[wilfredtak]

Hi!
Just came home from a course at Trumpf-laser in Schramberg, Germany.
Learned a lot from these people about lasers; if i can assist in ANY way choosing a laser to build yourself don't hesitate to reply...
seems there are a lot of do's and don't s which might be hazardous ...

www.trumpf-laser.de

[toneV8]

Can you tell me how much it will cost 500W laser head for cutting.

[wilfredtak]

depends what you'd like to cut; steel, or plastics?
cw-laser with a nd:yag rod is quite expensive (DON'T look for ruby rods!) look for it on ebay...
i think for hobby you can best use a co2 laser; kits available for homemade.
google on laser diy
dpss lasers are nice too; high output for 10ms
first check what you want to cut most, then look for the right laser.

[Halfnutz]

I need a capability of 0.5 " of aluminum. What type and power would you reccomend?

[toneV8]

I plans to build 4axis laser cutting machine and I want to know how much I need power for cut 3 -5 mm carbon steel, stainless steel and titan and how much is price of laser.I plans to cut small holes diametar 2mm in tube and cut sheet metal I need these machine I plans to build car exhaust systems.


Sorry for bad english I hope thad you will understand.

[wilfredtak]

for alu you have to watch out! absorbsion level is different from steel...
you can destroy your laser with it....
for steel and stainless 1KW-2KW might do the trick; co2 is more affordable than yag-laser (180kw input for 2kw output); use allways N2 gas or oxygen for cutting (shielding gas).
you will also need the right optics for focussing the light bundle optimal.
try to get more info from a ''local'' distributor; you can't say : a laser is a laser.
all types (yag, dpss, co2 etc.) have their own do's and don'ts.
Perhaps a hobbyist already made one himself, find with google.
As soon as i have my mind made up and found all the info i need i will keep you informed. DON'T GO FOR THE RUBY LASERS ON EBAY!!!! nice for lightshows....
And if you really want a yag-laser; make sure you get a ND:YAG rod and not a ND:glas rod!
1 nd;yag rod is good for about 500W; i use 4 sets on my machine at work...
First of all: get as much info as you can get, since laser is not a toy to play with!
i can know....
success

[toneV8]

But which type is best for me and from laser specifications which specifications is important to look.

[wilfredtak]

well, after a good night of sleep i would use myself a co2 laser for cutting/welding (needs 2 types of optic heads); for perfect small holes you would need a pulsed laser. But a co2 could probably also make holes, though not perfect.
take at least 1KW power, so you can do almost everything.

Otherwise try to look at a oxygen/acetylene ''autogene'' cutting system; not so perfect cuts, but affordable.
When looking for a yag-laser, make sure the rod is some purple, otherwise it's a ruby (red) or a glas rod (clear).

And....safety first!!! make sure you get the right goggles for the type of laser you buy!!!! Wavelength of yag-laser=1,06 micrometer; co2=10,6 micrometer.
When a laser is on, there is always some light reflecting which can be hazardous for your eyes!!! And these wavelengths CANNOT be seen with human eyes. For positioning you might need a small(1mW) laserpointer mounted on your system, so you can try it before actually cutting...

[balsaman]

Ther are no lasers for cutting steel at hobby level pricing. The Ndyag lasers at 2kw are in the $250,000 price range. Plus you need a robot or x-y table on top of that.
We use 1.5 Kw Lumonics Yag lasers to cut .060 steel (quickly).

They are very expensive to buy and very expensive to operate. I think we spent +/- $3,000,000 for our cutting cell which consists of 3 lasers, 4 cutting robots and 4 material handling robots. We make auto frame components.

It's cheaper to go High Definition plasma if you can get away with slightly less cut quality.

Eric

[wilfredtak]

http://www.laserresale.com

http://www.parallax-tech.com

http://www.altair.org/CO2laser.html

http://www.lynxmotion.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=27

[toneV8]

I find these and what you think.


Coherent General E7000 / CO2 rated 550 watts, producing 500+ watts CW & pulsed / 0.1-10 msec pulse widths / 10-2500 Hz / 208-240 VAC 3 phase input / includes: spare optics, manuals, model 204 power meter / mfrd '89 w/17K hrs / operational when taken out of service / fair cond

[wizard]

A sight with an attitude gota love it.

Dave

http://www.altair.org/CO2laser.html

]

[wilfredtak]

i just downloaded a great program which can determine what power to use for which material!
co2 laser only....
mail me if you want a copy!

[Adler]

What type of laser would you reccomend for cutting up to 1/4" plywood in terms of power, size and cost. What components make up the laser system... tube, powersupply, cooling etc? I'm a novice and considering building a laser CNC machine for production work so any throw as much at me as you can.. :-)

thanks, Craig.

[wilfredtak]

www.synrad.com

[wilfredtak]

synrad has a utility program named lasercutting, which can determine what power laser you might need.
try it, it's a nice prg!