clicker and see how bad it burns the edges of the leather. I am also going to use it to cut out (in 1/16th inch plastic) a couple of tracing patterns to use for key chain holders and other small items. I have some made with a scroll saw, but they are not very symmetrical due to my drawing skills. I can do better with cad or illustrator and a laser cutter.....

[roo4u]

there are folks who travel to dog shows that do laser engraving on collars and leashes.

[albane]

These leggings were laser cut

[Chris DeGerolamo]

New here so bear with me..

I got into leather applications on our laser less than 3 months ago. Since then, I have been able to design (in AutoCAD) holsters and cut the materials using our laser. All of the holes for stitching get cut as well, saving a tremendous amount of time (time=$). Using the engraving function, we are able to add text and artwork, of which we have a metric butt-ton. I have attached a few images; sorry for the lack of quality as these were taken with my phone and text messaged to e-mail. Thanks for looking.

[Gawdzilla]

Somewhat related: I saw a "Ultimate Factories" episode last night on Porsche 911s. They used 30,000 psi water jets to cut the leather for the upholstery.

[byfbo]

Just noticed this posting. I work in a laser chop shop and program parts and run the machines. I program all my leather parts in cad then laser cut them out. I also use anther laser to mark my parts instead of using a ball stylus and tracing paper. I have several videos up of all our machines running on our company website, www.smidgensinc.com. If you go to the engraving and marking section of the website you will see a few videos. The first is called laser marking with the way. There are several different kinds of materials being run thru the machine. If any one is interested I can elaborate more on the process and what it is that I can and can't do with the array of machines I run.

Roy

[Gawdzilla]

Roy, does your shop take jobs from outside? Or does anyone know of shops that do?

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Roy, does your shop take jobs from outside? Or does anyone know of shops that do?

Are you asking if we take laser work?? If so, my answer is yes and I'm sure Roy's would be the same.

[Gawdzilla]

Are you asking if we take laser work?? If so, my answer is yes and I'm sure Roy's would be the same.

I have a special project I would be interested in getting done. Let me see if the person wants to go that route.

[byfbo]

yeah we take outside jobs, and offer free programming, as do most shops

[Relly]

I love the laser as a tool, but it has a couple drawbacks.

First, there are the cost issues. This is my biggest goblin.

Decent laser engravers cost about $10,000 to start (Epilog, Rayjet).

A laser generates smoke - add $3000 for a filter and compressor.

Add a special cutting/lasering grill for about $1000.

Second, there's the size issue.

The decent, $10k lasers? Only good for small items up to 1' x 2' (roughly).

Sure, there are bigger systems available ... if you have the space.

Third, there is the quality issue. Laser work definitely is quick and clean. Too clean.

It's far too neat for some types of work. And why not skip the whole handmade deal and send

a blueprint to someplace in India? Your laser or their laser, what difference?

Maintenance has got to cost $$$ on a laser system.

I would love owning a laser engraver, except for the cost, space and results looking just like anything else produced by a machine.

That said, if someone dropped a Rayjet on my porch, I would gladly use it for profit.

It's a great tool, and can make money for the right person. But I have delusions of being an Artisan,

and laser engraving kind of compromises my pretty dreams.

Relly

[K-Man]

Laser engraving is, IMO, an awesome tool. It opens up a great number of opportunities to apply artwork to the leather. I've had a number of items laser-engraved. One of the big advantages is the detail achieved in comparison to traditional tooling. Depending on the subject, you just cannot get the same level of detail with traditional tooling. Another thing I like about the laser engraving is being able to laser directly onto oil tan, chrome tan, and other similar leathers. For the most part you're only limited by your imagination and the talent of the programmer/engraver running the machine.

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Lasers are expensive, yes, but you are able to create so much more than handmade tooling/cutting allows. I agree, that yes lasering does take a bit of the "warmth" that handmade items carry, but the time difference is amazing. And we all know that time is money.

The laser also allows us to cut leather and other materials the same throughout a production run, much the same as a die would with a press.

Upkeep is not as bad as you would think - I would say it's similar to a car in that if you do routine maintenance, you're less likely to get a bombshell dropped on your doorstep on a Monday morning, ya know?

[byfbo]

sorry to add to an older thread havent been on in a while. Yes there are draw backs to using a laser. Cost is a big one. The laser I use is a 350 watt galvo style laser and it cost about 225,000, but its like brand new on the market and we are one of a few to have one. You can see it in action here

Our costs to use the machine are more than reasonable. Our labor rate is $120 an hr and I don't think that you will find any better than that anywhere. I use it to cut, and lightly mark out my tool lines then hand finish it. When I made the video of the machine I did a lot of leather marking and put it in there as well as other items. The edge does "soot up" but nothing plain ole water wont take care of. The Italian company that made the machine use it mostly for leather parts for shoes and such and they actually take the parts and have them dry cleaned. If anyone is interested in what would be needed on your end to get some work done by where I work at or most any reputable place for that matter I have a video detailing the basics of what you would have to do to get some work done.

If anyone has any questions message me and I will try to help you out.

Roy

Edited June 8, 2011 by byfbo

[AaronR]

I've been experimenting with laser filigree and burning on leather and have found some very satisfying results depending on the use. This piece for instance uses a victorian illustration for the design. Due to the human origin of the source art the digital conversion sustains enough "imperfection" to retain much of its original charm.

The laser art on another piece combines both original material and vector-precise geometrical figures. Both are run through the same program as one image yet the contrast blends together as if I had used a compass.

The main frustration I've found with laser burners is that the burning wears off given enough wear and time, especially on high-use items (e.g. key fobs). Interestingly enough as the charred skin dissipates the surrounding leather darkens leaving a faint reversed contrast in the piece. Ultimately I see lasers as no substitute for skill but merely another tool that offers a different flavour of embellishment.