Your excitement about lasering all the things is palpable James. Keep 'em coming. I used to work with a company that produced all sorts of signs and panel printing. They had anodising facilities, and one of their processes was something called AnoBlack, a proprietary optical blackening for anodised aluminium used in the medical and aerospace industries. This could be used together with a photo resist mask on the freshly anodised aluminium, light exposed, dye fixed, then washed to reveal the original graphic. Another process used screen printing to apply different colour dyes before fixing. Your previous video, and the powder coat comment, has got me thinking that the dye fixing, which uses heat, could perhaps be selectively bonded with the laser at low power after first applying the dye to freshly anodised aluminium in a similar way to how CerMark is used. An additive, rather than ablative process if you will that might work around marking aluminium. I look forward to more experiments, and another great video regardless.
Fun toy! I love watching someone use a laser for the first time. I’ve been doing this for 25 years in a tool and die engraving shop. We do logos in plastic molds along with almost anything else you can imagine.
Only watched a few of your videos so this is the first time I caught the tagline… I was literally LOL in my office. It's Friday so it's a Work optional day. I have a similar tagline, "anything worth doing is worth overdoing". Thanks for all the information.
I’ve enjoyed my d1 for over a year now and wife convinced me to upgrade to s1 which I did recently. Came across this video looking for settings for anodized aluminum and Found it very helpful. Big shoutout for the StrongBad reference. I haven’t thought of them in years and loved catching Trogdor…and now that song is stuck in my head. Thanks. 😅
Randomly searched "laser engraving anodized aluminum" for work and saw this video. thanks! the compare and contrast with the different finishes settings, and modes was so helpful.
James, Totally amazing, and as usual mega informative. With this capability you are only limited by your imagination. This shop TOOL magnifies capabilities to a new level, and for those out there that want one, yes you can play with it, experiment and enjoy the end results from it, but it is NOT a TOY. James isn't showing off his new toy, he's working hard, filming and editing and sharing things hes learned with us and opening our eyes to things many have never seen or imagined before. Keep em coming James.
Great content, the effect of now labeling everything reminds me when the Dymo embossed labeler was new. Labels on everything of course that was decades ago.
Like everyone, I just bought a 20w diode and I am setting up my table and air evac. You present really great goto factual info and I very much appreciate it. Thank you. I will be be your huckleberry from here. //ji John in Oregon
Nice results! Having done anodizing I would suspect what the laser it actually doing is either destroying or bleaching the dye. This is in fact ideal as it leaves the protective anodized surface intact.
@@Clough42 The easiest way I know to test whether the anodizing was remove or just "bleached" is to use a DVM and test to see if it is conductive. Anodizing is an insulator and the DVM will show no conductivity between the probes when lightly touched to the surface. If the anodizing has been removed it will be conductivity. Fiber laser remove the anodizing, interested if the Diode one will.
@@Clough42 :) glad I could help. We are going to be receiving our X1 today and it should work well for our anodized 6061. BTW you could try the same trick on the pink handle and business card. Thanks for the laser fast reply
I did some engraving on powdercoated aluminium enclosures a while ago with mixed results. I had 6 or 8 cheap enclosures coated in different colours by a local shop, and tried different speed and power settings. I'll try and find the photos
Wow that's 👌 job love how it came out and glad to see I'm not the only one that squares up items like you did lol, I don't have an xtool but I'd love to get one, I saw a video before this one xtool has a red diode laser specifically for metal, it was very cool, John at tripods garage had it. I'm currently waiting for a replacement 10w laser module from comgrow, so far I've regretted getting into comgrow products. I'll tell you more at a different time. Take care my friend.
Thanks so much for taking the time and trouble to make such a great video ! I found it very useful and informative as I have been wondering for years if there was a more CHEAPER alternative to these ridiculously expensive Fiber laser marking machines which are un-affordable for most folks... I have bought 2 desktop table laser engravers in 2021/22 (a 20w and also a 30w) from eBay China sellers (for £245 and £315 UK pounds) and so far have never taken any of them out of the boxes to set them up and try this out !... I was brainwashed by people saying that diode lasers are no good and do not mark aluminum when your great video CLEARLY shows and PROVES that they DO ! and really work well to mark anodized aluminum which is what I have always wanted to do for making name plates for my machine tool projects ! - That spindle looks awesome ! - May you have the best of luck in all your projects - You have just made my day !! - Well done man ! 👍👍👍👌
Looking good. Though I don't (yet?) feel the need to put a mark on everything I own, the result is very pleasing. At some point you do need to stop dragging in new equipment, though. I already have very little space left to actually move in my shop...
