40W Chinese Laser - Engrave and Cut Leather - Discuss

[Rockoboy]

On ‎30‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 7:56 AM, Mark842 said:

engraving on 5-6 oz chrome oil tanned

I had no luck with chrome tanned leather. The 80watt laser would not cut through half the thickness of the comparable vegtan, and etching came out horribly burnt and distorted on the chrome tan.

[Mark842]

1 hour ago, Rockoboy said:

I had no luck with chrome tanned leather. The 80watt laser would not cut through half the thickness of the comparable vegtan, and etching came out horribly burnt and distorted on the chrome tan

Good info to know. Thanks. I'm beginning to think if I'm going to drop some serious coin on one of these that I am going to have to take a trip across the country with a bag full of the leather we use and get a demonstration.

[Rockoboy]

Just now, Mark842 said:

a bag full of the leather we use and get a demonstration

Always the best option. Try before you buy, and even then different leather can be pig-in-a-poke!

[Mark842]

Just now, Rockoboy said:

Always the best option. Try before you buy, and even then different leather can be pig-in-a-poke!

Yep, thats the impression I'm getting. Unfortunately I'm 3000 miles away from the two manufacturers here that have the best ratings and have both been around for awhile. Guess I have to add $2K to the cost to take a trip out for research

[LatigoAmigo]

4 hours ago, Rockoboy said:

I had no luck with chrome tanned leather. The 80watt laser would not cut through half the thickness of the comparable vegtan

I have found that it takes multiple cuts to get through some leathers, and not always because of the thickness of the leather. I cut chrome tanned and latigo leathers most often, typically in the 4-7 oz. range, and find that it can take as many as 5 passes with a 100-watt CO2 laser to get through the material. I had some stuffed 6 oz. Chromexcel that took 10 passes to cut through. Cutting leather with a laser is just full of surprises. 

[Orangeleather]

I see Dremel's Digilab laser cutter has appeared via the usual media source.

 

Any thoughts or feedback?

 

Improvement on the Chinese K40?

Edited June 3, 2018 by Orangeleather

[LatigoAmigo]

We are sure making progress in the world of lasers. The only serious comment I have is on the importance of ventilation, which this video does not stress (in fact says you can run this in an enclosed space... that could turn out to be fatal). There was a double fatality in Berkeley last year when two people and their pets were found dead in their apartment. The possible culprit? Their unvented laser cutter.

For price comparison, here is a link to a laser supplier in Sacramento, CA who deals in CO2 lasers. Prices do not include the very important "chiller" which can run another $500, a ventilation fan and associated duct work, or shipping (which can add up).   https://www.lightobject.com/Laser-Machines-C37.aspx

[Jason046]

On 5/28/2018 at 1:18 AM, LatigoAmigo said:

So what did you replace the Chinese laser with? I'm familiar with Trotec lasers and what a wonderful job they can do , but from my experience it appears to be nearly ten times the price of a Chinese equivalent ($36,000 vs. $4,500). 

We moved to a boss laser. We have a ls-1416 65w laser. All in all it was about 6k$. It will cut any size leather in a single pass and does everything we need. Bed is about 17 × 17 inches

[seminole676]

Has anyone cut their own stamps out of delrin? What size laser needed for that?

[Rockoboy]

13 hours ago, seminole676 said:

Has anyone cut their own stamps out of delrin?

I am not a lase expert, but I am guessing you would need a CNC to cut out stamps.