Does anyone laser etch their patterns directly onto the leather?

[Bert03241]

I laser all my designs directly onto the leather. I use mostly Veg Tan and dye it the color I want then 2 or 3 coats of supper sheen or resolene before you laser. You can then take a damp cloth and wipe what ever residue is on the leather. Always laser from the bottom up so the exhaust draws most of the smoke away.

[Hooksetz]

I case my leather, etch, cut, whatever it is I am doing, then I clean it right up with more water and a toothbrush...no soot from cuts or engraved, and when done it looks like a stamp...mine is a contained unit, so I cant use any finishing products beforehand...just plain ol veg tan...

[Frankqv]

We use our laser daily for production. Some products we prove and then have dies made. As far as the soot we use dried air from our shop compressor at about 50 PSI regulated ,which really lessens any burning. On products that we want no burn residue we use regulated CO2 instead of air which doesn't allow any burn. Sample of some cut pieces to be hand sewn. We sell these as kits, sew only. All of our in house manufacture is machine sewn.

[Bert03241]

On 9/27/2020 at 10:54 AM, Lfrog said:

I have 120 watt lasers, its not a power issue, I can cut leather if I wish, but there are more efficient ways for our particular setup to cut leather.  Would you laser cut 500 circular coasters or click them out with a clicker press?

hAVEN'T READ ALL THE POST AND i KNOW THIS IS OLD BUT THE REASON OPps you don't engrave well is you have to much power. Lasers over 80 watts have a hard time dialing down the power to engrave

[LatigoAmigo]

2 hours ago, Bert03241 said:

Lasers over 80 watts have a hard time dialing down the power to engrave

From my experience I don't think this is the case. Before I bought my CO2 laser I was using a "diode" laser (at a maker-space). It was 100 watts and with its adjustable power setting did wonderfully fine engraving. I've tried to dial down my laser but it still engraves very coarsely. 

[Frankqv]

Correct Amigo. The lower power lasers also have a shorter focal distance, which makes for a smaller beam, therefore giving you a more precise greyscale print or engrave. Also the CO2 lasers don't fire much below 18-20%, so a 150 watt laser will only go down to about 30 watts to fire. Much to high for many engraving jobs. We have a 150w for mainly cutting, which we use in the 40-60% range. We also have a 60watt (Which tests @ 48watts,since new)which we use in the 20-50% range for engraving and dithered greyscale.

[Technomagus]

The Beamo or Beambox Pro has a40 or 50w laser, but with the option of adding a $300 diode laser for engraving. So, you get a laser cutter that can also engrave. Best of both worlds!

 

[Lfrog]

On 1/29/2021 at 1:37 AM, Bert03241 said:

hAVEN'T READ ALL THE POST AND i KNOW THIS IS OLD BUT THE REASON OPps you don't engrave well is you have to much power. Lasers over 80 watts have a hard time dialing down the power to engrave

I have RF ceramicore tubes so can dial down with no issues. Your answer is correct for the cheaper glass tube laser sources. Engraving is fine leaather is difficult to cut with a laser because the thickness is too variable to get consistent results.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Lfrog
add more information

[Bert03241]

On 2/1/2021 at 12:30 PM, Technomagus said:

The Beamo or Beambox Pro has a40 or 50w laser, but with the option of adding a $300 diode laser for engraving. So, you get a laser cutter that can also engrave. Best of both worlds!

 

You should have no trouble engraving with a 40 or 50 watt co2 laser, no need to add $300 for a usless diode laser. Just someone trying to take advantage of people that don't know lasers.My 60 watt engraves and cut just fine.And engraves a lot faster then any diode laser.

[Bert03241]

On 2/1/2021 at 7:11 AM, Frankqv said:

Correct Amigo. The lower power lasers also have a shorter focal distance, which makes for a smaller beam, therefore giving you a more precise greyscale print or engrave. Also the CO2 lasers don't fire much below 18-20%, so a 150 watt laser will only go down to about 30 watts to fire. Much to high for many engraving jobs. We have a 150w for mainly cutting, which we use in the 40-60% range. We also have a 60watt (Which tests @ 48watts,since new)which we use in the 20-50% range for engraving and dithered greyscale.

So your so called 60 watt is really a 40 watt that they over drive to call it 60. Your tube is probably 1010mm long.

40W Laser Tube

Length=1010mm, Diameter=51mm Expected Life: 2000+ hours Laser Tube, 40 Watt (48 Watts MAX, 40 Watts nominal)  ..