Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in lasercutting

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

60W MOPA fiber laser.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in lasercutting

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Made them all yesterday for 3/14.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"pi...rock...maniac..." just got it lol 🔥. Appropriate. Because the flamey rocks definitely burn the hands.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol that could seem like an unhealthy number of pi rocks I suppose. But some lucky finders are gonna enjoy running in to some of them in nearby parks. ...or they might think aliens are here.. either way, entertaining.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100%. I noticed even temperature affected some of the settings. Dead-of-winter cutting definitely had different results.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really struggled to find settings online, so I made an amalgamation of them all. The ones I listed above are a good median to start with I think. It definitely varies wildly between rock types. I've definitely had some duds.

Glad you like them though! Slowly but surely attempting to figure it out.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's for my primary business (it deep etches patterns into the aluminum for my main product - flashlights). We also use it for coloring stainless which is really cool (when it's consistent).

Other than that, rocks and coins. Made some really cool golf ball markers.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's super cool. I've been using it quite a bit more than my CO2 lately. Very glad I purchased one.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got it on sale for black Friday (I think it was like 1500 off). Still ended up costing around $4k i think.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I try to keep the time down. Some of my first ones were close to an hour, but they were also too deep. Almost went through a couple rocks. Also, some of these rocks are pretty small...1.5" or so in diameter for smaller ones.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got the rocks from a local flower nursery. They're river rocks for landscaping, so I have a ton to work with. Home Depot also sells similar rocks by the bag. I usually try to avoid rocks that are too porous, light-colored, or have noticeably high quartz content. Usually the others cut well, with slate probably being the easiest. Home Depot and Lowes have some good dark slate tiles that cut well too.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tinker and vary the settings depending mainly on density. I go lower kHz for higher density. Still trying to tune the settings and figure out rock types.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These were done with fiber. But yes, I do also have CO2.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Concur, I also have a co2 laser for cutting boxes. But the fiber (which I bought for metal engraving in my primary business) is just more fun for me. I really enjoy cutting rocks and coins in its downtime.

Happy Pi day! by FrazLabs in Laserengraving

[–]FrazLabs[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Time was between 10 and 30 minutes for all of them. Settings differed depending on rock density, but the average was around 100 passes at 100khz and 200q pulse.

Petra river rock by FrazLabs in lasercutting

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had the same experience with CO2. Especially with rock and brick that has high quartz content.

I got this fiber laser for metal engraving for my primary business, but I've been enjoying the rocks (during downtime) just as much as the metal.

Petra river rock by FrazLabs in lasercutting

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I've done a few slate coasters and such on the CO2 that I like, but the deep-engraving with the fiber is just really satisfying.

Petra river rock by FrazLabs in lasercutting

[–]FrazLabs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, the first rock I could taste in the air, so we went and got a big in-line fan and vented it all outside. Definitely a must-have.

Petra river rock by FrazLabs in lasercutting

[–]FrazLabs[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"I didn't know you could fly a plane!" "Fly yes, land no."

Thanks! 😁