I have used Rust-Oleum cold galvanizing compound with my 35 watt CO2 laser on bare aluminum and it works beautifully. I'm not sure if it'll work with a diode laser but its worth a try.
Love the Trogdor Easter egg! I swear though you with this laser is the equivalent of everything looks like a nail when you have a hammer haha Nice video as always James. The logo/catch phrase suits really well
amazing ive just started a product here in Thailand where I want to do end marking serial numbers etc markings logos - you just illuminated me!!! (in455nm light)! This solves all problems
Thanks mate, exactly what I was looking for about 10 years back lol but it shows that what I’ve learned and discovered on my own is backed up so completely and succinctly. Thank you for filling in lots of little blanks and just overall such a great video that answers my questions so perfectly well. Have a great day mate, take care, all the best from Down Under 😎👍
Very nice! Thanks for the follow up. Seriously thinking of picking up one of the lasers for my shop. I like your tagline too. Love the overkill. Thanks for sharing!
A very thin coat of watered down tempra paint interacts nicely with the laser and increases the heat for better results blowing through the anodized layer. I'm getting good results at 500mm per minute at 5 watts.
Man... Your new CNC is just perfect! I like how you make stuff with perfectionism. I can relate to that. It sure takes a lot more time, but the reward is amazing. Nice work 👍🏼😎
Making Graphene super capacitors from Kapton tape is fun to do with diode lasers. A quick check on t'internet will bring up several videos showing how to do it. I made interleaved comb type designs on microscope slides and the level of capacitance was insane.
That looks like a fun toy, James. You should have put the following on the back of the spindle - "If you can read this, please activate Emergency Stop!"
Well I would say the Laser company definitely got its moneys worth. Nice works, as always your detailed explanation was exceptional... Thanks for sharing ... Stay safe and well ...
I really look forward to all of your videos. What I don't look forward to is the fact that almost every video makes me buy something. There are just so many cool things. 6563 Just ordered my first mill and a lathe last week.
Great work James, if you ever see me do laser engraving on anodised aluminium you will know that I learnt this from you. I have a small laser but have only used it to cut plastic and paper.
There is a widely adopted "lasering" (oh how I hate that term) method for engraving dark permanent markings on glazed ceramic tile. They are using white paint with titanium dioxide as the main pigment. The idea (as I interpret it) is the laser ablates the paint carrier and strips the oxygen off the titanium dioxide, which causes the titanium to reburn at extreme heat, actually fusing with the glass surface of the tile. It would be interesting to see if the same approach would work with aluminum. Even if the marking is light, you might be able to fixture it, ablate it, reapply paint, and repeat as need to richen up the marking. Hope it works.
Please stop these laser videos. I don't have the money right now but you're really making me want to buy one. Seriously though, your content is great, thank you.
Powder coat does work. The settings are a little tricky to get correct and you're going to want to use a lower power setting than you'd think. It's also an extraordinarily slow process as the traverse speed also has to be really slow. Also the color of the powder resin matters as I'm sure you can imagine that some hues absorb more of the laser energy than others. Conversely you can also use printer toner diluted in alcohol. This makes a thin coating that sinters well though it's not as durable as the commercial product you originally used. I assume that's because it has some other binding agent that I'm not aware of. Either way you can simply clear coat it and it works reasonably well. The reason you wouldn't want to use the toner dry is that it's a fine powder and it'll get everywhere in no time flat. It's worse than pet hair in that aspect. The things we come up with in a bind.... These ideas came from necessity. They were born in the workshop from the need to effectively and permanently mark a control panel for a Tesla coil. The first was the powder coat which I don't recommend because it's an incredibly slow and tedious process. While the printer toner worked really well it wasn't very durable and we wound up having to remake it because it's markings kept rubbing off. We fixed it with some clear acrylic spray paint. In the end I could have just made stencils and used a rattle can to mark it.
I'm gathering that it's possible, but not practical or at least preferable. Of all the options you listed, the $20 can of CerMark that will last for a few projects sounds pretty good.
Another point on powder coating. Since it takes heat to fuse the powder, it seems to me you could use the laser for that. I've been meaning to test but don't have access to a laser right now. Spread a layer of powder on the workpiece (either using a powder coating gun or maybe a salt shaker with a little powder in it) and then laser etch. Probably need to go pretty low power. dust off the unfused powder and then cure in an over for 10 minutes or so for durability.
i know your content is not usually wood, or plastics - but it would be interesting for me to see what this sort of laser can do with different colours of plastics/woods and what sort of settings (or how to experiment to get the right ones) for engrave vs cutting. also would be interesting to see if you can mark glass, or clear acrylic using the 'sacrificial cutting surface' option
I've tried comparing dry moly spray & cermark for marking with laser, and what I found is that it works, but not nearly as well. It's not as durable and the settings are finicky. On the cheap and in a pinch, you could use it but if you want really good results you can't beat the expensive stuff unfortunately. Maybe if you just want to mark something so you can have useful information somewhere and it's not going to be rubbed off, it could be useful. I would never recommend it for anything you want cosmetically nice.
