I have the 20w ortur master 2, I bought the 20w one because I figured it would be the best of the 3 options.
I am engraving powder coated metal water bottles, using LightBurn software and I ran a bunch of tests on one to trail and error the settings.
For this Bottle and two others I ran the settings at 6000 mm/min and 100% output. I’m reading forums and it some people are saying it is bad to run the laser over 50% is that true? The other two turned out pretty good, but this 3rd one not so much and I’m hoping that I haven’t damaged the laser somehow.
I don’t know where to find the maximum setting recommended but he manufacturer
I had the same settings for all the images on this bottle and you can see the snowmobile turned out perfect, but the rest of images didn’t burn all the way through.
Hi Andrew, it looks very nice you made. I think you mix CO2 and diode laser together, I always run my (5.5W) laser with 100% when the material requires it. It is CO2 laser which can not “tolerate” being driven to their max. values.
Regards Bernd
Thats a relief! Do you have any idea it would have cut some of the images/letters more than others?
My best guess is maybe just differences in the thickness of the powder coat. If that is the case then next time I just need to run more passes?
As far as I can tell I had the same setting for all the objects.
Hi Androow, I want to put the different elements on different layers with their respective values. I can only recommend testing as much as possible on some pieces of waste you can find, and make your own documentation, you will be wiser by the process and also happy with the result.
PS. I think you drive reasonably fast, but of course I do not know your machine
Andrew, I suggest lowering your speed, maybe 3000, and lower the power to 80%. Running at 100% WILL shorten the life of the diode. Also, lowering your speed is the same as increasing the power. I burn at no more that 90% and the work I do, I run at 1200 or less. Thanks
The lifespan of a diode laser is under “normal” circumstances "some 1000 hours, the problem is that diodes are often violently misused because they do not run with the energy they are intended / designed for. 100 wat diode laser (on the private market)
Typically the diode lasers we can buy for money are 3.5 - 7.5 Watt diodes and here power “limitations” are only the temperature. When you try to get 10 watts out of a real 5 watt diode, it will heat up significantly and die significantly faster - unless, it is a very high quality diode and you can get rid of the heat, but the diode dies faster anyway.
Similarly, the problem with CO2 laser, if you buy and use a 40 Watt laser, which is really only a 30 Watt laser, like a 40 Watt laser, it dies much faster, however, it is not the heat that is the problem with a CO2 laser tube, but the gas that breaks down inside.
Do not worry too much, if you have a year or two with your laser and have a good time then you just buy a new one when it is broken or a small CO2 laser.
