Please check out this laser head unit

[Pieter Swart]

Hi Guys,

I found this head while browsing aliexpress for replacement parts.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ruida-150W-260W-300W-500W-Hybrid-cutting-CO2-laser-head-for-metal-cutting/32792034746.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000014.47.2alX a3&traffic_analysisId=recommend_3035_24_83054_iswiall&scm=1007.13338.83054.0&pvid=9b659e82-b7c6-4d70-b92f-7c20d7404650&tpp=1

If i'm correct, this will allow me to freely engrave onto stainless steel, aluminum and maybe even cut really thin pieces, like I had been asking about in earlier threads, without destroying my machine in any way... provided its 100% perpendicular..

Russ Saddler made an experiment on engraving into stainless, and there a multitude of old threads on this also...

My thoughts: protects the lens and the rest "should" be easy-ish....lol

Thoughts?

[John Lifer]

Add about a 250 watt min and oxygen assist and yep maybe so. But please research more on oxygen and high wattage CO2 laser and their risks. I'm positive a couple of other will chime in​ with examples of the risks with this.

[John Lifer]

Oh, sorr6, check your other thread!

[Bill George]

Ditto it does not include the laser tube or the rest.... did you reed the answers to the other Thread like John suggested? Your 100 watt Chinese machine is not cutting stainless!

[Pieter Swart]

Thanks Bill,


Yeah I got the cutting part, but the engraving might be worth looking into... with that protected lens, since all cheap chinese lasers come stock with a cheap $45 head...

[Bill George]

Thanks Bill,


Yeah I got the cutting part, but the engraving might be worth looking into... with that protected lens, since all cheap chinese lasers come stock with a cheap $45 head...

Here is the issue, the more weight those steppers move the slower the steps need to be, to keep from losing steps. Unless of course you install some really large stepper motors and of course different motor drives plus upgrading the power supply to handle the larger motors.... and it goes on.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Gas cutting lasers don't engrave, they don't cut through power of the laser, they cause a chemical reaction in the red hot metal

You want to cut metal, figure on $100k minimum to get a reliable ,safe , set up

That price is just the head, there is a lot of other control software you need. Usually they run about $4,000 total plus the required gas and fittings

[Dave Sheldrake]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Automatic-feeder-Ruida-CO2-laser-metal-and-non-metal-mixed-cutting-system-including-head-controller-sensor/32792030662.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000013.2.ODDLg m&traffic_analysisId=recommend_2088_1_81019_new2&scm=1007.13339.81019.0&pvid=9b1ad126-51c4-4454-82a9-6c852ed42473&tpp=1

Figure on this as a start point, then look at the picture of the gantry it is mounted to, complete these things weigh 6 kilos and burn small motors for fun...100 watts isn't going to make it, you need 150-180 minimum and they still won't engrave on metal reliably, while Russ Saddler may promote the idea of marking stainless with a short focal length basic CO2 it's unreliable at best as it depends on the carbon content so his video is only half a story.

Pretty much all of the big drive machines are ball screw, there's a reason for that, accelerating 6kg's takes a LOT of power and torque, the kind that will easily snap even 30mm wide tooth belts found on big flatbed chinese machines let alone the 10-15mm standard stuff

the reality is, there is no way to reliably cut metal on the cheap with any kind of laser any more than it is possible to use bottle rockets to reach low orbit...the numbers simply don't stack up

[Michael Henriksen]

With the cost of fiber engravers these days it hardly seems worth the trouble to try and upgrade a a small CO2 laser cutter to be able to engrave metal