We have a printmaking studio, where we etch metal plates with images, ink them up and print using traditional methods. We considering trying a laser as an alternative to chemical etching. My questions are: 1) how deep will this laser cut? 2) how would this work on copper or aluminum? (needs to be deep enough so that ink can be wiped off the surface, while remaining in the groove for the printing process.
So I had my phone up and saw a Facebook post about... the xTool D1 the exact same second you mentioned it. A bit freaky, but it's from a 3D printing vendor I'm actually following.
How about using liquid ceramic glaze meant for firing on clay? It seems to form a similar type of glassy layer. Maybe it would bond to steel or aluminum.
Fantastic work. I had purchased this exact machine and to save some money I picked up a can of Rust-o-i 2x ultra cover flat black. It did a great job enhancing the stainless steel but I do not know how it compares to the product you used. Have you had the opportunity to try a regular rattle can on you stainless? Thanks for all your content, you got it going on.
The black card you started with is definitely painted - I use them a fair bit on my fiber laser. Generally, I find that the very thin (0.2mm) cards are painted and the thicker ones are anodised
Oh I feel a really mean idea bubbling up… making wrong rulers for people that annoy you, and swap with their normal ones… time for me to wear hear shirts and go ice swimming, I guess…
Great video. Really appreciate the depth of the review. Can you please clarify which laser module is being used? xTool offer a few. Is it the 455NM 20W diode Blue or the 1064NM infrared? Many thanks.
I'd love to be able to anodize, but in such a small shop, I really don't have the space to set aside an area for safe storage of the acids where the outgassing won't destroy something else.
@@Clough42 There was a build on CNCZONE a in 2018 by zeeflyboy where he got amazing results - I will have to re-read to see how he dealt with chemical storage. I am wondering if a Rubbermaid outdoor storage shed would work or if it would be a disaster.
Wow, YT comments don't allow anything close to link. I have laser etched powder coated aluminum panels and am happy with the results. I have a blog that shows my process but YT won't let me post it here. In a nutshell - used a 40W laser at 60%, 1000 mm/min to etch the powder off the panel. A 10W laser might need multiple passes - since there is some "redeposition" of the vaporized powder, multiple passes give better results.
Have you tried dry molybdenum spray as a substitute for the ridiculously expensive Cermark? I have seen some folks have some decent results using CO2 lasers. I would be curious if a blue diode laser would have success using that technique. Another thing some folks gave had success with is using powder coating paint. The heat from the laser helps to melt the powder coating and getting it to bond with metal. Of course you have have to turn off air assist since it would blow powder coating away from the point of where you are trying to use the laser to heat. Might be something you could try in some future videos.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 James, from my perspective you have so many successful experiences to be very happy about, but the glee in your voice of this laser marking was spectacular. Isn’t life great? 👍😎👍. My question, have you done any cutting with the laser?
Nice tutorial video on these machines. I work primarily with Diode pumped fiberYAg lasers which work on a different frequency than the machine you work with. have you ever used power maps to find the optimal power settings to use for new materials? I do these a lot on new materials and find them helpful. Dan
I would like to purchase a 10 or 20 watt x-tool laser but have not found any examples of marking small text fonts on brass coin blanks. Don't know if the mark would be dark enough or would last with general use as jewelry. Can you help? Thanks, William
Thanks for this video...Very odd, I've asked xtool numerous times about being able to use on hard anodized aluminum, and they told me no... why? Perhaps hard anodize vs standard anodize?? which way was your part done? I'm needing to use on 6061 T6 aluminum with black hard anodizing... curious what it would look like if you double etched as well.. We currently get this done with a MUCH higher powered industrial machines and they double etch as well which makes it much whiter...
Does the laser clean off tool marks? It looks like it in the video, the marks left over from the facemill on the spindle mount. Can you try it on steel that was blackend/blued with gun blue liquid?
Chads Custom Creations just did a video demonstrating "Cutting Metal with a Desktop Laser" with his 20W design. Wondering if XTOOL will send you out a larger laser module? That'd be awesome and you've got more positive sales metrics as well. The extension frame might be handy as well. Figured let you know since Hackaday just did an article on his video.
