Why aren't CO2 galvo laser talked about more on this site?

[Jacob John]

I would think the detail would be much improved over any gantry machine, if what I've seen galvo mirrors can do is any indication! Last week Had to engrave some mold pins ID#s in an area less than .020", I got the numbers to .017" tall with my 150 lens and under 20x magnification, they were perfect. Beam spot diameter would be the main limitation on a C02 galvo.

Right, the spot size increases which affects the detail, right? I'm still leaning toward the galvo because I won't be cutting, won't be engraving large items, and they are faster. I'd love to build my own, I'm really curious how Matt did it.

[Jiten Patel]

Hey all,

Yes our speedmarker CL is collecting dust. We started out with that machine and it worked for a while but was seriously under powered. 30w isn't powerful enough to cut card clean and required multiple passes which created a soot problem. We then bought the Speedy 400 which was comparable speedwise as the 30w was under-powered and could cut much finer detail and super clean with the added benifit of cutting wood and acrylic. We are now looking at getting a new co2 galvo but this time with all the bells and whistles. Full automation, cameras and a whopping 200w pulsed co2 laser which puts out a peak power of 600w. We are talking to the company to build us a turn-key solution so should have something finalised in the next few months. This new machine is an absolute beast and to give you a comparison, we ran a cutting file on our s400 - run time 48 minutes. On this new machine 2 minutes. Another file took 11 minutes on the s400 - this was cut down to 15 seconds!

[Jacob John]

Hey all,

Yes our speedmarker CL is collecting dust. We started out with that machine and it worked for a while but was seriously under powered. 30w isn't powerful enough to cut card clean and required multiple passes which created a soot problem. We then bought the Speedy 400 which was comparable speedwise as the 30w was under-powered and could cut much finer detail and super clean with the added benifit of cutting wood and acrylic. We are now looking at getting a new co2 galvo but this time with all the bells and whistles. Full automation, cameras and a whopping 200w pulsed co2 laser which puts out a peak power of 600w. We are talking to the company to build us a turn-key solution so should have something finalised in the next few months. This new machine is an absolute beast and to give you a comparison, we ran a cutting file on our s400 - run time 48 minutes. On this new machine 2 minutes. Another file took 11 minutes on the s400 - this was cut down to 15 seconds!

That's awesome, Jit! You need to upload a video when you get it so we can see it in action. For cutting, a CO2 galvo just doesn't "cut it", but how about strictly engraving? That's all I'm wanting to do. Want to sell the 30w?

[Jiten Patel]

Jacob,

A CO2 galvo does cut it - it cuts amazing as long as you have enough power to keep up with the speed. No point having all that speed when you don't have enough "umph" to cut through things. Now 600w will solve that!

The system we are building is based using this laser-source - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY2eTI-eHDI


Happy for you to take the galvo off my hands - where are you based - if you're happy to take a trip to London I'm sure we can work something out!

[Jacob John]

Jacob,

A CO2 galvo does cut it - it cuts amazing as long as you have enough power to keep up with the speed. No point having all that speed when you don't have enough "umph" to cut through things. Now 600w will solve that!

The system we are building is based using this laser-source - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY2eTI-eHDI


Happy for you to take the galvo off my hands - where are you based - if you're happy to take a trip to London I'm sure we can work something out!

Man, it's crazy looking at how intricate that laser cut that card. I don't know why I'm so much fonder on my fiber galvo, but I love watching it work. Same with that CO2 galvo. I forget you're in London, I'm across the pond in good ole Houston, Texas! That would be quite a trip for a laser, though my wife would love it! 😆🤣

[Jacob John]

Hey there Jit, sent you a PM.

[Jamie Valentin]

Jacob,

Do you now own a galvo? I wasn't sure if I was your reading your sig to mean that you do. If so, what do you think of it now?