Is anyone aware of a good description of the relationship between power, speed, and frequency? especially frequency. I am having trouble dialing in my settings mostly because I just don’t know what to change when something is not working. For example, I CANNOT get my settings right on powder-coated tumblers. It’s either too deep and cutting into the metal or not enough to remove the powder coat. I feel like I’m just going in circles because of the three settings that can be changed. I think if I understood better the relationship among the three, I would be better able to problem solve. thanks in advance!
The best way to think about frequency is to think of it like sandpaper. If you have 20 grit sandpaper, it’s got big rough sand particles on it. If you have 200 grit sandpaper, it’s smoother. Same with frequency. 20 kHz frequency will be a lot more aggressive than 200 kHz frequency will be.
Powder Coated Tumblers are one of the worst on fiber lasers, as each and every color from each and every manufacturer will likely have a little bit different settings. Can ruin a lot of cups trying to get every variation dialed in. co2 laser is much better suited for powder coated tumblers in the end.
@sutick : does this mean that 20kHz are “more aggressive” when dealing with the material to be engraved and thus cause stronger penetration?
Do you have any recommendations for aluminium, stainless steel and plastic parts?
I can switch from 20-30 kHz with my machine, but I do not see a real difference between both extrema.
20kHz to 30kHz is not a very big range, and wouldn’t make much difference.
In reality, all fiber lasers are a bit unique, and requires testing for your particular machine. Best to sacrifice some substrate and run test grids to figure things out for your machine.