Laser engraving 3D prints
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Using a laser engraver to apply a design to 3D printed pieces can be a good way to improve them aesthetically or even improve their functionality. But the process may not be as straightforward as one would expect it to be. The type of laser used, the type of material, and the color of the material can all significantly affect what the final result would be.
Reference for full test: www.batchmade....
… and a shout out to the following peeps for our example 3D print files we etched on.
@waxounet - Square box makerworld.com...
@ImaginationForg - Blank round box with screw top makerworld.com...
@OlleMark - Screw & component box - small makerworld.com...
I absolutely recommend doing tests like this with a proper test grid, what you've done here is just test a single setting for blue light and IR for each filament colour. Results can vary greatly based on speed and power settings, and a different speed/power setting would absolutely have had much better results with those "failed" ones.
Thanks for the information. I can see some real possibilities for 3D prints. I did see a list of materials that should not be laser engraved and ABS was one of them. This is probably because of toxic fumes but venting the F1 outside would probably help with that.
Thanks! It was something that seemed so obvious but we just hadn't considered it yet either.
Folks should definitely use ventilation and proper protective wear. The light engrave can likely be mitigated with good fume extraction and PPI, but ABS is definitely veering into the probably shouldn't touch it range and I definitely wouldn't do heavy engrave or cutting operations with it, even with ventilation. Just to add to that... DEFINITELY don't laser PVC. I've seen some folks do that one unaware of how very dangerous it is.
Thanks for the feedback and for the safety callout. We can highlight it a little further in a description edit. That being said, in general folks, do the read up on what you're lasering/printing/etc and make sure you evaluate safety needs and personal risk before getting started!
Very very helpful video. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting this. This exact test has been on my to-do projects list.
I have a Snapmaker Artisan 3 in 1 machine with a dual FDM head, both 10w and 40w diode laser heads, and a CNC router head.
One additional test that I'm going to do is use the same technique used for white ceramic engraving, to first spray on a Titanium Dioxide powder layer and then engrave. On ceramics this results in a black line being engraved, and I'm curious to see the results on White PLA or ABS.
Good luck with the channel!
Oh that's an interesting idea! I know that with ceramics part of the issue is that the laser has issues with the material at certain frequencies/wavelengths. I used to use a similar spray for metal on my CO2 laser years ago, I believe it's about giving the laser something to affect via heat since it keeps the light from just bouncing off a reflective or light rejecting surface. Ceramic is also a very hard and somewhat inert material, and usually a lighter color before glazing. Just be super careful and use plenty of ventilation when you do it with plastics as it could be volatile with the different chemical compounds.
Keep us posted. Would love to know the results. We also have a MOPA fiber laser as well that in theory works great on plastics for light marking. Will be sure to report back once we've tried that as well.
Thanks, I'll give updates.
You're spot on regarding the thermal interaction. One of the plastics problem is how translucent it is, where the laser thermal transfer is mostly from interacting with the pigment.
And yes on fumes management. I have an encloser, exhaust into a large cartridge filter and then exterior exhaust, so I should be good there. One other safety tip I give on that is watch out for opening the enclosure too soon after a cycle finishes, better to wait a minute to let the last fumes be exhausted rather than a puff in the face.
@@batchresearchlab
100% on waiting to open the enclosure. I’ve learned that lesson a couple times now with both my lasers and the printers 🤣
I think a co2 laser would probably work reliably on all samples, since most plastics have high absorbance in that part of the spectrum. Much more expensive though.
This has blown me away. Which laser did you use to get the results on the items shown at the end of the video? They look spectacular.
For this project, we used an xTool F1 (and mostly the 2W IR laser on that machine). We've got to get through a few other things so we're a bit behind on them, but we're also planning a few followup videos of projects that include the specific settings we used to achieve them.
Thanks so much for replying. I've been looking at the xtool F1 and considering it as my first laser machine. Would you recommend it? @@batchresearchlab
It depends on what you plan on trying to accomplish. The F1 is a compact galvo unit with 2 types of lasers. Some of the pros are that it's capable of speeds way beyond most gantry-style machines can achieve; and some marking effects can require very short duration-on-material times. And its speed allows it to accomplish some things in a fraction of the time most common gantry lasers can (we're talkin' seconds vs minutes). Having both an IR and blue diode give it some versatility, especially if you're working with different material types in different colors. And its small size makes it portable (it's even got a carry handle ;) ), and it's pretty easy to find a place for it in a crowded workspace. Some of the cons are both lasers it's equipped with are fairly low powered, so don't expect to cut much metal with it, and it's not particularly great with most acrylics (besides solid black). Since it's a galvo, most cuts you make with it will be angled (because the laser originates from a single, central point); so they won't be 'clean' vertical cuts. And it's got a really small working area; 115x115mm. Hope that helps!
thank you!!!! very helpful!!!!
good
please try with non textured build plate, with diff speed settings
Sorry for the delay, but please stay tuned ;)
We've got some shorts coming out this week and next that you may be interested in ;)
@@batchresearchlab looking forward to it, but with my yt account being haywire who knows if they will notifiy me, can't subscribe 50% of the time
What if a think black play is printed above white PLA and then engraving it? Would the white show up?
Hmmm, that’s definitely possible depending on the material. There are some “sandwiched” acrylic sheets that are specifically for sign making that have layers that are exposed during engraving or cutting. If we get a chance to try it we’ll let you know!
It would, however if using the Xtool F1 (or other galvo based laser), be aware that there will be a slight angle to the engraving, which will become more noticeable the deeper the engrave, since the laser isn't going straight down but at an angle.
Have you tested PETG?
Not yet to this extent. We're assuming that PETG because of its translucency will do pretty poorly or just be very melty. If we do another after these two, maybe we'll give it a go... for science! Thanks for watching.