30-50w laser diode - cutting project

[work]

that's crazy.... i saw on chinese co2 warranty 3 months and 3000 hours of use for a 40w tube...
i'm not saying you are wrong, but why they say something like that if it's not true?!

[work]

Viktor,
can you help me with this?
http://www.dilas.com/gdresources/dow...niDLSystem.pdf
it is a dilas mini series, it says it can otput up to 50W ...
it looks huge, but does it really output 50w ?
thanks!

[VDX]

... while Dilas is a good name in the market, and this laser is of high quality too ... it's not meant for material processing.

I have some single diodes with much better specs (25Watts @975nm out of a 0.1mm fiber), that are as small as 40x20x10mm with the fiber direct attached.

The drivers, I've developed for this diodes can pulse them with up to 500 kHz, not only max. 1kHz, like the Dilas.

My last quoting for similar diodes was around 400€ for 9Watt-diodes and 3300€ for 50Watts or 75Watts -- all with an attached 0.1mm fiber, whats 4x more energy density (and so more engraving capacity) than the 0.2mm fiber of the linked Dilas type ...

Viktor

[work]

i am still looking on google/youtube for lasers test and i see 30-40w diodes that actually burn things
here's one with 40w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFZPch-XA0M
i've seen 5w laser diode which sells on ebay with 350Euros can cut 2mm acrylic....
i don't know what to choose / look for, i'm very confused...

[VDX]

... this 'burning' videos show the shear power, not the engraving capabilities - with the diode in the video you'll get a spotsize of roughly 1mm diameter when engraving dark/black materials ... but it would simply shine through clear acrylic without 'harming' it.

Engraving/cutting acrylic with blue 445nm-diodes is possible, if you'll select a material, that absorbs the 445nm-wavelength - this are orange coloured acrylic sheets, normally used for UV-shielding ... and yes, here 5Watts are enough to cut a 5mm sheet with slow moving ...

Viktor

[work]

is there a website where i can find the materials wavelength ?
anyway it seems i have to stick with co2 laser and move to fiber laser later just to test it's abilities....
thank you!

[VDX]

... some years ago I've written a short article as 'entry' into DIY-laser-engraving with a coarse comparison of the different laserdiode types and usabilities - look here from page 59 and up:

http://reprapmagazine.com/issues/2/index.html

Viktor

[work]

Thank you very much Viktor for this information. Now i understand well why co2 is better then laser diodes.
I'll use co2 laser this time

[work]

quick question, if you use a 40w co2 power supply on a 60w co2 laser tube, what can happen?
or
if you use a 60w co2 laser power supply on a 40w co2 laser tube, what can happen?
all parts Chinese...
thanks

[mixedgas]

For Co2 Lasers, Overdrive drastically reduces tube life by burying gas and the plasma heating the electrodes red hot. Hotter then usual plasma actually drastically reduces output power in most cases.

Underdrive is likely to cause damage to some power supplies when the plasma is unsustainable from low voltage.


Buy matched pairs of tube and psu or adjust adjustable psus to spec if possible. For a beginner, your buying a matched pair.

Steve