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View Full Version : Epilog 1.5" Lens



David Fairfield
02-02-2009, 4:30 PM
Folks, what would the 1.5" lens do for me besides narrow my kerf? Is it worth the investement? Thanks! :)

Angus Hines
02-02-2009, 4:44 PM
David I have a 1.5" lens but no holder. Also what Dia. are your lens for that machine I need to know that too. IF you think you can get a holder separately.

Steve Clarkson
02-02-2009, 4:50 PM
David, I bought the lens with my laser, but haven't had time to put it in and try it yet..........

Maybe I'll get to it later this week and report back to you.

David Fairfield
02-02-2009, 5:38 PM
Hi Angus, I haven't the courage to take the lens out of the metal angled mirror thingie yet. But the diameter of the opening for the lens is exactly 16.25mm. I guess the lens' actual diameter is about another 2 mm, or so. Sound about right?

Hi Steve, give it a try and lets hear what you get. I do miniature work, so I'm thinking it would help. I'm pretty curious what it, if anything, this lens would do for rastered images.

Dave

Peck Sidara
02-02-2009, 6:02 PM
Hi David,

Perfect timing...check out our most recent technical library article covering the different lenses and uses.

http://www.epiloglaser.com/tl_focuslens_101.htm

Smaller spot size, great for high resolution engraving, will likely decrease your kerf. HTH.

Angus Hines
02-02-2009, 6:25 PM
Well sorry David mine won't work for you. It's a 19mm But 16.25 sounds about right for your machine.

there's a link on here some where for a company that sells just the lens for about 75% less than your MFG. He's in NY I think but they dont come with the pretty anodized holders and the quality is just the same.

I just bought one from my dealer and it came with his labels on it ....LOL. go figure. but I needed the holder so I was trapped.

Albert Nix
02-02-2009, 7:44 PM
I use my 1.5 lens a fair amount. When I am engraving images with fine detail. I also have to have it if I am using the rotary attachment and engraving on glasses that are so big that I can not let the table down far enough to use the 2" lens.

Richard Rumancik
02-03-2009, 11:42 AM
I also use my 1.5" FL lens regularly. For cutting 1/16" basswood, I can get a .003 kerf on the top side and it approaches zero on the bottom.

For rastering, you can get a .003 dot which has much less overlap than a .005 dot. Using 600 or 1000 dpi on a graphic using a .005 diameter dot is rather pointless in my opinion, as there is far too much dot overlap to gain the advantage of the increased resolution. I have done some very fine logos on stainless steel with Cermark as well as in wood using high dpi and a 1.5" lens. I could not do this with a 2" lens.

One thing to keep in mind: when you decrease the beam diameter, you increase the energy density considerably. Rather than spreading out your 30 watts of energy over a .005 diameter circle, you are concentrating it on a .003" diameter circle. This results in a huge increase in energy density (watts per square inch). For some materials, this may be a big advantage. It is difficult to quantify the actual cutting results and you just need to experiment with it. In my opinion is reduces the heat affected zone along the cutting line which is advantageous for some plastics.

The downside of the 1.5" lens is the reduced depth of focus. You need to have a level table and flat material.

If you can find a loose lens perhaps you can find a home shop machinist to make a mount. Lenses come up on eBay all the time. I have actually made mounts from acrylic. Although not as good as aluminum, they have worked well enough.

George Brown
02-03-2009, 12:20 PM
Well sorry David mine won't work for you. It's a 19mm But 16.25 sounds about right for your machine.

there's a link on here some where for a company that sells just the lens for about 75% less than your MFG. He's in NY I think but they dont come with the pretty anodized holders and the quality is just the same.

I just bought one from my dealer and it came with his labels on it ....LOL. go figure. but I needed the holder so I was trapped.
Anybody seen one for a universal laser?