Laser Etching and Engraving on metals

Question

I'm looking at building a small , 200mm x 200mm laser engraver/etcher for metal projects. I'm up for ideas and input. Just wondering if a laser from a large copying machine would be strong enough.

DAB · Accepted Answer

Short answer is no.

To engrave or cut metal, you have to understand the atomic structure of the metal and its susceptibility to the specific wavelength of the laser.

Power does matter. The key to success is having enough energy at a localized spot that can heat the metal before the atoms have enough time to transfer the photons to surrounding atoms.

If you look at professional grade lasers, they usually have very high power that can be pulsed to provide just enough localized energy on the spot they want to cut or ablate.

Peak power is usually in the multi kilowatt range. You are not going to get that kind of power from a laser diode.

DAB

Fred27 · Answer

You need quite a serious laser to make any sort of mark on metal. You can just about do it with a 40W CO2 laser and a product like cermark.

Laser Etching and Engraving on metals

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