New(ish) member

[Matt Turner (physics)]

Hi all,

I've been lurking in the forums for a while, and have made a couple posts in the past, but Paul Phillips just outed me as a new member in one of the threads here, and our laser is finally on order, so I figured I'd introduce myself.

I'm actually a graduate student in experimental physics. I've been reading the forums a lot while deciding on what laser cutter specs to put in a proposal for an on-campus technology grant program. We were able to get funding this year for a Kern 4'x8' 400W CO2 laser system with the metal cutting option and a rotary attachment. We should be getting it in 9 to 11 weeks.

Paul asked what an experimental physicist does with such a laser. We're not exactly sure what we'll be doing with it, but we know that it will be a powerful tool and we'll make good use of it. We have actually sent out silicon (as in silicon wafer, not silicone) experiment parts to be laser machined before, since conventional machine tools would introduce unacceptable contaminants into the workpiece. I expect that we will be using the laser for contaminant-free machining and for cutting thin foils, as well as more standard uses such as cutting sheet metal and acrylic for enclosures. We've also got some ideas for some new processes to try. A YAG laser may have been a better match for some of our experimental parts, but the general versatility of a high-power CO2 laser seemed to make more sense for our proposal.

While we'll probably be working on different types of jobs and materials than most of you here, I've learned a lot about general laser use from reading this forum and I expect to be coming here for help and advice in the future. Thanks!

[Rodne Gold]

Welcome
Nice size and power , you should be able to utilise it well , apart from your own use , I'm sure you will have queues of others in the dept/university wanting to use it. I wish I had the wherewithall for one of those , enjoy.

[Mike Null]

Matt

welcome to SMC.

If you haven't contacted or paid a visit to Synrad I suggest you do so. They can offer a boat load of info as well as showing you examples of what they've achieved.

I don't know how far away they are but they are in your state.

http://www.synrad.com/

[Paul Phillips]

Matt, once again, welcome to the Creek, as I'm sure you can tell it's by far the best source of laser engraving info on the web and a great bunch of very helpful people.
I can't help but admire your job description and of course I'm green with envy on your choice of laser. I did actually look into them initially and really wanted one but it was a bit beyond our budget at the time, (maybe someday!). I did manage to get a 120W machine though which I am very glad I did, when they say "get as much power as you can afford", their right, it makes a huge difference and I am able to cut things that many others cannot. I think once you get yours you will be amazed at what you can do with it, to me the possibilities are nearly endless. I'm curious, does the Kern machine use a standard type of focus lens which you can change out for different focal lengths? In addition to cutting metals I'm sure you will able to do a nice job on cutting thick acrylics as well. I can cut 1" acrylic using my 2.5" lens and get a fairly good quality edge.
Looking forward to seeing what you can do, make sure and keep us posted. If you have any questions I can help you with please feel free to PM me and I'll give you my #. Scott Shepherd did the same for me and I'd like to return the favor.

[Matt Turner (physics)]

Matt

welcome to SMC.

If you haven't contacted or paid a visit to Synrad I suggest you do so. They can offer a boat load of info as well as showing you examples of what they've achieved.

I don't know how far away they are but they are in your state.

http://www.synrad.com/

Thanks, Mike. I do regularly visit Synrad's page to look at their application notes. They're about half an hour away from campus. We've had some contact with them in the past for a different laser application. Our Kern system is actually going to have a Coherent laser, though, because it has higher peak powers.

[Matt Turner (physics)]

Matt, once again, welcome to the Creek, as I'm sure you can tell it's by far the best source of laser engraving info on the web and a great bunch of very helpful people.
I can't help but admire your job description and of course I'm green with envy on your choice of laser. I did actually look into them initially and really wanted one but it was a bit beyond our budget at the time, (maybe someday!). I did manage to get a 120W machine though which I am very glad I did, when they say "get as much power as you can afford", their right, it makes a huge difference and I am able to cut things that many others cannot. I think once you get yours you will be amazed at what you can do with it, to me the possibilities are nearly endless. I'm curious, does the Kern machine use a standard type of focus lens which you can change out for different focal lengths? In addition to cutting metals I'm sure you will able to do a nice job on cutting thick acrylics as well. I can cut 1" acrylic using my 2.5" lens and get a fairly good quality edge.
Looking forward to seeing what you can do, make sure and keep us posted. If you have any questions I can help you with please feel free to PM me and I'll give you my #. Scott Shepherd did the same for me and I'd like to return the favor.

Thanks, Paul. Our machine will have a 2.5" lens, but I think we can swap it for other focal lengths if needed. What are the reasons for doing so?

[Paul Phillips]

Matt, the short answer is focal length and power density/beam width, the beam width on my 2.5" lens is approx .007" while my 1.5" lens is .003", while the focal length on the 2.5" is close to about .5"-.625" and my 1.5" lens seems to be barely able to cut .25" evenly (based on my experience with my machine). Do some searches here on focal length and lenses, there are many previous discussions on the subject and others much more qualified to give a proper answer.
Paul

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Welcome to the Creek. So whats up with that particle accelerator? Glad you guys are on the west coast just in case someone presses the wrong button or puts a decimal in the wrong place
look forward to reading your posts

[Dee Gallo]

Well, Matt, your appearance has certainly invigorated the Creek already! Welcome to the fun and games, we all love to see what others are making with their lasers... so don't forget to post pics when you get up and running.

cheers, dee

[Matt Turner (physics)]

The folks at Kern recently posted a video of the chuck-type rotary stage that they put together for us. I'm still not clear on what the link policy is here, so just do a search on YouTube for "Pipe Cutting with 150W CO2 Laser" if you want to see it. It should be shipping this week—now we just need to get the campus electricians to get around to putting in that 100A line for us.