James, just getting into Lazer engraving. Chuck over at outside screwball engraved on a trail run the size back on a tap. What if the the material is carbide? Like to hear back. Have some carbide taps that need re- labeled, Bear
Hey James cool tool The CNC stuff is a lil ways away for me yet You might remember I told you about my plan of converting a radial arm saw to a mill. Well I have a ? or 2 for you if you can , I really like the cnc heads and I'm probably going to use that for my project and if you could point me to a good source Il give you some idea of what I would like, I'm going to have a full X Y Z axis The Z axis will have a A and B meeting the table can move up and the spindle as well and I'm going to add to start a dumb 4th axis I started with it and I have worked out almost all the designs from a never seen anywhere way to very easily drive the xyz movements I figured out a way to do this all with out the use of a mill I think I found a solid macanical way and not using dove tails easy lubing and no worries on lubing and maybe easly convertion to serfice grinder AND IM HOPING I can get info from you in regards to the electronics from DRO and feeds controls the spindle mortar I need to use 120v And I'm thinking 2 collet sizes like 1/4 and 3/8 options I understand if this dose not look like something you want to get into I understand and I promise I would not become a pain. Thank for all your videos they have really inspired me by showing what's posable even with my restrains I live with. Dale
Can you try "pebeo 150 ceramic paint" or you can find ceramic markers they used on mugs and it has to be baked. So maybe the laser could do it ? Also can you laser powder toner. If you could mix it with a medium ? And what if you find some kind fine powder crashed ceramic or fine powder glass. Will it fuse and bond to metals ? I Hope these could help ! Thank you for your content! 🙏
I have been able to mark 304 Stainless Steel tubing that was coated with "Cerakote" paint, the markings did actually etch into the paint and did not wipe off and can be felt with an instrument or finger nail, I'm using an Atomstack XPro 7 Diode laser engraver. Anyone who knows how to etch Aluminum, 6061 T6, polished or natural finish please advise as to how you are doing that, Thank You.
several years ago I had access to a CO2 laser and I used it to customize canning jars for my sister to use for things she canned and gave away. (I also did custom etching on glasses from ikea for other family members, worked out well) The CO2 lasers (40w+) were able to etch directly on the glass, but I expect that the diode laser is going to need a coating (like you did with the stainless), I'm very interested to hear if this sort of thing works for you
Your excitement about lasering all the things is palpable James. Keep 'em coming.
I used to work with a company that produced all sorts of signs and panel printing. They had anodising facilities, and one of their processes was something called AnoBlack, a proprietary optical blackening for anodised aluminium used in the medical and aerospace industries. This could be used together with a photo resist mask on the freshly anodised aluminium, light exposed, dye fixed, then washed to reveal the original graphic. Another process used screen printing to apply different colour dyes before fixing. Your previous video, and the powder coat comment, has got me thinking that the dye fixing, which uses heat, could perhaps be selectively bonded with the laser at low power after first applying the dye to freshly anodised aluminium in a similar way to how CerMark is used. An additive, rather than ablative process if you will that might work around marking aluminium.
I look forward to more experiments, and another great video regardless.
Fun toy! I love watching someone use a laser for the first time. I’ve been doing this for 25 years in a tool and die engraving shop. We do logos in plastic molds along with almost anything else you can imagine.
Do you use laser for this ?
Only watched a few of your videos so this is the first time I caught the tagline… I was literally LOL in my office. It's Friday so it's a Work optional day. I have a similar tagline, "anything worth doing is worth overdoing". Thanks for all the information.
I’ve enjoyed my d1 for over a year now and wife convinced me to upgrade to s1 which I did recently. Came across this video looking for settings for anodized aluminum and Found it very helpful.
Big shoutout for the StrongBad reference. I haven’t thought of them in years and loved catching Trogdor…and now that song is stuck in my head. Thanks. 😅
Randomly searched "laser engraving anodized aluminum" for work and saw this video. thanks! the compare and contrast with the different finishes settings, and modes was so helpful.
James, Totally amazing, and as usual mega informative. With this capability you are only limited by your imagination. This shop TOOL magnifies capabilities to a new level, and for those out there that want one, yes you can play with it, experiment and enjoy the end results from it, but it is NOT a TOY. James isn't showing off his new toy, he's working hard, filming and editing and sharing things hes learned with us and opening our eyes to things many have never seen or imagined before. Keep em coming James.
Great content, the effect of now labeling everything reminds me when the Dymo embossed labeler was new. Labels on everything of course that was decades ago.
The real labelers labeled their labeling machines...
