tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post4542421654712700014..comments2024-02-28T07:32:59.864+00:00Comments on HydraRaptor: Will it burnnopheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12801535866788103677noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-16732313994278999632017-10-29T23:40:12.803+00:002017-10-29T23:40:12.803+00:00I'm guessing everyone here knows a lot more, b...I'm guessing everyone here knows a lot more, but just to point out aluminum (aluminium) has a thin layer of aluminum* dioxide which has to be removed since it has a melting temp>1000 deg C whereas aluminium is about 600 deg C. I couldn't work out if all your trials were on wood or aluminum so I thought I'd add in my 2c.Colin Meierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07362580018581436464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-76221245782369581062017-08-28T11:15:02.505+01:002017-08-28T11:15:02.505+01:00http://imgur.com/a/q3l5X
the little beads on the o...http://imgur.com/a/q3l5X<br />the little beads on the oval are @ 1mm diam.<br />i also found that the best 'test grid' is composed of individual dots on various grid.spacing.<br />now, the only irregular performance is due to inhomogeneity of the material which the digital lasering has reduced a lot.<br /><br />tip: for halftone lasering, let the grid spacing of the character matrix be somewhat larger than the effective laser dot diameter or else the darker areas will be reduced to dust that almost just blows away. i'm experimenting with that next.garcadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11892814788792651844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-86193234605864775422017-08-26T21:02:49.721+01:002017-08-26T21:02:49.721+01:00Hope it turns up soon!
Hope it turns up soon! <br />Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484087951047067412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-88276910173861682682017-08-26T12:22:02.004+01:002017-08-26T12:22:02.004+01:00I have a Glowforge 45W CO2 laser on order for the ...I have a Glowforge 45W CO2 laser on order for the past two years which I expect to get sometime next year, so this is just for high accuracy small stuff.nopheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12801535866788103677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-88588897919537841862017-08-25T23:03:15.356+01:002017-08-25T23:03:15.356+01:00Got to say that the blue Chinese CO2 laser units f...Got to say that the blue Chinese CO2 laser units for around £300 are great if you can get the right software. People say the tubes don't last but mine held up for a year. Compare this against a Just Add Sharks model at the local hack space that cost three times as much and failed around the same time mine did.<br /><br />Look for something that uses CorelDraw as the host application and you have a very professional set up. The only thing you need to do out of the box is align the mirrors.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484087951047067412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-54614396321247884432017-08-09T08:42:39.145+01:002017-08-09T08:42:39.145+01:00http://imgur.com/a/jobjx
ok, that worked out as ho...http://imgur.com/a/jobjx<br />ok, that worked out as hoped for.<br />now i can get images of respectable quality.<br />looks like the character set i made worked ok, but it might be improved.<br />check this out which i found yesterday: https://www.tug.org/TUGboat/tb08-2/tb18knut.pdf<br />i reckon i'll just go ahead and convert that bmp to gcode and burninate.<br />garcadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11892814788792651844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-49731113239542387982017-08-09T02:03:07.806+01:002017-08-09T02:03:07.806+01:00no, it's rectangular.
the only way i can measu...no, it's rectangular.<br />the only way i can measure its 'effective dot diameter' is to raster some lines at varied leading and see when they leave no unburnt space between. at 0.0025 inch intervals, i still see separate lines. the rectangle is oriented with the die, so it could be set squared to the x and y axes, then raster horizontal and then vertical to find the separate 'effective' dimensions.(effective- means what part of the beam actually burns the specific material at the specific optical wattage) <br />i love the science, too.<br />also, if the focus is close the dot is smaller but the 'depth of field' is also shorter.<br />so for fine details on a surface - close focus; for cutting thru stuff - laser farther away. i think you can just do the geometry of a cone to get an accurate idea how the functional hot.spot behaves there.garcadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11892814788792651844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-26803134130161315852017-08-08T09:33:12.747+01:002017-08-08T09:33:12.747+01:00Interesting, you are ahead of me on this. Does you...Interesting, you are ahead of me on this. Does your blue laser have a round spot?nopheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12801535866788103677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-51406286488909222822017-08-08T02:21:56.971+01:002017-08-08T02:21:56.971+01:00how fun- this is what i've been doing for the ...how fun- this is what i've been doing for the past few months with the blue laser diodes.<br />i went fully digital - fixed pulses that are triggered by the step line so the 'intensity' is governed by dots/inch - and that makes it immune to overburn on acceleration/deceleration.<br />i'm also getting an effective dot size somewhat smaller than 0.0025 inches determined by testing-<br />i wrote an applet to generate test grids, so when the leading (raster line spacing) is 0.0025, i can see the line of unburnt material between the burnt lines.<br />increased dpi rate mostly affects depth of burn.<br />that may be due to the fact i am coating the surface of the wood with lacquer which is thermoplastic and melts into the wood where the laser heats it and that stifles the combustion that widens the line.<br />you might especially like the way u can make solderpaste mask our of acetate with that trick which is a double trick cuz i use black paint which primes the burn so it will do transparent material.<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kDKyTxAZt0<br /><br />tonight i'm writing a new applet to do a whole different way cuz i want to be able to burn grayscale images and the results of varying 'intensity' are no way coming close to 255 shades.<br />if all goes well i'll be doing a test burn tonight.garcadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11892814788792651844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-48448846964817350142017-08-07T12:51:10.116+01:002017-08-07T12:51:10.116+01:00Thanks.Thanks.nopheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12801535866788103677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-81902456592762863452017-08-07T12:50:12.777+01:002017-08-07T12:50:12.777+01:00Yes there is a fairly strong jet of air downwards ...Yes there is a fairly strong jet of air downwards from the radial blower and duct to keep the smoke away.<br /><br />I think that because it is relatively low power I am moving relatively slowly. That allows the heat time to spread sideways creating more char. I think the char expands sideways and blocks the beam with carbon that can take a lot of heat. When I go faster there isn't as much time for the heat to spread sideways but the cut is not as deep so I have to repeat it.<br /><br />I didn't get around to trying successively deeper focus but that is on my list of things to dry. I eventually want to get it do 3D carving.nopheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12801535866788103677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-17582402383061359302017-08-07T12:36:07.493+01:002017-08-07T12:36:07.493+01:00oh - and great article BTW - look forward to the n...oh - and great article BTW - look forward to the next installment!Damianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08315754870866371408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4339813531032979196.post-77447228180582825532017-08-07T12:35:49.129+01:002017-08-07T12:35:49.129+01:00when experimenting with CO2 lasers - adding an air...when experimenting with CO2 lasers - adding an air jet to the nozzle makes a big difference in cut penetration/quality. Even a small amount of air flow can make a big difference. depending on the material, it can be beneficial to move the laser down in Z to penetrate at the start of a cut and then move slowly along (vs lots of shallow passes), assuming there is also the air jet to keep the cut clear/cool.Damianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08315754870866371408noreply@blogger.com