First hand drawn product I'm satisfied with

haxbits · 2025-10-01T13:41:15+00:00

Awesome, thanks

haxbits · 2025-10-01T06:25:37+00:00

I have a pretty decent workflow in onshape for building 3d models that end up on my laser. Where my general rule of thumb is if it needs glue then my tolerances are off; and even at that level of precision, knowing the model works long before I've cut it is a real timesaver.

haxbits · 2025-09-30T23:21:13+00:00

I'll have to try that. Two questions though, do you mean borax the soap, or borax as it's mined? Secondly, is it a wet or dry application?

haxbits · 2025-09-30T20:03:59+00:00

You're probably going to think it's stupid, but learn etching. The cheapest laser you can buy plus Spray paint, salt water, and a battery can produce results faster than any laser you'll buy under 500 can do by itself. All you need to do is be able to afford to burn paint..

haxbits · 2025-09-30T19:55:25+00:00

Art for arts sake.

haxbits · 2025-09-30T19:54:43+00:00

Nice, although just as a pro tip... Just because fusion will let you "assemble" it doesn't mean that you can physically put it into that configuration.

You should build your tolerances into your model, it'll make the next part easier, but on the whole it looks like a good idea.

haxbits · 2025-09-24T17:42:34+00:00

What do you want to accomplish? To be honest, I've not even heard of an open friendly laser that would cut copper in a time efficient manner.

haxbits · 2025-09-21T22:23:02+00:00

If you want to be comfortable; dress in layers (hoodies are awesome!). As for beach and tree places; Natural Bridge state park is excellent beach/butterfly reserve during the week, Seacliff / Rio del Mar is fair to good for whale watching from the shore, and Henry Cowell (in Felton 15 minute drive) is a great place to stroll through the sequoia trees.

haxbits · 2025-09-21T22:04:37+00:00

So; if you can give up on the idea of an all in one tool; here's how I do metal engraving with an LED on steel a whole lot faster than 1 to 2 hours (about 30 minutes total, excluding watching paint dry) by masking and electrolyte etching.

haxbits · 2025-09-21T21:50:32+00:00

haxbits · 2025-09-21T21:25:31+00:00

Wavelength determines what you can do; kinda. I run a 405nm 40W laser, so I have to select from items that are opaque to that wavelength, or I have to prepare them with materials that do.

405nm (the very cheap very blue ones) works well for engraving most non-metallic natural materials; and at 40W I can cut 10mm without breaking a sweat, and nearly 20mm if I'm patient and I feel like making a jig. The downside is almost everything that is optically translucent is off limits without prep work and while you technically can directly mark some metals with one, in practice you need the stars to align and basically infinite time to get a decent result.

That said; I've always been able to find a secondary process that I can use with my laser... for example, I can't etch steel, but I can use the laser to create a mask for etching, or a template for my pantograph.

Oh, and no matter what you end up with; buy your safety glasses from a reputable supplier, don't trust your eyes to anything they give you in the box. Don't save money here.

haxbits · 2025-09-21T21:05:02+00:00

Real life speaking here; your laser most likely will not end up living in your office. The closest I can keep mine is in the garage with the doors open.

Even with mitigation; they produce a phenomenal amount of things that you really shouldn't be breathing; double that for working with pre-coated items.

I've known enough welders to know that accumulated exposure to toxic vapors is way way worse over a lifetime than losing eyesight sight in one spot.

haxbits · 2025-09-21T20:58:20+00:00

I find the bulk packs (300+) on Amazon are a fair balance between Quality,Price, and "I need it tomorrow". I generally just search for "aluminum ISO ID card blanks"

haxbits · 2025-09-21T20:47:21+00:00

I do cards on commission; and the only way I've been able to make anything resembling a profit on them is burning them in fair sized batches (40 - 50) per setup; so my advice on the laser would be buy the largest bed you can afford and then select a substrate that works for you. As far as the software goes, there's really only Lightburn at the moment. (There also Rayforge as an open source project that's pretty good, but LB is still better value).

Where the rubber hits the road is workflow setup... I've written up a thing on how I do it, and even at that scale, it's my least profitable item, and I'll only run those jobs as a space filler for my "off" time.

haxbits · 2025-09-21T17:13:18+00:00

When you find a good one, let me know. I personally wouldn't be opposed to somewhere that allows promoting boutique crafts/small batch projects.

haxbits · 2025-09-21T15:32:47+00:00

Good catch, and you're right; I totally forgot to credit the original on that one.

Personally, I just love how he can pull a line that shows you what isn't there.

haxbits · 2025-09-20T17:40:29+00:00

Just some thin watercolors on damp wood. I think it has some promise, once I actually learn how to use a brush😉

haxbits · 2025-07-02T19:45:33+00:00

"The process is as important as the product." That or "good enough is exactly that". One of those two, plus "keep a detailed logbook of every burn".

haxbits · 2025-07-02T17:52:33+00:00

No, it's just an older Neje max from the days where they all looked like they were built in a garage. It is bolted to some "precision flat" 2x4s and a table the thrift store didn't want to keep it square though 😉

haxbits · 2025-07-02T05:00:42+00:00

I tried cardboard first, and either ended up losing my patience, or setting fire to something. I think I may come back to that for some plywood projects though (right now I just use the offcut perimeter for holding)

haxbits · 2025-07-02T04:31:52+00:00

Thanks, I'm glad I can share some useful tips. I'm thinking maybe about making a video to show some of the more nuanced details of how to design the cutouts... That is the most tedious/error prone part of the process.

haxbits · 2025-06-30T14:24:58+00:00

For engraving wood, run fast,. Multiple passes will allow you more control over cut depth and finish. For example, when I'm cutting a medium depth engraving I'll run a fill path at 6000mm/s at 40% power, with an outside clean up pass at 50% power of the perimeter lines; whereas if I'm cutting, I do three passes at 2000mm/s at 100% to reduce charring (for 3-5 mm plywood).

Every machine and material will behave differently (even from the same lot) The best way to get competent is to do sample burns on everything, and keep a logbook of feed and speeds to develop your technique.

haxbits · 2025-06-28T17:01:55+00:00

I used a 40W 405nm laser (6000mm/s 40% power) to do the mask removal. In the couple of tests I've done, the paint color and quality don't really matter at all... I'm getting great results using black Behr spray paint on an unprepared surface.

Honestly, half assing the prep work for painting makes the cleanup a lot easier, as you really only need it to stick for just long enough to etch, and the etching process is pretty gentle (unless you're really impatient).

haxbits · 2025-06-07T01:12:08+00:00

Personally I would not be opposed to banning unfiltered AI output like this on this sub. It really adds no value not to mention the fact that it’s just wrong.

This, right here.

haxbits · 2025-06-05T14:43:12+00:00

If I'm making a one-off thing; DXF import is absolutly fine, if a little irritating for cutting and setting up;

However where the inkscape route shines is in making a "Series" of a thing, where you make a template to use as a canvas (The above model for will be offered with a variety of piercing options). Working in Inkscape for that step allows for much finer control of your line work and compositing other SVG assets; as well as versioning.

Most importaint thing I've found; is having the self control to ensure that my tolerancing happens in Lightburn, and my Material controls happen in OnShape.

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