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Terry Quiram
02-26-2003, 6:45 PM
I am an engineer with Caterpillar and for the past 6 years my department has been developing a drive train for the MT700 and MT800 series Agriculture tractors. This box features the MT700. It is made for my boss who has been promoted and is moving on. This guy is the boss of your dreams. Always up front, trusted you enough to make the right decisions and always stood between you and the indians when the bullets were flying. The laser work was done by a fellow Peoria Woodclub member that bought a factory reconditioned machine over Christmas. His is 20 watt and cost 10K. Thanks for looking

Terry

Jennifer@Indy.USA
03-03-2003, 1:00 PM
That is really nice Terry! I love it.

Jen

George@Colonel's Workshop
03-03-2003, 4:04 PM
Good Afternoon Jen,

I think you and Terry are right on track. :<) Is Weston okay?

Dave Hammelef
03-03-2003, 6:43 PM
Nice looking box also.

Dave

Bob Oswin
03-03-2003, 7:13 PM
Originally posted by Terry Quiram
I am an engineer with Caterpillar and for the past 6 years my department has been developing a drive train for the MT700 and MT800 series Agriculture tractors. This box features the MT700. It is made for my boss who has been promoted and is moving on. This guy is the boss of your dreams. Always up front, trusted you enough to make the right decisions and always stood between you and the indians when the bullets were flying. The laser work was done by a fellow Peoria Woodclub member that bought a factory reconditioned machine over Christmas. His is 20 watt and cost 10K. Thanks for looking

Terry

Dandy result Terry!
Tell me, can you "cut" with a 20 watt laser and if so, how much lumber?
I wanted to make some steelrule dies. ( 3/4" plywood)
Maybe it's smarter to run the lser straight at em.

regards
Bob

Terry Quiram
03-03-2003, 8:42 PM
Bob

Keith Outten is the one to ask laser questions. I don't own one (wish I did). I don't believe 20 watt has the juice to cut 3/4" plywood.

Terry

Aaron Koehl
03-03-2003, 10:28 PM
Our 35 watt laser will only cut cleanly through slightly more
than 3/8" lumber. Plywood is especially difficult because of
all of the glue. Oak, walnut, cherry, maple, alder-- all cut great.
On the other and, the laser doesn't have enough juice to cut
purple heart, due to all of the resin in the wood and density.

_Aaron_

Bob Oswin
03-04-2003, 8:02 AM
I'll do some checking around here. Am I looking for a particular type of laser beam?
Like YAG or the like?

Bob

Pat Riley
03-04-2003, 7:33 PM
If you are looking just to cut, the wavelength and delivery of the system will be a huge factor.

H2O is essentially transparent to an Nd:YAG laser - wavelength of 1064nm. To a CO2 laser - wavelength of roughly ten times YAG 10,600nm - H2O is opaque, and will absorb the laser energy. The moisture content of the wood as well as the absorption characteristics of the material would in general allow CO2 cut much better in wood for the same amount of power.

This being said, the power density of the focused beam is also a major factor. If an Nd:YAG system is Q-Switched vs. Continuous there will be a difference. It is also easier to get a bit tighter beam with YAG than with CO2.

All in all, if you are looking to do steel rule dies, I would look for someone with an industrial CO2 system. Your biggest problem with be consistancy in the depth of the kerf. Changes in density in the material will cause fluctuations in the depth of cut. Cound be a problem with setting the rules.

Alot of sheet metal fabricators have large CO2 systems, but they are designed to through-cut, not depth cut. Could take alot of tweaking to get it right.

Bob Oswin
03-04-2003, 7:45 PM
Originally posted by Pat Riley
If you are looking just to cut, the wavelength and delivery of the system will be a huge factor.

H2O is essentially transparent to an Nd:YAG laser - wavelength of 1064nm. To a CO2 laser - wavelength of roughly ten times YAG 10,600nm - H2O is opaque, and will absorb the laser energy. The moisture content of the wood as well as the absorption characteristics of the material would in general allow CO2 cut much better in wood for the same amount of power.

This being said, the power density of the focused beam is also a major factor. If an Nd:YAG system is Q-Switched vs. Continuous there will be a difference. It is also easier to get a bit tighter beam with YAG than with CO2.

All in all, if you are looking to do steel rule dies, I would look for someone with an industrial CO2 system. Your biggest problem with be consistancy in the depth of the kerf. Changes in density in the material will cause fluctuations in the depth of cut. Cound be a problem with setting the rules.

A lot of sheet metal fabricators have large CO2 systems, but they are designed to through-cut, not depth cut. Could take alot of tweaking to get it right.
excellent!
More info that I had even hoped for!
It's sure nice to meet some folks that know their crafts.
Now, at least I can ask the right questions and prepare myself for the difficulties in getting consistent results.


Thanks agian Pat

Bob.

Keith Outten
03-14-2003, 1:06 PM
Not the best picture I have taken but it will give you an idea of an easy project. This music box was made entirely by the laser. I loaded a small piece of alder about 4" wide by 16" long and 1/4" thick, the laser cut and engraved the box. A few drops of glue and that's it...I would normally finish the box with lacquer however haven't had time lately. Total time for the project is about 15 minutes not including lacquer.

Keith Outten
03-14-2003, 1:18 PM
Here's Terry's tractor engraved on an oak plaque. Look closely and you can clearly see the oak grain which is why oak isn't the best choice for engraving. Cherry and alder are the best choices however any wood that has soft spots or areas of high density changes can exhibit the same problems.

This is just to show you that there is much to learn when selecting material for a particular job and anytime that wood is used the results can vary dramatically.

Terry Quiram
03-14-2003, 7:10 PM
Keith

You shouldn't have shown me the plaque, I want it now. ;) To tell the truth, I really like the look of the Oak grain in the engraving. I am working up a package to send to you. I can see good things in the future.

Terry

Keith Outten
03-19-2003, 10:00 AM
Terry,

Here is a picture of the tractor engraved using gold AlumaMark material. Sadly the picture doesn't do the engraving justice as it is a near pristine engraving.

There are so many materials to choose from these days and as many different techniques the options are almost endless.

Rags Alan Ragland
01-04-2008, 2:38 AM
Terry
what settings do you use for lasering alumamark? I have an Epilog and it does not like alumamark. I have to de-focus to get anything.
I have a Legend 36EXT 75watts.
Your project looks great.
Rags

Terry Quiram
01-04-2008, 6:52 AM
Alan

You will have to ask Keith. He did the work for me. A laser is one tool I don't have in my shop.

Terry

Brian Conklin
01-04-2008, 11:43 AM
My paperwork from Alumamark recommends 25p 30s for the Epilog 75w. I have a 30w ULS and run my gold at 65p 100s with excellent results.

Scott Shepherd
01-04-2008, 12:07 PM
Also know that the Satin Silver Alumamark can be miserable to work with. If you look at all the threads on Alumamark and problems, I think every single one of them traces back to the Satin Silver version. I have called the manufacturer and spoken with their tech support and even they tell me that the Satin Silver is the least friendly of the bunch. They also said that manufacturing techniques used can also lead to banding issues. It's not the laser, it's the material.

Try one of the other versions of it.

I'm doing this my memory, so it might not be the satin silver, but it's one of them that is very problematic.

Frank Tralongo
01-04-2008, 7:49 PM
Eh Keith,
The music box is GREAT....
Would you be interested in sharing the Corel file?