Laser for metal cutting jewelry

[Terry R Peterson]

We currently use a few Epilog lasers to cut acrylic jewelry, and want to move into cutting metal jewelry. Any recommendations on (> $100k) machines for this purpose?

CO2 with gas, Fiber, YAG???? Recommended manufacturer?

If there's an existing thread, please point me that way. Thanks in advance for all your help!

[Braden Todd]

I am biased, but due to experience and can say I love my Kern!! I have their 400 watt laser and the tube when new was 580 watts, it cuts through metal with ease and leaves great edges. I have the 52x100 bed and it works great for full sheets, today I am running 4x10 sheets of stainless steel (there's an extra 2' of bed at the back of the table).

i recommend calling them and ask for Keith, let him know I referred you and he will go out of his way to help you before and after the sale. Also, if you send them your exact material they will run off samples for you so you know what you're getting out of the machine.

I I really can't say enough good things about their machine and company in general!

feel free to pm me if you have any other questions.

Good luck!

Braden

[Paul Phillips]

You need to PM Bruce Boone, he's the man when it comes to laser cut jewelry. Haven't seen him around in awhile, his last post is from 2014 but it gives you an idea of what he's capable of.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ighlight=rings
http://www.boonerings.com/

[Dan Hintz]

You need to PM Bruce Boone, he's the man when it comes to laser cut jewelry. Haven't seen him around in awhile, his last post is from 2014 but it gives you an idea of what he's capable of.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ighlight=rings
http://www.boonerings.com/

Bruce uses a custom setup with a CNC milling machine as the base (might have been a Mazak), and the cutting head replaced with a fiber laser (400W, if memory serves). This is a (roughly) $100k setup.

[chris szlachetka]

Ztechlaser man ! Head on over to there instagram page to view videos, pics, the machine is incredible ! Next on my list after our new VMC.

[Dave Sheldrake]

CO2 is the wrong type of machine for metal cutting at low power. (above 4,000 watts they are fine)

Go with a fibre gantry at 600 watts, for cheaper metal cutting think of one of the big Chinese units, from memory they run about $80k for a 600 watt that will cut 6mm to 8mm steels easily.

I'm seriously thinking about replacing my Mitsubishi with a couple of lower power fibres.....

[Braden Todd]

CO2 is the wrong type of machine for metal cutting at low power. (above 4,000 watts they are fine)

Go with a fibre gantry at 600 watts, for cheaper metal cutting think of one of the big Chinese units, from memory they run about $80k for a 600 watt that will cut 6mm to 8mm steels easily.

I'm seriously thinking about replacing my Mitsubishi with a couple of lower power fibres.....

Why do you say that about co2 lasers and metal? My Kern is a co2 and it cuts through metal very well, I cut stainless at over 1"/sec at 50 power. I can go faster and use more power but I'm happy with my run times and finish so I go a little "slow"

I did a test once on 11ga steel, before I ran out of time I was at 2"/sec for my speed and plenty more to go.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Steels are reflective at the CO2 wavelength, that's why a 10 watt Fibre will mark steel directly and a 100 watt CO2 won't.

A 400 watt CO2 performs pretty much the same as a 150 watt fibre

[Kev Williams]

I deal with 2 shops that laser cut steel- have no idea the brand or types of machines they use, but I do know both use liquid nitrogen. One shop was using oxygen for awhile because the cost of nitrogen was killing them--

What are you guys using, if anything, as an 'assist', and is there always a need for it?

Just curious

[Terry R Peterson]

Thanks for all the input. Since posting, I've continued to do some research. We're a small jewelery company, so size and speed are far less important than cost for now. Full Spectrum offers a CO2 laser capable of cutting non-precious metal for under $30K. The cheapest fiber machines I've found are 6 figures plus. Wish there was more machines in between this range. We'd love to be able to cut precious metal directly, but not plausible with CO2 from my understanding. That leaves us with cutting a base metal and plating it.

[matthew knott]

You can cut precious metal with a low power pulsed fiber laser, but it will take a while and you need multiple repeats and a few other tricks, how much time is to much ??

[Dave Sheldrake]

Full Spectrum offers a CO2 laser capable of cutting non-precious metal for under $30K.

What FS are offering is a CO2 tube that uses a mid powered tube to heat the metal followed by a blast of oxygen to cause an exothermic reaction in the metal to cut. They work well for murdering out basic shapes and sheet cutting but for work that has to then go for plating or other treatment the edge discolouration and oxidation can cause problems.

What are you guys using, if anything, as an 'assist', and is there always a need for it?

I use Nitrogen and Argon for meterials that need a clean low / no oxide edge and Oxygen to increase speeds and deal with some difficult materials. It works a LOT different to a normal air assist and the the nozzle stand off is tiny compared to normal machines (0.5mm to 3mm most of the time)

Gas pressure varies between 60psi and 350 psi, Gas use is by far the single biggest machine running expense I have

The cheapest fiber machines I've found are 6 figures plus.

You can get quite quick Chinese Fibre machines in the 500 watt Range for around $55k imported with 2.5m x 1.5m beds. You can also fit a Sinjoe metal cutting set to pretty much any of the smaller Chinese cabinet machines (from 600 x 900mm upwards) for around $4,000 complete with control cards, mainboard and dynamic follow head. All you need on top of that is a DC tube and PSU that can provide 120 watts plus.

[chris szlachetka]

I'm telling ya check out the Ztechlaser company, roughly 35k for baseline model (capable of cutting .25" Titanium) is the quote I got. I was also told they can make what size/power you need. Not the companies best clips below, much better content is on instagram ! best of luck, hope that helps !



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr4dN_VdIPU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL9Y1nIbWRs

[Chris Edens]

I also spoke to them. Did you ask them how many passes it took to cut .25 Ti? I can tell you that took a long time to cut. When you speak to them they make it sound like it does it one pass but that is not true.

[Kev Williams]

I get sooo many one-off requests for SS ID plates in sizes I don't have handy, and the shear I have can only cut 6" of 20 gauge SS. Otherwise, I'm always special ordering SS plates to be cut... What would be the bomb for ME would be a fiber capable of cutting AND engraving 18 or less gauge stainless, kinda like how a 25w C02 cuts and engraves Rowmark...