Like everyone, I just bought a 20w diode and I am setting up my table and air evac.
You present really great goto factual info and I very much appreciate it. Thank you.
I will be be your huckleberry from here. //ji John in Oregon
Nice results! Having done anodizing I would suspect what the laser it actually doing is either destroying or bleaching the dye. This is in fact ideal as it leaves the protective anodized surface intact.
That's my understanding of how it works.
@@Clough42 The easiest way I know to test whether the anodizing was remove or just "bleached" is to use a DVM and test to see if it is conductive. Anodizing is an insulator and the DVM will show no conductivity between the probes when lightly touched to the surface. If the anodizing has been removed it will be conductivity. Fiber laser remove the anodizing, interested if the Diode one will.
@@lynnfliger1856 oh, excellent! The factory markings are conductive, but mine aren't, meaning the diode laser just bleached the dye.
@@Clough42 :) glad I could help. We are going to be receiving our X1 today and it should work well for our anodized 6061. BTW you could try the same trick on the pink handle and business card. Thanks for the laser fast reply
I just bought the same laser, and these videos are great for showing me what I never thought to ask about how to laser,
There you go. BRANDING, BRANDING, BRANDING.
You just saved me 11 hours of work! Thank you!
The results look amazing! The process seems almost addictive.
Uhh, yeah. That's been my experience.
@@Clough42 let's now all prep for seeing ownership tags burned into /everything/ in your shop..
@@klaernie All signatures will be done with the laser engraver from now on.
Bought this machine today and can't wait to try it.
I did some engraving on powdercoated aluminium enclosures a while ago with mixed results. I had 6 or 8 cheap enclosures coated in different colours by a local shop, and tried different speed and power settings. I'll try and find the photos
Wow that's 👌 job love how it came out and glad to see I'm not the only one that squares up items like you did lol, I don't have an xtool but I'd love to get one, I saw a video before this one xtool has a red diode laser specifically for metal, it was very cool, John at tripods garage had it. I'm currently waiting for a replacement 10w laser module from comgrow, so far I've regretted getting into comgrow products. I'll tell you more at a different time. Take care my friend.
Love the strongbad reference!
Yay! Glad you laser engraved anodized alu. That was beautiful!
Thanks so much for taking the time and trouble to make such a great video !
I found it very useful and informative as I have been wondering for years if there was a more CHEAPER alternative to these ridiculously expensive Fiber laser marking machines which are un-affordable for most folks...
I have bought 2 desktop table laser engravers in 2021/22 (a 20w and also a 30w) from eBay China sellers (for £245 and £315 UK pounds) and so far have never taken any of them out of the boxes to set them up and try this out !... I was brainwashed by people saying that diode lasers are no good and do not mark aluminum when your great video CLEARLY shows and PROVES that they DO ! and really work well to mark anodized aluminum which is what I have always wanted to do for making name plates for my machine tool projects ! - That spindle looks awesome ! - May you have the best of luck in all your projects - You have just made my day !! - Well done man ! 👍👍👍👌
Looking good. Though I don't (yet?) feel the need to put a mark on everything I own, the result is very pleasing.
At some point you do need to stop dragging in new equipment, though. I already have very little space left to actually move in my shop...
Beautiful Clean work! Cheers from Toronto!!
Awesome... Just the video i was looking for in my week long research of this laser.
I have used Rust-Oleum cold galvanizing compound with my 35 watt CO2 laser on bare aluminum and it works beautifully. I'm not sure if it'll work with a diode laser but its worth a try.
Have you ever tried a coating made for lasers against the cold galvanized paint for a comparison?
Love the Trogdor Easter egg! I swear though you with this laser is the equivalent of everything looks like a nail when you have a hammer haha
Nice video as always James. The logo/catch phrase suits really well
amazing ive just started a product here in Thailand where I want to do end marking serial numbers etc markings logos - you just illuminated me!!! (in455nm light)! This solves all problems
Thanks mate, exactly what I was looking for about 10 years back lol but it shows that what I’ve learned and discovered on my own is backed up so completely and succinctly. Thank you for filling in lots of little blanks and just overall such a great video that answers my questions so perfectly well. Have a great day mate, take care, all the best from Down Under 😎👍
Very nice! Thanks for the follow up. Seriously thinking of picking up one of the lasers for my shop. I like your tagline too. Love the overkill. Thanks for sharing!
A very thin coat of watered down tempra paint interacts nicely with the laser and increases the heat for better results blowing through the anodized layer. I'm getting good results at 500mm per minute at 5 watts.
i just purchased my xtool laser.. I appreciate the info... I am waiting for it to come in
Man... Your new CNC is just perfect!
