[lazylaser]

I did a little bit of research before buying it on eBay, and expected problems, but had hoped that it just might do what I want out of the box. Unfortunately not!

Does this machine have the capability to engrave anodized aluminium? Reading around I was under the impression that anything above 30W could do this, but when I try to engrave anodized aluminium with this machine, all that happens is that the material gets incredibly hot. also reading around, I have found that the real wattage of the machine is quite a bit lower than 40W...

If the K40 out of the box is unsuitable, if I purchase a 35W tube from Lightobject, would this be enough to engrave anodized aluminium?

I'm also going to buy the DSP upgrade kit, even though Moshidraw is so good.

[Bigbird48]

I would think your problem is more with the anodized alum then the laser, un less the tube is totally shot. I have a FSL 40 watt which is nothing more then a souped up k40, I've been told the tube in my machine is somewhere between 23 and 30 watts and when the machine works it has no trouble with anodized alum.
I've read many people with 25 watt laser do it also. I would try some different alum before going out and buying another machine. Not that the k40 isn't junk its just it should do alum.

[lazylaser]

Hi,

Thanks for replying. I am trying to etch on Chewbarka anodized aluminium pet tags. I've also read that people are able to CO2 laser etch these with 25W lasers, and I would have thought the k40 40 Watt (as you've said somewhere between 23 and 30 Watts) should work with those.

Does anybody know if I am correct about the Chewbarka pet tags, or are they hardened in some way / too thick to etch with the K40? The chewbarka website does mention that they have thicker anodizing than standard tags.

[lazylaser]

Could it be a problem with the laser alignment?

I have tried an alignment test by sticking a piece of tape over the hole on the lens mount where the laser should point to, pushing the test button, and the burnt bit appears just a bit above the area where the cavity is. I have tried to realign it by adjusting both the 2nd mirror (the one away from the laser to the left side of the machine), and the lens mount, but the machine is set up in such a way only realign side-to-side, not up and down.

The thing is, the lasering still works even though it's not correctly aligned ie. I can burn text etc. onto wood.

Could it be this? I have tried placing a piece of the anodised aluminium directly in front of one of the mirrors, and it doesn't do anything but heat it up. It burns through paper, wood, and plastic just fine. Does the lens increase the concentration of the laser to where it can actually anodize the aluminium?

[Bigbird48]

Dave were R U on this LOL ?
Lens alignment could be the problem, but if your burning text in wood I would think you have enough PWR to etch Alum.

Question Can you cut wood , get a thin piece say 3mm plywood and see if you can cut it, use 100% power and about 25 to 30 speed and see if it will cut thru the plywood.
also if you have a cone on the head for the air assist, make sure its on straight and you beam is not hitting the side of the cone as it comes out the laser head.

I have some anodized Alum pet tags, I'm not sure if their the same as yours but I have no problem etching them.

[fixtureman1]

You need to check each mirror. You have to start with the mirror right in front of the laser tube get it to hit the center then move to the next one. do this for all of them

[lazylaser]

Hi, thanks for the replies. I have realigned the mirrors to where the beam hits the lens unit dead centre. The lens itself was also very very dirty, so I took that out and cleaned it with alcohol wipes.

I have tried cutting wood, although I don't have any plywood handy. I have a lot of those wooden ice-cream-stick things which doctors use to push down patients' tongues. Each of the sticks are 1.5mm in thickness, so I put 2 together for 3mm thickness.

Using test mode ie. just the test button, I have set to full power, and watched how long it takes to burn a hole through. 20 seconds with the test button on, and the beam burns through to the bottom of the lower wooden stick, but just barely. At the bottom of the wooden stick there's a pin-sized black speck, whereas the top stick is completely burnt through. Testing with just one stick, it takes about 9 to 10 seconds to burn all the way through.

How long should it usually take to burn through 1.5mm of soft wood? Those sticks are softer than plywood, I think.

Perhaps the tube isn't working well? The water look to be running through okay.

I wonder if I should just purchase a new 35W tube from LightObject.