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Thread: Engraving Stainless Steel on Epilog Fusion M2 dual power

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neville Stewart View Post
    Which Triumph fiber do you have Kev, the only one I see maxes out @100Khz.
    What I was told is that the lowest frequency is equal to the wattage, not sure about the highest but I think that depends on the source.

    You can set the software for whatever you like the min/max to be, but the source will default to the actual min/max. My 30 watt machine had a min value of 20 and a max value of 80 in the configuration, not sure what the actual max is but the actual min is 30 and I changed the software to reflect that value.

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Hair View Post
    What I was told is that the lowest frequency is equal to the wattage, not sure about the highest but I think that depends on the source.

    You can set the software for whatever you like the min/max to be, but the source will default to the actual min/max. My 30 watt machine had a min value of 20 and a max value of 80 in the configuration, not sure what the actual max is but the actual min is 30 and I changed the software to reflect that value.
    And while I can only speculate, it does seem like a setting of 20 is a little more aggressive than 30 Gary, but I've not done a test grid.
    355 - 10400 : )

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neville Stewart View Post
    And while I can only speculate, it does seem like a setting of 20 is a little more aggressive than 30 Gary, but I've not done a test grid.
    It would be too hard to measure a quick test, but you might see a difference in results if you did something like 1,000 passes on a .25" square - one at 20 and one at 30 and another at 50 as another comparison. If it truly is working at 20 then I think it should be deeper than the other two. Maybe I'll try it later on a piece of stainless.

  4. #19
    I just tested mine-- Since copper is very very finicky, that's what I used...

    I found that 20 thru 35kz gave me virtually identical results. But there was a BIG difference between 35 and 40kz...
    This tells me my lowest 'effective' setting is 35kz...

    On the upper end- which is harder to test because all the laser does is barely polish the surface, so finding the right speed is critical- I found noticeable differences between 80, 90 and 100kz, but no change above 100...

    My software says 20 to 200kz, but my realitywear says 35 to 100kz...

    This is actually good to know, saves time spinning wheels testing freq's that aren't there!

    >edit< here's a pic of the low-freq test, from the bottom up = 20, 30, 35, 40 on top...
    and as per this pic, which reveals more than my 5x HF loupe did, there IS a slight but noticeable difference between 30 and 35kz, so I'll go with a 30-100 range
    DSC05655.jpg
    Last edited by Kev Williams; 11-07-2016 at 11:25 AM.
    ========================================
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  5. #20
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    Here is my test on aluminum. I ran 500 passes at 500 speed, 40 power and frequency from 20 - 40 on the top row and 80 - 120 on the bottom row. Clearly a difference on the top row but not so much on the bottom.

    I used Corel's "Auto adjust" on the image so the colors you see aren't exactly accurate but the contrast between them is accurate.

    I'll try stainless later when I have some time, I'll also try a bit more power to see if it changes the higher frequency test.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #21
    So I take it that the squares on top are 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40? If so then you're laser's definitely hitting 20!

    OR- is it possible by changing your 20khz to 30khz in the software just changed 20 entered to equal the lowest YOU entered, and factors up from there?
    (like everyone says to do with Chinese controllers) -- just a thought!

    How about changing the software from 30 back to 20 and re-run the same test- if the machine IS just factoring up your numbers, then your first 3 squares should match-

    If they look the same as the first test, then it's safe to say your machine is running down to 20khz!
    ========================================
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    ONE - vinyl cutter
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  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    So I take it that the squares on top are 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40? If so then you're laser's definitely hitting 20!
    That's correct, lowest on the left, highest on the right.

    OR- is it possible by changing your 20khz to 30khz in the software just changed 20 entered to equal the lowest YOU entered, and factors up from there?
    (like everyone says to do with Chinese controllers) -- just a thought!

    How about changing the software from 30 back to 20 and re-run the same test- if the machine IS just factoring up your numbers, then your first 3 squares should match-

    If they look the same as the first test, then it's safe to say your machine is running down to 20khz!
    I ran the test with each square mapped to specific settings using the color palette in the program.

    I just ran it again using 80 to 120 with a power of 80 and there is a (barely) discernible difference between 80 and 90 but the rest look the same. I think it's pretty safe to say that I can use 20 to 90 vs the 30 to 80 that I thought were the limits.

  8. #23
    I saw some post on this thread and others that specify they use speeds over 100. Forgive me if this sounds like a noob question, but isn't 100 the highest for speed? At least that is what i thought using the epilogs.

    And for those getting the black marks using fiber, how permanent are they? I did manage to mark it pretty dark. But when i ran a scotch brite pad over it it came off. The depth was there, but the dark marks weren't.
    Epilog Fusion M2 40 75W CO2 / 50W Fiber
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  9. #24
    What you're wiping off is soot & ash, which means it's cutting more than annealing.

