Prestige593 Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LatigoAmigo Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverForgeStudio Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisash Report post Posted August 28, 2019 @Halitech How is it going now two months down the line? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prestige593 Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted September 3, 2019 (edited) Ok..I know the software..what is the power of the laser ( according to the manufacturer / seller, there are a few different power laser modules sold in the same or similar unit casings ) given that they all "over quite" and "overdrive" it helps to know what they claim is the power when suggesting settings ? Sorry just saw that you did give the power..I only noticed the GUI ( I'm doing something else at the same time as posting ) ..drop power to 20 or 25, ( keep depth "as is" ) see what you get, if it doesn't burn, increment the power by steps of 10 until it does, then back off by single power increments at a time until you get clean detail burn..grey scale burns require far lower settings.. I presume that you meant 1500 mw ? Btw..in the image you posted above, the girl only has one foot, you'd see a little of the other foot ( the one on the end of the leg on the other side of the bike in that position, both feet would have to be on the ground, and if we are looking at the girl and the bike from "side on" at around her eye level, you'd see at least the heel and some of the toe of the boot on the other foot, it wouldn't quite be entirely hidden by the bike. Edited September 3, 2019 by mikesc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prestige593 Report post Posted September 3, 2019 OK, mine is a 3000Mw. My software platform looks like the one posted above by Halitech (Im on a Mac if that makes a difference). What settings should I be looking at? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post Posted September 3, 2019 I did and the tests that I did weren't satisfactory for me until at around 80% so it's just as easy to leave at 100% and burn. Greyscale is iffy and I generally convert all my work outside of the burning program. I'm also using it in a VM because it doesn't have native linux software. Yeah, the image isn't 100% realistic, just knew it was an image the OP could try to see if it burns since I knew it did 1 minute ago, Prestige593 said: OK, mine is a 3000Mw. My software platform looks like the one posted above by Halitech (Im on a Mac if that makes a difference). What settings should I be looking at? For a test, try the same settings as I used then as mike suggested, drop them down on further testing. Far as the size, adjust that down to 30mm or so just so you aren't sitting there trying it for an hour Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockoboy Report post Posted September 6, 2019 Is it possible to use different software with these lasers? I know a guy who has a 80W CO2 laser, which came with (or he matched to) a program called RD Works. This works OK for a lot of things, but he has tried a program called Lightburn, which works really well for some things that RD Works does not so well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post Posted September 6, 2019 7 minutes ago, Rockoboy said: Is it possible to use different software with these lasers? I know a guy who has a 80W CO2 laser, which came with (or he matched to) a program called RD Works. This works OK for a lot of things, but he has tried a program called Lightburn, which works really well for some things that RD Works does not so well. For most of these smaller machines they are mostly set up for proprietary software. I wish they cold so I didn't have to use a VM to use mine Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockoboy Report post Posted September 6, 2019 1 minute ago, Halitech said: I wish they cold so I didn't have to use a VM to use mine What is VM? I wonder if somebody could jailbreak the software? Would that be illegal, breach of copyright etc? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post Posted September 6, 2019 1 minute ago, Rockoboy said: What is VM? I wonder if somebody could jailbreak the software? Would that be illegal, breach of copyright etc? Virtual Machine. I run Debian Linux on my systems and the software runs only in Windows and Mac you would need to know the specific coding they used for commands and hacking the software wold be illegal. Although unless you spread it around, how would anyone really know? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockoboy Report post Posted September 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, Halitech said: Virtual Machine. I run Debian Linux on my systems OK, thanx. Way over my head! On the coding and jail-breaking thing, just an idea. Also way over my head! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post Posted September 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, Rockoboy said: OK, thanx. Way over my head! On the coding and jail-breaking thing, just an idea. Also way over my head! yeah, beyond my abilities as well. I can trouble shoot from the command prompt but actual coding, not my thing lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockoboy Report post Posted September 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, Halitech said: I can trouble shoot from the command prompt I can turn a computer on ... providing that works, I am good to go, solitaire, minesweeper, answer a few emails, check facebook for funny fishing memes ... and I am done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted September 9, 2019 On 9/7/2019 at 9:09 AM, Halitech said: For most of these smaller machines they are mostly set up for proprietary software. I wish they cold so I didn't have to use a VM to use mine Yep, I tried a couple of programmes I found on the 'net with my little burner but to no avail. One that did work was simpler than the stuff that came with it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prestige593 Report post Posted September 15, 2019 Got the software somewhat figured out. Just a lot of trial and error. There is still no explanation of any the settings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted September 15, 2019 (edited) You might be able to run it with laserweb* on mac..likewise for debian linux ( try version 3 rather than 4 first, if v3 works, try v4 )..it also works on windows..( "cross platform" ) all depends what "language" the module that is doing the position controlling of your laser system is using.It isn't designed for these little desktop lasers, but ..could be worth a try..I don't have a laser as small as these, so I can't say that it will work with any of them, nor can I say that it won't "brick" them..So..try at your own risk.. *Open source..freeware.. Edited September 15, 2019 by mikesc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sbrownn Report post Posted December 10, 2019 On 9/15/2019 at 10:14 AM, Prestige593 said: Got the software somewhat figured out. Just a lot of trial and error. There is still no explanation of any the settings. What kind of files will it accept? How about STL files? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halitech Report post Posted December 10, 2019 8 minutes ago, sbrownn said: What kind of files will it accept? How about STL files? I've used PNG, GIF and JPG with mine. STL are generally for 3D printers as far as I've heard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
