UV Style Laser question

Community Laser Talk
1

Man I really, really hate to ask this, but I’ll risk it.
Currently I have a 50w CO2 and a 50w Fiber first off.

I have a friend who is building a Wedding / Event center. I shot her daughters senior images 3 or 4 years ago. I approached her about doing some laser work for her last year. Their first event is in Oct.

Back of my head I’m thinking lasering the flatware with their logo, as well as Cork / Slate coasters, Wine glasses, etc… I know I can engrave the cork with my CO2 but I’m not wild about the soot. I was thinking about cardboard coasters as well with the UV.

I could also incorporate other items for my customer in Florida as well with a UV. I really don’t think I’ll have enough sales to justify the 10w UV systems but maybe the 5w would be fine.

Are these 5w rascals really slow compared to engraving the same area with my Fiber? I’ve never seen one run personally, and am struggling with it in my head. I’m going to meet up with them on Sunday to discuss what they “think” they may want.

Please share anything you want to on this.

TIA Gump in Tn.

2

Can you simplify their logo down to an outline. If you use Line rather than Fill you would produce much less soot.

The other option would be to use a masking material when you do your engraving on the cork. That keeps the mess down and cleanup quick. Give them a quick brush off and peel off the mask.

3

You can do these with a diode, and maybe with a CO2 laser as well.

It will just take longer. Make a Pros & Cons chart of the lasers you have, then do the same for the UV. That should tell you if even the 5w machine is worth having. You might consider an IR as well, which you can get as a seperate module.

4

I just did 50+ cork coasters with my UV laser. They turned out great. I Have a test one I can clean up and send you a vid if you want. Just not sure what you want to see put on it lol.

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5

He has 2 IR lasers now, what IR laser did you have in mind?

:grinning_cat:

6

The diode ones with a 2w output. I think the frequency is different than the CO2 and Fiber lasers. I have none of these, so my experience is obviously limited. The more I read, the more I welcome ignorance. :roll_eyes:

7

You can put a video on something like Google drive and post the link here. Ensure you set it for read ability for anyone with the link..

I’d like to see it also. :face_with_spiral_eyes:

:grinning_cat:

8

Here is a short I just did with a 5w UV on a 3.5” cork coaster. I like the red eye effect.

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9

What kind of speed and interval are you using?

Thanks for posting.

:grinning_cat:

10

Here are the settings I used for the vid. They probably could use some tweaking.

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11

Thanks all for the info. I’ll know more about what they have in mind after tomorrow. I’m going to see if they’re interested in glassware and flatware being engraved for their new venture…

12

Update: Met with the new owners of this event center. All food will be catered. No silverware or glassware need to be engraved.

She ordered some slate coasters, anodized alluminum bottle openers, and pens to start with.

Soooooooooo I “may” not need/want a UV right now..

:wink:

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13

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but that means you can’t make these kinda things!

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