CNC machining with the head based on the blue laser diode
With the use of the blue laser head you can cut, engrave, mark and process different materials, but not all of them are suitable for each process. Take into account that the most versatile applications are laser heads with a power of 6 W.
Cutting
With the head based on the 6 W, blue laser diode module you can cut:
- wood - up to 3 mm thick,
- balsa - up to 10 mm thick,
- paper - up to 0.1 mm thick,
- cardboard (depending on the type) - up to 3-6 mm thick,
- leather (pure, artificial) - up to 2 mm thick,
- rubber (dark) - up to 1.5 mm thick,
- plastic (dark) - up to 1 mm thick,
- plexiglass (color) - up to 3 mm thick,
- textiles (depending on the type) - up to 0.2-0.8 mm thick,
- felt - up to 3 mm thick,
- foam (dark) - up to 25 mm thick.
Engraving
For engraving, you can use some metals, most plastics and also wood, leather, paper, stone, mirrors, textiles, carton, cork, glass, and ceramic. And you can mark all above-mentioned materials except wood, stone, glass and textiles, rubber and painted metal.
Materials requiring care during processing
Some materials are not suitable for laser engraving or laser cutting due to special ingredients. When processing these materials, hazardous gases or dust may be produced, e.g.:
- Leather and artificial leather with chrome (VI)
- Carbon fibers (carbon)
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Polyvinyl butyral (PVB)
- Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE / Teflon)
- Beryllium oxides
- Materials containing halogens (e.g., fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine), epoxy or phenolic resins.
Caution is advised for the following materials:
- Manganese
- Chrome
- Nickel
- Cobalt
- Copper
- Lead
Notes for machining various types of materials
Flame retardant
For materials with the suffix "flame retardant", caution should be exercised when using the laser cutter, as this property is often achieved by the addition of bromine. For flame-retardant materials, it is best to ask the manufacturer about the exact ingredients before working with the laser cutter.
Metal
Metal can only be marked in the case of stainless steel and titanium because they do not conduct well heat and are able to heat locally very strongly so you can mark them.
Wood
The wood can be cut to a depth of about 3 mm. However, you can do it in a variety of ways. On YouTube, there is a film showing that you can cut slowly thick layers or quickly thin layers and the total time of cutting is the same. There is a difference in the surface you can get. Wood is a very attractive material, especially for engraving. Yut you can make very detailed drawings, shades of gray.
Plastics
When processing plastics, possible poisonous fumes. For blue laser heads, plastics cannot be too transparent and it is good when plastics is dark. Then you will evidently get better results.
Dark acrylic glass, dark plexiglass or polycarbonate are perfect for laser processing. They are mainly used for illuminated advertising, signs and any form of POS advertising. The laser cut creates shiny edges on the acrylic. In addition, we also achieve white color reversals with fiber laser module in the case of black acrylic (PMMA).
Glass
Glass can be painted first with ordinary paint spray and later you can engrave what you want. To remove the paint submerge it into acid and get an effect as if you would sand these inscriptions. It looks very nice and you can do it with all the metals to get such an effect.