Hi All, I’m very new to engraving and very new to LB(never used it but my machine is coming in a week). I have a few questions as a newbie.
Where would I go to learn more about how to use LB?
If there was a paid course to learn more about using a fiber machine on engravable jewelry what would you recommend?
What other software do you recommend or is a must-have to work with LB? Is it Photoshop and adobe Illustrator?
I’m mostly engraving on 18K gold plated jewelry.
I’d also like to learn more about how to engrave a photo on a pendant that is about 30mm wide.
It might be obvious, but try your hand on material of lower value, to experiment with power, placement, and so on.
Photoshop and Illustrator are powerful and costly. Maybe worth it for professional work if you are already familiar with them.
Personally, for amateur work, I just use Gimp and Inkscape: they are open source, free, and probably more than enough for such usage.
What kind of fibre are you looking at? MOPA or Q-switched?
I doubt you’d need 50W to do delicate jewelry… I’ve seen some very nice, deeply engraved metal pieces done with 20 and 30W machines.
Most new laser users have to learn about speed and power with these, when you use a fiber you have speed, power, frequency and maybe pulse rate to contend with…
You can find videos on line about using these with jewelry, but I’ve never gone there.
I’ll probably buy a smaller one if I get busier as a backup like a 20w one.
I wasn’t sure if I needed to learn adobe illustrator and photoshop so wanted to get prepared. Will mostly be doing custom names on jewelry and the odd photo on a pendant such a dog tags and more.
I just wanted to see the best route to take when trying to learn and get up to speed.
Great machine… I’m sure it’ll do more than need… They don’t seem to mention who makes the laser source, they just say it’s solid state…
Mine is a JPT M7 MOPA and I think the one you are receiving is a q-switch. Your pulse duration can’t be changed…
Take the time to watch the posted video by @soniclab it will be worthwhile.
These photos were done on black anodized (or coated) cards. This guy does the best photo engraving I’ve seen and he continues to amaze me… I wish I could do half as well…
MOPA work a bit differently and many consider them for color as you can adjust more operations than q-switched laser.
They just allow a wide range of control, but many people use the q-switch for jewelry and many other applications. I think you’ll find the one you have a handful and will probably do more than your intentions now.
Fiber lasers are pulse lasers, how long the pulse lasts is relative to the amount of energy delivered to the material.
