Laserstar fiber lasers

[bruce edwards]

I've been thinking about getting a Laserstar fiber laser for engraving guns, knives and other metal items. How well does it do for things like that? What kind of depth can you get on stainless and how many passes etc? I've seen some videos on youtube of course, but want some info from people with personal experience if possible. Thank you for any info/help

I had an Epilog 40 watt before and using Cermark to mark metal was a pain.

[John Lifer]

Well, my opinion on laserstar is the they can advertise really well. If it were me and I was in the Philippines, I'd probably import a Chinese 30 watt. Pretty much all galvo type fibers will do the same thing to metals. Time, all depends on the design and what materials you are engraving....

[bruce edwards]

I need to change my signature, I'm in the USA now but thank you for your reply.

[Tim Bateson]

...I had an Epilog 40 watt before and using Cermark to mark metal was a pain.

If you think a Fiber will replace Cermark you are in for a big surprise. On some things yes, but I still use Cermark on most items. Easy & 1 jar makes me a fortune at a fraction of the time the Fiber could.

[bruce edwards]

Why is that? Fiber lasers seem to be so fast compared to CO2 lasers. Is a Fusion an expensive good way to go? Best (and worst ) of both worlds? The intricate settings of a fiber laser are a bit scary though.

[Gary Hair]

Why is that? Fiber lasers seem to be so fast compared to CO2 lasers. Is a Fusion an expensive good way to go? Best (and worst ) of both worlds? The intricate settings of a fiber laser are a bit scary though.

Fiber lasers are incredibly fast for marking metal, however, if you want a black mark that in any way resembles Cermark it will take forever. This is due to how you make a black mark - it takes very slow speed, out of focus, high frequency and mid-power. That's the opposite of high speed marking - high power, low frequency, mid-speed.

If you are marking very small areas, 1/2" x 1/2", then it's not so bad, but anything like a logo on a Yeti and you can't charge enough to pay you for the time it takes, especially vs Cermark and a CO2.

[Scott Shepherd]

Just to back up what Tim and Gary have said, they aren't sold as "Engraving Machines", they are sold as "Marking Machines". Keep that in mind, always. If you want to "Engrave" with your "Marking" machine, then be prepared for some long cycle times and often so much heat into the item that it warps.

We had a stainless machinery plate a customer insisted they wanted "fiber engraved". I guess someone told them that because they'd have no way to know that term without being in the business. I quoted them $18 each and they'd bring 10 at a time. Then one day they brought 400. I explained it was going to take weeks to do and offered up the solution they declined before. I sprayed one, marked it, and sent it to them as a sample. They loved it and wanted them all done like that. What used to take 12 minutes to run now took 70 seconds, so no, a fiber is not always the right tool for the job.

[Kev Williams]

I probably go thru more Cermark than any of the regular's on this forum :)

Cermark a pain? Yeah, I really wish there was a better way, but (a) I haven't found it, and (b), Every dollar I spend on Cermark generates about $60 at the invoice- and I've bought a crapload of Cermark this year ;)

JMO here, but-- If one is making money with Cermark but doesn't like the slow speeds, buying (an) additional C02 machine(s) to pick up the pace would be money better spent than trying circumvent the Cermark process with a machine that can't...

I love my fiber, and I'm looking for another one even, but as with all machines, there's always a compromise...

[bruce edwards]

Ah ok, I understand. For "deep" engraving on metal which would be better, a fiber laser or something like a Vision 1624 or Gravograph IS6000. Which is more cost effective? I've Googled this of course, but prefer to hear from experienced people.

[Kev Williams]

I've been in this business for over 50 years, 42 of them full time- pointing you to my signature below is the best answer I got for last question :D

It all depends on what you're doing, and what you expect to be doing in the future. Certain projects require certain machines. As an example, I usually do injection molds with tools, however I have done a couple of large pump seal molds with the fiber that I couldn't fit on any of my tool machines. It it was time consuming, but it was also less actual work for me than tool engraving.

There's one big huge X factor with tool machines: The tools. They're not cheap, you need many of them, and they need sharpening very often if you're engraving anything harder than aluminum. A big part of the reason I'm so busy is very few if any shops in the area even bother engraving metals with other than a diamond, because they don't want the expense of paying to have tools sharpened or buying their own cutter grinder and learning to use it...

[Gary Hair]

Ah ok, I understand. For "deep" engraving on metal which would be better, a fiber laser or something like a Vision 1624 or Gravograph IS6000. Which is more cost effective? I've Googled this of course, but prefer to hear from experienced people.

That really depends on what it is you will be engraving - both the size of the part and the area to engrave. I did a ton of firearm engraving, NFA marking, serial numbers, etc., and there is no way an rotary/mechanical engraver could touch the detail and depth in the time it took me with my fibers. You have to understand the limitations of a fiber, size is the biggest issue. Most 30-50 watt machines with a reasonable lens will effectively deep engrave about an area of about 3" x 3", any larger would be pushing it. A couple of things about fiber vs rotary - you don't have to have the piece held in place as solidly on a fiber, you can engrave over an uneven or curved surface (within limits of course), and you can engrave virtually anything you can draw on the computer. You don't have precise depth control on a fiber like you do on a rotary machine, but I have never found that to be a problem.

Ultimately, what machine is best for you really depends on what you need it to do.