Mike Holbert
11-08-2018, 7:48 PM
My wife and I purchased a used laser in 2016. It's a mini 30 watt 24". It came with the rotary attachment and it was a very well maintained machine. We use it only for wine glass etching and we have always not had the best luck finding the sweet spot. I tried everything, from power adjustment,focus, changing the settings ( speed, power, and design color etc 80% black ) It worked out ok for two years and I always chalked it up to the fact that most likely the laser tube needed to be reconditioned. Last year we found an amazing deal on an Epilog Mini 50 watt with rotary attachment and decided to pick it up. This thing etches so much better than the 30 watt. The etching looks flawless and even a little out of focus ( on the curve of the glass ) it does such an amazing job compared to the 30 watt.
I figured might as well replace the 30 watt tube to get it running like the 50 watt. We got the tube replaced last week, showing about 35.5 watts of power at peak. I was so excited to get it in and running ( expecting it to be like the 50 watt ). I ran the first job, and....ehhh. The etching looked ok. I have tried everything- adjusting power levels, speed. It looks much better than it did before we replaced the laser tube but it's no where compared to the 50 watt etching. The laser beam is aligned and the mirrors and the lens are cleaned. When we etch, we have always used some sort of a mask , usually a face wipe, and we have had extremely good success with the 50 watt. But when lasering on the 30 watt, the etching looks just ok. Our main problem is the edges of the design. We will always get little rough spots and you can see where the glass just didn't etch well. The glass we use is not very round. I have even tried etching in the middle of the glass with a small design where it is extremely flat. I know glass is somewhat tricky to etch, but the fact that our 50 watt does such a better job than our 30, makes me wonder if I am missing an important factor is trying to figure this out.
Any help would be much appreciated as I have ran out of options.
Thanks guys!
Mike
I figured might as well replace the 30 watt tube to get it running like the 50 watt. We got the tube replaced last week, showing about 35.5 watts of power at peak. I was so excited to get it in and running ( expecting it to be like the 50 watt ). I ran the first job, and....ehhh. The etching looked ok. I have tried everything- adjusting power levels, speed. It looks much better than it did before we replaced the laser tube but it's no where compared to the 50 watt etching. The laser beam is aligned and the mirrors and the lens are cleaned. When we etch, we have always used some sort of a mask , usually a face wipe, and we have had extremely good success with the 50 watt. But when lasering on the 30 watt, the etching looks just ok. Our main problem is the edges of the design. We will always get little rough spots and you can see where the glass just didn't etch well. The glass we use is not very round. I have even tried etching in the middle of the glass with a small design where it is extremely flat. I know glass is somewhat tricky to etch, but the fact that our 50 watt does such a better job than our 30, makes me wonder if I am missing an important factor is trying to figure this out.
Any help would be much appreciated as I have ran out of options.
Thanks guys!
Mike