I like how you make stuff with perfectionism. I can relate to that. It sure takes a lot more time, but the reward is amazing.
Nice work 👍🏼😎
And this being a hobby, i'm not in a hurry. Taking longer means more time in the shop.
👌🏻😎
Making Graphene super capacitors from Kapton tape is fun to do with diode lasers. A quick check on t'internet will bring up several videos showing how to do it. I made interleaved comb type designs on microscope slides and the level of capacitance was insane.
That looks like a fun toy, James. You should have put the following on the back of the spindle - "If you can read this, please activate Emergency Stop!"
Another missed opportunity.
Well I would say the Laser company definitely got its moneys worth. Nice works, as always your detailed explanation was exceptional... Thanks for sharing ... Stay safe and well ...
I really look forward to all of your videos.
What I don't look forward to is the fact that almost every video makes me buy something. There are just so many cool things. 6563
Just ordered my first mill and a lathe last week.
Great work James, if you ever see me do laser engraving on anodised aluminium you will know that I learnt this from you. I have a small laser but have only used it to cut plastic and paper.
Thanks for this video, all the others I found were just showing using it on wood but I was interested in using it for anodizing so that was perfect.
Use it to cut the cloth for a microscope cover? My microscope cover had all sorts of angles and curves; I forget what yours looks like.
thats awesome , looking forward to seeing that spindle in action
Looks great James 👍👍
I wonder how a scale/ruler would come out? would make a good test article
Given how the fine lines came out, I would expect it to work well.
Looks very sharp! Nicely done.
There is a widely adopted "lasering" (oh how I hate that term) method for engraving dark permanent markings on glazed ceramic tile. They are using white paint with titanium dioxide as the main pigment. The idea (as I interpret it) is the laser ablates the paint carrier and strips the oxygen off the titanium dioxide, which causes the titanium to reburn at extreme heat, actually fusing with the glass surface of the tile. It would be interesting to see if the same approach would work with aluminum. Even if the marking is light, you might be able to fixture it, ablate it, reapply paint, and repeat as need to richen up the marking. Hope it works.
Please stop these laser videos. I don't have the money right now but you're really making me want to buy one. Seriously though, your content is great, thank you.
A rotary axis for this thing would b epic!
I have one. :)
I was thinking a lazy susan or rotary table for alignment myself.
Powder coat does work. The settings are a little tricky to get correct and you're going to want to use a lower power setting than you'd think. It's also an extraordinarily slow process as the traverse speed also has to be really slow. Also the color of the powder resin matters as I'm sure you can imagine that some hues absorb more of the laser energy than others.
Conversely you can also use printer toner diluted in alcohol. This makes a thin coating that sinters well though it's not as durable as the commercial product you originally used. I assume that's because it has some other binding agent that I'm not aware of. Either way you can simply clear coat it and it works reasonably well. The reason you wouldn't want to use the toner dry is that it's a fine powder and it'll get everywhere in no time flat. It's worse than pet hair in that aspect.
The things we come up with in a bind.... These ideas came from necessity. They were born in the workshop from the need to effectively and permanently mark a control panel for a Tesla coil. The first was the powder coat which I don't recommend because it's an incredibly slow and tedious process. While the printer toner worked really well it wasn't very durable and we wound up having to remake it because it's markings kept rubbing off. We fixed it with some clear acrylic spray paint. In the end I could have just made stencils and used a rattle can to mark it.
I'm gathering that it's possible, but not practical or at least preferable. Of all the options you listed, the $20 can of CerMark that will last for a few projects sounds pretty good.
TROGDOR!!!! I wonder how many people catch this!
Another point on powder coating. Since it takes heat to fuse the powder, it seems to me you could use the laser for that. I've been meaning to test but don't have access to a laser right now. Spread a layer of powder on the workpiece (either using a powder coating gun or maybe a salt shaker with a little powder in it) and then laser etch. Probably need to go pretty low power. dust off the unfused powder and then cure in an over for 10 minutes or so for durability.
You’re having too much fun!!!
i know your content is not usually wood, or plastics - but it would be interesting for me to see what this sort of laser can do with different colours of plastics/woods and what sort of settings (or how to experiment to get the right ones) for engrave vs cutting. also would be interesting to see if you can mark glass, or clear acrylic using the 'sacrificial cutting surface' option
Trogdor! Burninating the aluminum!
Great Video! (as usual!). Can you give your laser a go on aluminum hardcoat? Thank you for all your great work!
Based on the comments here, that's probably what's on the spindle.
