Hi Guys
I am trying to engrave some Aluminum with some Brilliance Black Marking Spray with a Diode laser. I am not having any luck. Attached are some
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photos to show the settings and the results.
Please let me know.
Thank You
Give your images another try.
I agree with Mike’s words.
The greater the mass, the greater the heat distribution instead of the greater heat concentration, which is what matters in this case.
I, with a 5-ish W diode laser, can engrave black anodized business cards with “considerable” ease, I would say.
The mm/s speed unit is incorrect for a diode laser.
Change the unit to mm/min with the same numeric value and the results will dramatically improve.
https://docs.lightburnsoftware.com/2.1/Reference/DeviceSettings/DimensionsUnits/#control-units
More on why that matters:
Nice
I did not see that.
Thank You
That second image is not for a diode laser. There is nomFrequency setting for a diode. It looks like fiber or galvo window.
Please clarify…
I asked omtech that question and they say you can set frequency to whatever you want it just won’t change anything.
Omtech doesn’t offer any diode lasers, as far as I know. What is the exact model of your laser? You either added the wrong device type or have a different laser.
Anyway, with a diode laser, it’s nearly impossible to mark any aluminum; you would need extremely high powers. Even with marking powder or similar, you can usually rub it off.
I have a OmTech Solis Duo which is 50 watt fiber and 40 watt diode.
Ah, that one is not listed on the European / German homepage yet 
Quite impressive how they could integrate 50W fiber in such a small housing.
Then I guess your issue is that you need to switch to the second laser source, the IR laser. That one can mark aluminum directly. The blue diode can’t.
So what you are saying is I can not use a Diode laser to mark aluminum even with a marking spray?
Not a blue diode at 450nm. It’s just physics. Wrong wavelength. But with a 1064nm, you will be more successful.
So what settings would you recommend me trying to use with a fiber laser?
Do a material test. I have a 30W MOPA fiber laser, I can’t remember my settings right now. I usually start to google and find similar projects and work from there.
Hi.
The short answer is no, You can not.
Just like @misken said, incorrect wavelength for the material/task.
The longer answer is that, well You can -not the pure aluminium but You can manipulate the built up aluminium oxide layer on top- but the result will be disappointing or total failures unless everything goes just right.
Before fiber lasers became available/affordable, folks did mark aluminium objects with 450nm diode lasers with varying methods and with varying success.
Since You have a fiber at Your disposal as well, I for one can’t think of any reason why would You use 450nm laser on aluminium, unless it’s purely on curiositys sake.
Regards,
Sam
Hi Guys
Thank you for all your advice. I tried with my fiber and it works super. The best setting I found was 150 mm/s at 16% power and 200 KHZ. Looks good to me. So when engraving anodized aluminum
Thank You again for all the help
450 nm is better for organic materials, and 1064 nm is better for inorganic materials.
Never say Never!
I have marked Amazon bare aluminum dog tags using a 10w iCube laser (2000mm/m, 60%, 1 pass) and Cermark spray. I could not scratch it off with a fingernail, but could with a knife.
But if you have a Fiber laser, why are you even considering using a diode to mark aluminum???
