Newbie Laser Q's (laserable material?)

[Shaddy Dedmore]

I'm looking at the Epilog Laser mini, probably 35 Watt. But am brand new to the field, so I have some Q's.

Can you laser stiff styrofoam? My friends and I sometimes play games that have elaborate settings, and making miniature "sets" would be great. sounds like a real low power thing, and might be faster to just use knives and files like normal, but just wondering.

Has anyone tried to engrave an acrylic fingernail? Would the curve be too great? Maybe set up a mounting template on a dowel somehow, and use the rotary attachment. But for the material, would you be able to paint the nail whatever her desired color is, then engrave a design?

For 1/4 wood, do you use solid, or ply? I know it depends on the applicataion, but what are some applications of when you'd want either.

How thick can you cut for pine. There are some scroll sawn items I've seen that I'd like to duplicate, but they are free standing, and look better when 1/2 or 5/8.

How powerful of a laser do you need to engrave stainless steel, like coffee cups/thermos, or can you. not the powder stuff, but actual engrave.

Speaking of the powder stuff, does that hold up well? Seems like it'd wear off or get scuffed. But if it actually welds into the metal, I can see how it might hold up better. If you etched (right word for the powder?) a letter onto a fork handle, let's say, would it hold up very long with people handling it and being run through the dishwasher?

I'm sure I'll have more, sorry if this stuff is repetitive for you forum old timers.

Thanks
Shaddy

[Keith Outten]

I'm looking at the Epilog Laser mini, probably 35 Watt. But am brand new to the field, so I have some Q's.

Can you laser stiff styrofoam? My friends and I sometimes play games that have elaborate settings, and making miniature "sets" would be great. sounds like a real low power thing, and might be faster to just use knives and files like normal, but just wondering. Yep, you can engrave and vector cut styrofoam.

Has anyone tried to engrave an acrylic fingernail? Would the curve be too great? Maybe set up a mounting template on a dowel somehow, and use the rotary attachment. But for the material, would you be able to paint the nail whatever her desired color is, then engrave a design? Yep, you could engrave an acrylic fingernail. the curve probably wouldn't be much of a problem and you may not need to use the rotary attachment at all. I normally engrave pens using a V-Block. Painting the nail first would work, with the right speed and power settings you could remove just the paint but the paint thickness would have to be very consistant.
For 1/4 wood, do you use solid, or ply? I know it depends on the applicataion, but what are some applications of when you'd want either.
Material selection is based on the job but plywood isn't a material that is recommended for engraving although it can be done.
How thick can you cut for pine. There are some scroll sawn items I've seen that I'd like to duplicate, but they are free standing, and look better when 1/2 or 5/8. How thick a material you can cut depends on the size of your power supply and the species characteristics. Some types of wood (like purpleheart) won't cut at all, at least not with my 35 watt Epilog. Sometimes you can vector cut twice but you need to test each species as some of them can be done this way and sme can't. My 35 watt laser will cut in one pass 5/16" thick, walnut, pine, poplar, oak, hickory, etc. An option is to cut two identical pieces and glue them together to acquire thicker projects, consider maple and walnut for a very nice look on some projects.

How powerful of a laser do you need to engrave stainless steel, like coffee cups/thermos, or can you. not the powder stuff, but actual engrave. Power isn't an issue for stainless steel. Using Cermark you can engrave a permanent mark very easily with very low wattage. The mark will be subsurface and the quality is excellent, suitable even for medical instruments.
Speaking of the powder stuff, does that hold up well? Seems like it'd wear off or get scuffed. But if it actually welds into the metal, I can see how it might hold up better. If you etched (right word for the powder?) a letter onto a fork handle, let's say, would it hold up very long with people handling it and being run through the dishwasher? Yes, Cermark can be used for wrenches and other tools and will withstand chemicals and a lot of abrasive abuse as it is a subsurface marking.
I'm sure I'll have more, sorry if this stuff is repetitive for you forum old timers.

Thanks
Shaddy

I hope this helps answer some of your questions, most of the laser manufacturers have some very impressive pictures on their web sites that will help as well. Don't hesitate if you have any other questions, we have a few members who are new to laser engraving and they probably will benefit from your questions as well.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Shaddy,

Welcome to the Creek!

The only stupid question is the one not asked. I did not even know abot the powdered stuff for metal. There is a lot to learn about this field. Thanks for your questions. Now I have more to research.

There is a lot of good info here in the laser forum. Good luck in your search.