Engraving Photos (Drill Mode) on Metal

Hello Everyone,

I’m still learning a lot about laser and currently have a 60W MOPA fiber laser engraving machine. I had a question regarding engraving photos in drill mode on different types of metal (gold, silver, brass etc.).

I’m using drill mode on purpose to get some sort of depth to the engraving. I’m not aiming to engrave a plain flat photo.

So anyway, here’s my question. I understand that the nature of engraving photos would result in different looks depending on the angle/lighting. However, even at the best angles, I feel like I can still see too many white spots all around. Would the issue be with how I am prepping my photos or how I’m engraving it? Or, am I aiming for unrealistic goals?

I get that this is how depth and detail is created in drill mode, but it just seems a bit too unfinished(?).

Here are some photos of my engravings:

  • Brass 1, 2, & 3 are all the same engraving on brass. Photos took from different angles.
  • Brushed Brass was engraved on brushed brass.
  • Sandblasted Silver was engraved on sandblasted silver.

I know I’m being super picky, but I’m hoping there’s a solution to this. Any advice or guidance would be appreciated! :slight_smile:

  • This happens on other photos too, not just this one. I tried many different types of photos.

surprise, I was not aware that LightBurn also supports Fiber laser

1 Like

Actually, I don’t think LightBurn supports fiber lasers. I’m just asking here because I couldn’t find many active laser engraving related communities online. It seems like there are a lot of experienced engravers here. :slight_smile:

… but I’m sure there will be a version that supports fiber laser one day :wink:

1 Like

This is the ‘Community Laser Talk’ section, and we want you to feel welcome.

You are both correct, LightBurn does not currently support fiber-based laser systems. We want to, have hardware, done some poking and a small amount of investigating. We want to support fiber, but that will be awhile, if even possible. :slight_smile:

Your posts are welcome.

2 Likes