[thestone]

hi everyone , i want to cut 1mm sheet of silver can you help me knowing how much power do i need and what type of laser do i need , i hear a lot about fiber laser , can you explain what is the difference?
THANK YOU

[Jorge-D-Fuentes]

I have a Fiber Laser 20W.

It takes FOREVER if you want to cut past 0.5mm on Sterling Silver... but it will eventually do it.
You have to re-focus the LASER after enough passes have passed otherwise the LASER will be too weak in the groove to make a cut. A side effect of this is also that the cut ends up slightly tapered.

The settings are:
Power: 100% (all 20W)
Speed: 300mm/s
Frequency: 18,000Hz
Pulse Width: 0.220µs
No Start Delay
No Stop Delay

Depending if you're doing a Detailed Engraving using a Vector file and hatches, or if you're using a single toolpath Vector line and Wobble, you may get varying results.
Usually after the first 50 passes, I re-Focus down about 0.25mm, or until I see that the LASER spot is bright again.

It will take you an hour or so, probably more. If you have a 50W LASER or above, those same settings may cut quicker since 100% of a 50W laser is 2.5x the 100% of a 20W.

[thestone]

thank you that is the most helpful reply i got on many forums , but can i ask about the price of small chinese desktop 50w fiber laser machine ? thanks .

[Jorge-D-Fuentes]

Sorry, the machine we've got here is German, and bought in the USA with USA support/service.

I simply couldn't answer questions about the price of an imported one from China, but I'm sure people here can help you in that regard, and maybe I'll see what quotes they give you, haha.

Here are some engravings I've done on Silver, and the LASER in action, engraving Gold.
One silver is raw, the other has been treated with black 'antique' chemical solution to make it look oldtimey, then gone over with a metal wire brush for a satin finish.
Attachment 334102Attachment 334104

[waynerees]

Attachment 334110To cut Silver cleanly you need 250+W, Yes it can be done by multi passes on a 20W, but the results are poor, even a 50W takes a lot of adjustments and multiple passes. Using a 120w IPG fiber laser it can be done is 2 passes, but the finish is not fantastic,
With a synrad Co2 250w will do it but again not fantastic results, 400W will cut perfect but you are talking a lot of money for the tube, plus CO2 has a larger spot size so lots more wasted materials, fiber laser spot size is 10 times smaller so more power density, contact me if you need more details, I have built several machines for this purpose