40W Chinese Laser - Engrave and Cut Leather - Discuss

[VYO]

2 hours ago, LatigoAmigo said:

I have had a bit of a breakthrough with this latest bag

Nice bag! 

I have a tiny laser for engraving. 3000mw. It won't cut leather but I didn't buy it for that. I bought it (under $200) for personalizations and so far it does a good job. Haven't had it too long so I'll see how long it lasts.

[LatigoAmigo]

1 hour ago, VYO said:

I bought it (under $200) for personalizations and so far it does a good job.

Glad to hear. Do you show your work?

[VYO]

I have a little of my work in my profile header here at LW. My first laser work is attached. My laser work is not near as intricate as your bag. Just personalizations. I am thinking about making a gallery here but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[LatigoAmigo]

Very nice. Do you get much personalization business?

[VYO]

I do get a bit of it. So far the key fobs and mouse pads mostly but I am thinking of offering personalizations on wallets and other things I make. Seems to be a popular option. The mousepads I personalized were before I got the laser and since those were heavily waxed CXL I doubt laser would work well. I am looking for some nice mousepad leather that isn't CXL but I haven't found anything I like yet in the 10 oz I use for those.

[dikman]

VYO, that is simple but surprisingly effective.

[VYO]

dikman, It's a pretty simple machine, simple software, and works within 10 minutes out of the box as well as inexpensive by comparison to other models. It's only about 6 x 6 outside dimensions and prints about 3 x 3 inches max. Has a fan for cooling and takes on average about 2 minutes per personalization.

[Jason046]

Was wondering if anyone on here engraved on veg tan leather. We do and afterwards we rinse it off with water and a soft tooth brush. Is there a better way? Haven't found a tape that dosent scuff the veg tan leather

[VYO]

I engrave on veg tan without having to clean up with the small laser engraver I have.

Is there a way to lessen the power used for engraving with your engraver? Mine is 3000mW and I don't have to do anything after engraving.

[Jason046]

47 minutes ago, VYO said:

I engrave on veg tan without having to clean up with the small laser engraver I have.

Is there a way to lessen the power used for engraving with your engraver? Mine is 3000mW and I don't have to do anything after engraving.

Looks good, how deep is that? Do you have air assist?

[VYO]

No air assist. It has two plugs, USB for the computer and a 110 power cord. I don't know what the depth is (relatively shallow from the looks). Below is a screenshot of the in the engraver software settings I use to engrave.

[dikman]

Looks like the depth adjustment is set pretty shallow. Has this thing got a brand name? I rather like it for it's simplicity of operation and small footprint. I was going to buy something like Rocky's until I realised I have nowhere to put it!!!

[Jason046]

Yea, just too small for what we do. We our going deeper. Ours works fine just looking for other ways to do it rather than washing it 

[VYO]

9 hours ago, dikman said:

Looks like the depth adjustment is set pretty shallow. Has this thing got a brand name? I rather like it for it's simplicity of operation and small footprint. I was going to buy something like Rocky's until I realised I have nowhere to put it!!!

I wanted a bigger more powerful one too but no room for one. The one I purchased does not have a brand name that I can see. I purchased it on Amazon from seller GanGou in November. I've used it probably 40-50 times now and haven't had a problem with it. I did try one image with it and it worked fine, some simple line art. It took 10 minutes to complete that. I bought it for simple text engraving so not really pushing the machine to do intricate stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G6VBTKL/

I read the reviews which are really mixed, made me pause, and then took a chance on it. I have a Mac and not many of the machines in my price range worked with a Mac. In the reviews section on Amazon there is a Mac user who did a video with an imported image of a peacock with it and that was what convinced me to give it a try.

I did experience a time or two where the machine didn't connect. I just checked all the cord connections to the machine and computer and then hit connect again and it worked fine.

I'm satisfied with its performance so far. 

[dikman]

Thanks for the link VYO. Now that I know what to look for I found plenty on ebay, available locally for about $180 (not much cheaper buying from China/HK/Aliexpress). Yes, they're (very) small and thus limited in capability but looks like a bit of fun and can be stored - and used - almost anywhere. Looks like I'm due for a new toy.

[VYO]

1 hour ago, dikman said:

Looks like I'm due for a new toy.

