Re: (was cutting fabric ? now LASERs

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "Graham Stabler" <eexgs@...>
wrote:

>
> --- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "turbulatordude"
> <dave_mucha@> wrote:
> >
> > I think one of the things that has kept me from looking too hard
> > (besides price) is that as I understand, they have a finite life and
> > there is no way to tell if there is an hour left or 10,000 hours.
>
> The power decreases with the age for a sealed laser, my 50W still
> kicks out about 80W so I am assuming it has not seen much action.
> Something like a synrad is a good bet because they are rated for
> 45,000 hours anyway. That's about 5 years 24 hours a day.
>
> > as for cutting, speed is not an issue. can I expect that a 10watt
> > will cut pretty much any fabric up to heavy denim, but that more >
> >watts just means a faster cut ?
>
> Too slow and things do burn, best to check with a laser manufacturer,
> they tend to leave the 10W ones for marking use my guess is that
> fabrics will be OK, leather perhaps not.
>
> Another cool use for a laser on fabric is marking, you can defluff
> fleeces, creating logos or even put photographic images in denim.
>
> If you can find a 20/25W synrad you are laughing, air cooled and last
> a long time. If you have a moving bed then you only need one mirror
> and a lens although a beam expander is a good idea.
>
> Graham
>

moving bed ? that does beg the question of mounting. the units I
have seen on e-bay seems light enough to just replace the router and
move on the X and Y. Not sure how the unit would be mounted. can you
just move it ? or do you need to have it stationary and move a mirror ?

Dave