I've tried comparing dry moly spray & cermark for marking with laser, and what I found is that it works, but not nearly as well. It's not as durable and the settings are finicky. On the cheap and in a pinch, you could use it but if you want really good results you can't beat the expensive stuff unfortunately. Maybe if you just want to mark something so you can have useful information somewhere and it's not going to be rubbed off, it could be useful. I would never recommend it for anything you want cosmetically nice.
I’ve also used the dry moly spray. I’ve gotten mixed, yet acceptable results. Especially considering the price point.
Does it remove (etch) any of the aluminum material, or is it just surface marking (bleaching)?
Fantastic, thank you
What machine would you recommend for business cards engraving?
You need one of those MOPA galvo lasers to do color engraving
Have you tried ceramic glaze?
Will that work on upholstery vinyl remnants?
That's a pretty impressive machine. Makes me want one - although I don't really have a use for it!
What a neat "toy" and great video.
We have a printmaking studio, where we etch metal plates with images, ink them up and print using traditional methods. We considering trying a laser as an alternative to chemical etching. My questions are: 1) how deep will this laser cut? 2) how would this work on copper or aluminum? (needs to be deep enough so that ink can be wiped off the surface, while remaining in the groove for the printing process.
So I had my phone up and saw a Facebook post about... the xTool D1 the exact same second you mentioned it. A bit freaky, but it's from a 3D printing vendor I'm actually following.
Welcome to modern advertising. I see ads for the xTool D1 everywhere now. :)
19:57
Burninating the neighborhood,
Burninating the people🎶
Trogdor!!
Nice. Very nice. What kind of mill do you have?
Thanks,
Paul
How about using liquid ceramic glaze meant for firing on clay? It seems to form a similar type of glassy layer. Maybe it would bond to steel or aluminum.
What was you focal distance? Did you use the arm attached to the side of the head for depth?
Fantastic work. I had purchased this exact machine and to save some money I picked up a can of Rust-o-i 2x ultra cover flat black. It did a great job enhancing the stainless steel but I do not know how it compares to the product you used. Have you had the opportunity to try a regular rattle can on you stainless? Thanks for all your content, you got it going on.
The black card you started with is definitely painted - I use them a fair bit on my fiber laser. Generally, I find that the very thin (0.2mm) cards are painted and the thicker ones are anodised
I would totally make a custom ruler. To see how dimensional accurate it is and try to match etching on both sides.
Oh I feel a really mean idea bubbling up… making wrong rulers for people that annoy you, and swap with their normal ones… time for me to wear hear shirts and go ice swimming, I guess…
Great video. Really appreciate the depth of the review. Can you please clarify which laser module is being used? xTool offer a few. Is it the 455NM 20W diode Blue or the 1064NM infrared? Many thanks.
I think you should try that 45 degree angle on laser. Im testing it and just like in printing i get better results.
How about trying laser printer toner. Should bond well when heated and you have choices of colour.
Excellent video and teachings as always. Will you be looking into anodizing next?
I'd love to be able to anodize, but in such a small shop, I really don't have the space to set aside an area for safe storage of the acids where the outgassing won't destroy something else.
@@Clough42 There was a build on CNCZONE a in 2018 by zeeflyboy where he got amazing results - I will have to re-read to see how he dealt with chemical storage. I am wondering if a Rubbermaid outdoor storage shed would work or if it would be a disaster.
Wow, YT comments don't allow anything close to link. I have laser etched powder coated aluminum panels and am happy with the results. I have a blog that shows my process but YT won't let me post it here. In a nutshell - used a 40W laser at 60%, 1000 mm/min to etch the powder off the panel. A 10W laser might need multiple passes - since there is some "redeposition" of the vaporized powder, multiple passes give better results.
Can it cut gasket and seal materials? Specifically the fiber material about 0.040" thick used in valve seals and CO2 seals?
Very Cool!!❤
Have you tried dry molybdenum spray as a substitute for the ridiculously expensive Cermark? I have seen some folks have some decent results using CO2 lasers. I would be curious if a blue diode laser would have success using that technique.
Another thing some folks gave had success with is using powder coating paint. The heat from the laser helps to melt the powder coating and getting it to bond with metal. Of course you have have to turn off air assist since it would blow powder coating away from the point of where you are trying to use the laser to heat. Might be something you could try in some future videos.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 James, from my perspective you have so many successful experiences to be very happy about, but the glee in your voice of this laser marking was spectacular. Isn’t life great? 👍😎👍. My question, have you done any cutting with the laser?
Can you laser PCB's? I've been looking for something to laser serial numbers either directly on the soldermask or a silkscreen box on a PCB.
