Members Prestige593 Posted July 6, 2019 Members Report Posted July 6, 2019 Just got this mini desktop laser (purchased on Amazon). It has a working area of 3"X3". Just got it to mess around with before considering spending $3K on a Glowforge. Any advice? I will be using a Mac. Thanks Quote
Contributing Member LatigoAmigo Posted July 7, 2019 Contributing Member Report Posted July 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Prestige593 said: Any advice? Be sure to vent the fumes to the outside. Might not seem like much, but depending on what you are cutting/engraving, it can be very important for your health/life. Certain materials, when laser cut, put out toxic or semi-toxic fumes. I'm only going on what others have said, as I'm no expert and am not sure of the severity of each, but PVC is one, some vinyls (like contact paper), and chrome tanned leather have been recognized as problematic. Quote
Members SilverForgeStudio Posted July 9, 2019 Members Report Posted July 9, 2019 Ill second Latigo... Chromates burned are a baddie to the ol' breathing aparatus.... and most PVC, Polypropylene and plastics are not good either. it not just a matter of opening a window with a fan- you need to seriously consider a vent tube and fan setup that flows MORE air than you think... Tubed to a window (think dryer duct)... Quote
Members Halitech Posted July 23, 2019 Members Report Posted July 23, 2019 I have the more no name version and it works well enough. Should have gone with the extra and got the 3000mw model instead of the 1500. It will engrave veg tan fine but even at 100 depth of engraving, it won't cut all the way through 2/3oz veg tan. But, it will engrave nicely and you can even dye stuff after. Quote Every day you learn something is a good day. If you don't learn something every day, was it worth waking up for?
Members chrisash Posted August 28, 2019 Members Report Posted August 28, 2019 @Halitech How is it going now two months down the line? Quote Mi omputer is ot ood at speeling , it's not me
Members Halitech Posted August 28, 2019 Members Report Posted August 28, 2019 2 hours ago, chrisash said: @Halitech How is it going now two months down the line? Love it. Still gong strong and I've made over $500.00 from products made with it and I have repeat customers buying multiple lots of items Quote Every day you learn something is a good day. If you don't learn something every day, was it worth waking up for?
Members Prestige593 Posted September 3, 2019 Author Members Report Posted September 3, 2019 After a little trial an error I was able to get 1 good burn out of 4 tries. The software and manual that comes with this desktop laser is total JUNK. The "GUCCI" is a sample pic that came on the USB and thats the only recognizable burn I was able to get. I'll play around with it a bit more and see what I come up with. There is virtually NO information on how or what the settings do. I do not think that this will be able to do anything that has too much intricate detail. Im chalking it up to a wasted $160. Thinking about a Glowforge, but don't know enough about lasers to drop $3K yet. My idea was to get familiar with this mini laser and see what I come up with, so far it's been a challenge. Quote
Members Halitech Posted September 3, 2019 Members Report Posted September 3, 2019 What version of the software did you use? I find that version 1.1 works the best with all the default settings. Far as images, I find line art with a .png extension work the best but try this one and see how it turns out. Quote Every day you learn something is a good day. If you don't learn something every day, was it worth waking up for?
mikesc Posted September 3, 2019 Report Posted September 3, 2019 (edited) If you are using small blue violet diode lasers..with the usual software that they supply with them..on veg tan..try backing the depth down to 10 to 15 and the power around 20 to 25 max..Bear in mind that most of them "overdrive" the lasers when they are quoting the max power, so backing the power ( and depth ) down , will get you a better detailed burn, and prolong the life of the laser module."Defaults" tend to be to high..What is the power claimed to be on these units ? 3.5 watt or lower.Most of the 8cm x 8cm ( usable area ) units that resemble the one in the original post seem to be very over driven.. Btw..the laser DPI is probably around 500, to bear in mind when "scaling up" any images, either the ones supplied or when creating your own..So, on an 8cm x 8cm desktop model, your working area image ( in pixels ) is a little over 1500px. Edited September 3, 2019 by mikesc Quote "Don't you know that women are the only works of Art" .. ( Don Henley and "some French painter in a field" )
Members Halitech Posted September 3, 2019 Members Report Posted September 3, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, mikesc said: If you are using small blue violet diode lasers..with the usual software that they supply with them..on veg tan..try backing the depth down to 10 to 15 and the power around 20 to 25 max..Bear in mind that most of them "overdrive" the lasers when they are quoting the max power, so backing the power ( and depth ) down , will get you a better detailed burn, and prolong the life of the laser module."Defaults" tend to be to high..What is the power claimed to be on these units ? 3.5 watt or lower.Most of the 8cm x 8cm ( usable area ) units that resemble the one in the original post seem to be very over driven.. The keyfob I did above used the settings in the screenshot. Default is 10 for the depth, power at 100 and it's a 1500mw laser. I only burn for 30 minutes and then stop for 30. Edited September 3, 2019 by Halitech Quote Every day you learn something is a good day. If you don't learn something every day, was it worth waking up for?
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