I am new at this and I got a 5W COMCO Z1 and it says it will engrave on stainless steal and Anodized Metal and I can not figure out why I can not get it to work, Even at max power and slow speed doesnt even put a scratch on it. So very frustrated could someone please help me?
5W is too few to engrave on steel. You should use minimum 10W. If you use 5W, you need to coat it at least, using a dark color like black paint.
Anodized aluminum should be possible, you only remove the coating and leave the aluminum untouched.
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They were less than honest in their marketing ploy if they said it will engrave on stainless steel. At 5W and 450nm wavelength, you can mark the metal at best, but only if you have coated the metal with metal marking paint or coating. You need either a high-powered 1064nm laser or a fiber optic laser to engrave metal.
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I don’t know if it’s possible with a 5w, but there is a method with mustard, and one with paper towels that you soak with a solution of vinegar and water, you apply the paper to the surface, you remove the air bubbles and let it dry, then you engrave the piece with the dry paper on top, be careful of possible fires,
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Afterwards, if you really want to, a method that I tried, it’s magical, done by an incredible artist, make a laser stencil on scotch tape (be careful of the smells and don’t set it on fire) and apply the method https://m.youtube.com/@KirillRunz. magical!
I have ex caf and use difter m 0.005 line 80 power 1200 spef
Or use the brilliance spray cost allittle bit l
ess line more dark
Yeah that didnt work either, But I did order the Longer Ray5 20W Laser hopefully I can get better results from that
I feel your frustration, make sure your laser is properly focused and make sure you adjusting the power and speed settings for metal. But I agree with others your 5W laser may be too weak for engraving metal. I think the 20W should work. Just try messing with focus and settings, and you should see some better results. Good luck and have fun!
I got a 20w laser now but Im trying to do a material test in Lightburn but it wants me to enter the min and max of the power and speed, Where can I go to find this info?
5W can do with the right lens on stainless, but need the right focus and speed
This can’t be found, those are the values YOU need to set. Take a range that you think will work out and then do the test and see. For the first test if you don’t have an idea, use broad range for the first test, like 0-100%.
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Apres tput les acier inoxydable ne sont de la meme composition métallurgique, certain on plis de chrome,d’autre plus de titane ou moi’s de vanadium etc, il en existe des tonnes de différents,comme pour le fer et l’aluminium.Donc les résultats peuvent etre variables!
After all, stainless steels are not of the same metallurgical composition, some have more chrome, others more titanium or less vanadium etc., there are tons of different ones, like iron and aluminum. So the results can vary!
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