Thanks
If you were to buy an XTOOL D1 Pro today would you upgrade to the 20W from the 10W? Thanks
I think I would always go for more power. I haven't personally seen or tested the 20W or looked at the pricing.
I wonder if cermark would work to make PCBs?
Very nice. Have you tried Dry Moly Spray for marking S/S. Much cheaper.
For aluminium (or any metal really) you can simply rattle can a masked area on the item, let it dry then laser it off a la anodising.
what height setting did you use?
Nice tutorial video on these machines. I work primarily with Diode pumped fiberYAg lasers which work on a different frequency than the machine you work with. have you ever used power maps to find the optimal power settings to use for new materials? I do these a lot on new materials and find them helpful.
Dan
I would like to purchase a 10 or 20 watt x-tool laser but have not found any examples of marking small text fonts on brass coin blanks. Don't know if the mark would be dark enough or would last with general use as jewelry. Can you help?
Thanks, William
Could you try this laser on some toolbox foam?
Thanks for this video...Very odd, I've asked xtool numerous times about being able to use on hard anodized aluminum, and they told me no... why? Perhaps hard anodize vs standard anodize?? which way was your part done? I'm needing to use on 6061 T6 aluminum with black hard anodizing... curious what it would look like if you double etched as well.. We currently get this done with a MUCH higher powered industrial machines and they double etch as well which makes it much whiter...
is there a laser that can cut engrave like a cnc mill and if so which type?
Does the laser clean off tool marks? It looks like it in the video, the marks left over from the facemill on the spindle mount.
Can you try it on steel that was blackend/blued with gun blue liquid?
Chads Custom Creations just did a video demonstrating "Cutting Metal with a Desktop Laser" with his 20W design. Wondering if XTOOL will send you out a larger laser module? That'd be awesome and you've got more positive sales metrics as well. The extension frame might be handy as well. Figured let you know since Hackaday just did an article on his video.
I love it. I love it! Ahhhh! 🤘
When are you going to finish that tool post you had made in cast iron?
The video of machining the casting went up last week.
James, just getting into Lazer engraving. Chuck over at outside screwball engraved on a trail run the size back on a tap. What if the the material is carbide? Like to hear back. Have some carbide taps that need re- labeled, Bear
No idea. I've only tried directly engraving stainless. I was surprised he succeeded in marking the tap.
Hey James cool tool The CNC stuff is a lil ways away for me yet You might remember I told you about my plan of converting a radial arm saw to a mill. Well I have a ? or 2 for you if you can , I really like the cnc heads and I'm probably going to use that for my project and if you could point me to a good source Il give you some idea of what I would like, I'm going to have a full X Y Z axis The Z axis will have a A and B meeting the table can move up and the spindle as well and I'm going to add to start a dumb 4th axis I started with it and I have worked out almost all the designs from a never seen anywhere way to very easily drive the xyz movements I figured out a way to do this all with out the use of a mill I think I found a solid macanical way and not using dove tails easy lubing and no worries on lubing and maybe easly convertion to serfice grinder AND IM HOPING I can get info from you in regards to the electronics from DRO and feeds controls the spindle mortar I need to use 120v And I'm thinking 2 collet sizes like 1/4 and 3/8 options I understand if this dose not look like something you want to get into I understand and I promise I would not become a pain. Thank for all your videos they have really inspired me by showing what's posable even with my restrains I live with. Dale
Can you try "pebeo 150 ceramic paint" or you can find ceramic markers they used on mugs and it has to be baked. So maybe the laser could do it ?
Also can you laser powder toner. If you could mix it with a medium ?
And what if you find some kind fine powder crashed ceramic or fine powder glass. Will it fuse and bond to metals ?
I Hope these could help ! Thank you for your content! 🙏
I have been able to mark 304 Stainless Steel tubing that was coated with "Cerakote" paint, the markings did actually etch into the paint and did not wipe off and can be felt with an instrument or finger nail, I'm using an Atomstack XPro 7 Diode laser engraver. Anyone who knows how to etch Aluminum, 6061 T6, polished or natural finish please advise as to how you are doing that, Thank You.
Very nice job sir
several years ago I had access to a CO2 laser and I used it to customize canning jars for my sister to use for things she canned and gave away. (I also did custom etching on glasses from ikea for other family members, worked out well)
The CO2 lasers (40w+) were able to etch directly on the glass, but I expect that the diode laser is going to need a coating (like you did with the stainless), I'm very interested to hear if this sort of thing works for you
It's supposed to etch glass directly, though it's something I haven't tried yet.