What is a laser engraver and what can it do?

Laser engraving is a subset of laser marking that presents an image by physically removing the surface of a material. During the laser engraving process, the laser beam generates a high level of heat that causes the material to vaporize.

The emission of the laser beam is controlled by a controller laserpecker 2 laser engraver(usually a computer) that tracks the pattern on the surface and manages the direction, intensity, speed of travel and dispersion of the laser beam.

Wood, leather and glass are suitable materials for laser engraving.laser pecker 4 In addition, standard cast acrylic plastics, acrylic plastic sheets, and other cast resins usually respond well to lasers, as do anodized aluminum and other coated metals.

The process of laser engraving involves selecting the material and desired design, which is then created in a graphics program on a computer and sent to the laser.laser pecker pro Once the material is placed in the engraver, the design can begin to be engraved.

The technology has a wide range of applications, from marking and traceability of industrial parts to makerspaces and DIY uses.

Depending on the design requirements, the laser medium can consist of a gas mixture (CO2 lasers), crystals (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet lasers) or glass fibers (fiber lasers). When energy is fed to the laser medium through a pump source, it releases energy in the form of radiation.

CO2 lasers are widely used due to their relatively high efficiency and good beam quality. They have a wavelength of 10.6μm and are mainly suitable for processing a wide range of non-metallic materials and most plastics.

Fiber lasers have a wavelength of 1.064 μm and are not usually used for organic materials. However, they are the lasers of choice for direct metal and engineering plastics marking.

Crystal lasers have the same wavelength as fiber lasers and are also suitable for marking metals and plastics. However, crystal lasers require relatively expensive pump diodes and need to be replaced approximately every 15,000 laser hours. The crystals themselves also have a shorter lifetime than fiber lasers.

By programming the controller, different patterns can be engraved to traverse specific paths of the laser beam over time. Careful adjustment of the laser beam trajectory is required to achieve a consistent depth of material removal. The speed at which the beam moves across the material should also be considered when creating the engraving pattern. Varying the intensity and spread of the beam can increase design flexibility. For example, by varying the duty cycle or the proportion of time the laser is turned on during each pulse, the power delivered to the engraved surface can be properly controlled.

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