You're welcome.  

[Wedgetail]

On 01/02/2019 at 12:19 PM, Jason046 said:

Was wondering if anyone on here engraved on veg tan leather. We do and afterwards we rinse it off with water and a soft tooth brush. Is there a better way? Haven't found a tape that dosent scuff the veg tan leather

Try using a low tac contact adhesive like frisket film. I've used it to make stencils before, which didn't mark the leather... but haven't tried laser engraving with the frisket film on the leather before.

Would try it myself first but my laser blew up over a year ago and I haven't got around to fixing it yet due to an overly long 'honey do' list.

[dikman]

My little engraver (same as VYO's) arrived today. Plugged it in, tried to install the driver but it wouldn't install!! Tried it on another computer (Win10) same thing. Hmm. Started searching the 'net for a driver and found a few people who didn't even receive the software! Eventually found a link via a youtube vid and that worked.

I'm impressed! Yes, it's very limited due to its size, but for what I'll probably use it for it's fine - and it's small, so storing it is no problem!!! Looks like it's going to be a bit of fun to play with. One thing I've quickly learned, don't engrave leather in a small room, it stinks!!!!!!!!!!

[LatigoAmigo]

On 2/11/2019 at 2:08 AM, dikman said:

One thing I've quickly learned, don't engrave leather in a small room, it stinks

Ventilation is a must! Some of the toxins put off by the objects cut/engraved by the laser can impair your health, and even take your life.

This from the instructions for installing a Zing laser cutter (by EpilogLaser):

It is mandatory that an exhaust unit or filter system is attached and operating whenever your laser system is running a job. The exhaust blower removes the dust, debris and smell from the engraving cavity and exhausts it outside the building. You should never operate your laser system without a properly working exhaust blower or filtration system. Prior to the installation of the laser system, you may need a contractor to install the exhaust system.

Edited February 13, 2019 by LatigoAmigo

[RockyAussie]

Just thought I might show a bit on that subject that you may consider @dikman. On the one I just built I did not want to have too much overkill on the suction as I am doing a lot of thin cardboard cutting so I went with this 130cfm bilge air blower fan and can confirm it works well for me. Note that I have surrounded 3 sides of the box with some 1/4" foam to assist the air to move in the direction I wanted.Not bad at all for around $30.00au https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/381970877031

Here is a picture of it and a couple more that show the plumbing fittings I used. The blower is screwed in under the table and then with some 4" aluminium ducting run outside. I have taken a good video of the suction with a mosquito coil in action and I will try and get the editing done on it some time soon.

[dikman]

Mate, that thing of yours is a work of art! Considering the relatively minute size of mine and the fact it will only be used for small, short duration jobs it's not likely to be a problem for me. I've moved it down to my leatherwork/reloading shed where I can use it next to an open door, and if necessary I can stand another small fan next to it.

[chrisash]

One thing I admire about the Australians, is the CAN DO attitude, I guess it has been made by having such a large country with few people you are not afraid to turn your hand to any skills.

 

 

[RockyAussie]

6 hours ago, dikman said:

Mate, that thing of yours is a work of art! Considering the relatively minute size of mine and the fact it will only be used for small, short duration jobs it's not likely to be a problem for me. I've moved it down to my leatherwork/reloading shed where I can use it next to an open door, and if necessary I can stand another small fan next to it.

Are we still talking lasers?

52 minutes ago, chrisash said:

One thing I admire about the Australians, is the CAN DO attitude, I guess it has been made by having such a large country with few people you are not afraid to turn your hand to any skills.

 

 

Exceptin proctology of course.^ Hey where is the Aussie emogie? This will do I guess.

[dikman]

Hmmm, you made me look at my post in a completely different light........but yes, I was referring to lasers.

[strathmoredesigns]

On 7/28/2018 at 9:09 AM, Frankqv said:

When cutting wallet material we increase air flow which keeps from charring the edges. Pigskin or calfskin,we use inert gas (N2 or C02) to shield ,perfect edges.

@Frankqv any chance you could share some pictures of some of your cut wallets and/or pigskin or calfskin? I never like the charring the lasers leave on leather and I didn't know there was anyway to reduce it.