    For what it's worth, I've found that cheap copper-wire brushes from HF are great to brush fiber-engraved stainless-- they don't seem to scratch the ss like scotchbrite does, and it cleans as well if not better. Also, using some cleanser with the brush helps too...
    ========================================
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  10. #25
    more testing (I need to stop this and get some actual work done! )

    if it's any consolation to those who can't seem to find black--

    Neither can I -

    This is a plate I've been practicing on for awhile- There's some Cermark halftone testing, and also the "deep engrave" tests were done weeks ago.
    --Note they're blacker than today's "Trying for black". All of those I just did, tried high freq, low freq, in focus, too close focus, too far focus, faster, slower, higher power, lower power...
    (the "rev" means rotations of my clamp, 1 rev is roughly 1mm up or down)

    The best ones of the bunch aren't even close to black.
    Of note, the top-left one, which is one of the best, was done at 500sp/100pwr/100khz.. All but the bottom 2 were done at 100khz, those I think I tried at 40khz and 60 power...
    On this particular piece of ss (304, about 16 gauge), I'll probably get more lucky with high power, slow speed and low freq. And a very tight hatch...
    tryblack.jpg

    In summary, tying to get ss to go black is total crap shoot, and mostly craps!




    .
    Last edited by Kev Williams; 11-07-2016 at 4:05 PM.
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    In summary, tying to get ss to go black is total crap shoot, and mostly craps!
    Not exactly. However, you are going about it all wrong. If you are getting any depth then you are never going to get a black mark. I've done a lot of research on this and the only way I've found to get a black mark is by "staining" the surface. Some mistakenly call this annealing, but it's not, annealing is a very different process than what you are trying to achieve. Your goal is to change the surface of the metal, not ablate it.

    Try this:
    1. Draw a 6mm square
    2. Hatch at .01 spacing, 45 and 135 degrees
    3. 80 Frequency
    4. 28 power
    5. 100 speed
    6. 2mm out of focus

    The goal is to have no spark when you laser this, you should get a glowing arc but no sparks. You will also get no depth, this is a surface mark. I have been told it is bringing the carbon in the stainless to the surface - I'm not a metallurgist or physicist so I can't tell you if that's accurate or not.

    This will turn black on 90% of the stainless you'll find. It is sssssllllllloooooooowwwwww and that is why black marking an area of any size with a fiber is not a great idea compared to Cermark.

    edit: The attached pic is of some testing I did a while back. Every square is a different combination of speed and power but all with the same frequency, hatch, and angle. I spent hours on this so I'm not going to give up the settings, but rest assured, you can get black on stainless!
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Gary Hair; 11-07-2016 at 4:25 PM. Reason: added image

  12. #27
    almost 4 minutes to engrave a 6mm square, yeah slow!!

    What I got was 'almost' black. When looking under a loupe across the X axis it looks jet black. Across the Y axis it's dark bronze-ish. Looks dark-bronze by eye when viewing straight-on, but not at all when light hits it at an angle, it lightens up and takes on gray-silver hues. Refraction of light, caused by the laser NOT cutting. I assume

    very interesting- need to make some time and do more experimenting!
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
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  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    ...What I got was 'almost' black. When looking under a loupe across the X axis it looks jet black. Across the Y axis it's dark bronze-ish. Looks dark-bronze by eye when viewing straight-on, but not at all when light hits it at an angle, it lightens up and takes on gray-silver hues. Refraction of light, caused by the laser NOT cutting...
    Have you tried multiple passes? My M2 gets darker on each pass. Usually 2 Fiber passes = Cermark Black... but much smoother.
    Tim
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  14. #29
    did the 2x crosshatch as per Gary's suggestion, second cut was definitely darker, a third pass would darken it more I'm sure.

    But just the 2x pass took 3:48 to finish at Gary's settings...

    The LS900 using my 'everyday' Cermark setting took 12 seconds, my 'watches & knives' slow speed/high-def setting only took 18 seconds...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
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  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    did the 2x crosshatch as per Gary's suggestion, second cut was definitely darker, a third pass would darken it more I'm sure.

    But just the 2x pass took 3:48 to finish at Gary's settings...

    The LS900 using my 'everyday' Cermark setting took 12 seconds, my 'watches & knives' slow speed/high-def setting only took 18 seconds...
    Try a different hatch - mine took 1:11 with the bidirectional hatch - the one with the solid blue line, no red lines. It's still not really an acceptable time for larger marks but for small text it's faster than Cermark.

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