What sort, kind, power of laser, would I use to put a logo on aluminum 6061. I am wondering if I could use one to put a logo on my clamps.
Best for marking aluminum is probably a MOPA infrared laser, UV lasers are also very good at marking metal. If youāre using a MOPA IR laser you can even get colors on some metals, Iāve found only shades of gray on aluminum, but my experience is limited.
CO2 lasers and Diode lasers can be used to mark metal as well with the addition of marking sprays, that use the heat the laser provides to create a chemical bond between the marking sprays and the metal (I believe titanium dioxide is commonly used, but donāt quote me on that, I should probably read the MSDS sheets on of the chems I useā¦)
Hereās an example of some floor plates for my brotherās magazines that I did, these are all aluminum, but you can see the different shades that can be created. I used a 100watt MOPA IR laser for these:
All that being said if you have some graphics youād like to see done, send me a direct message and I can play with the clamps you sold me to give you an idea of whatās possible. I have CO2, IR MOPA, UV and a diode laser (I have a laser issue, I think) and always enjoy playing with different use cases to learn more.
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I should also note, you do NOT need something as powerful as a 100Watt IR MOPA to mark aluminum, Iād think even something like Xtoolās dual laser F2, which has a 15W diode and a 5W MOPA IR would be perfect for your use case: xTool F2: 5W IR & 15W Diode Portable Dual Laser Engraver It has a small foot print, is ārelativelyā inexpensive and their software is incredibly easy to work with.
When Iām marking aluminum w/the 100W IR, my power is turned down and the speed is cranked up.
I think you could even work with one of JTechās laser heads on your 1F with marking spray, but I havenāt done any direct marking of aluminum using marking spray with a diode laser.
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well i was really wondering what jtech laser that onefinity sells would do the job. or should i get a separate machine? I am also thinking for economys sake of just using a v bit to engrave some simple logo on them? I might try that soon.
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If itās less than say about 150x150 mm then a fibre laser, 60w should be sufficient and efficient. They typically galvo rather than gantry directed, hence the smaller footprint. Higher power gets more expensive. If you intend to cut more than 1.5/2mm thick then mill with a CNC.
Milling Aluminium is easy. Lots of examples on the forum. Main advice is get aviation / machining grade. Othe alloys can be gummy and result in lots of clean up, and therefore not much fun.
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I some how failed to convey that I do not want to mill aluminum with the laser i want to etch a logo into it . I already know how to mill aluminum as i do it most every day. my question is what laser ( that Onefinity sells and supports) will do the job in 6061 aluminum. thanks.
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hilljack branding.crv (996.5 KB)this is what i am proposing to do. it is a Vectrics file. way too long at 7 minutes to vcarve it.
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With what Iāve seen of your work Iād bet you can create something really nice using a v-bit and save investing in new hardware (but whereās the fun in that 
).
Hopefully someone else has input on engraving with the J-tech lasers, possibly even having played with marking spray as well.
Another thought is how much time you will invest in marking your work. Many IR and UV lasers use Galvo heads versus gantry, this limits them in a couple of ways as far as total marking area and the fact that when you are cutting with them at the outer limits of their boundaries the edges are tapered. That being said they are INCREDIBLY fast compared to gantry style lasers, particularly when used to mark sold areas. This is due to them manipulating the laser with mirrors controlled by magnets.
At the end of the day, the time spent may not be important to you, since you can work on other projects while your parts are marked, but there can be a ROI calculation in some use cases.
(For those who are reading this thread, no I havenāt slipped a gear, I was typing this up and editing video while the other replies came in, so, not crazier than usual, but Iām going to leave my reply as it is)
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Can you export that from Vectrics to another format, like DXF or SVG?
I believe you have to have VectricPro or something like that to export to other formats, so if not thatās fine, but as Iām not a Vectric user I can not visualize what youāre trying to do.
update on my new table. progress today.
you can also see the height adjusters. (the yellow things) People use them to install cabinets I am using them to level the top. Then I will put in the screws on the sides of the pergola fixtures to set the level perfectly. I was a bit surprised at how easily the table rolls on those six casters. Again, that space on the left is open for the cabinet I bought for this table as shown in previous posts. You can also see the elite Masso in the background. and the lifting mechanism i will be using for the fourth axis. More later.
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Youāre almost there! Table is coming out great!
I used the image you provided to dummy up something close and ran it on my 100W IR MOPA laser.
For my standard āblackā engrave on aluminum it took about a minute, but depending on how dark you wanted your lettering you could probably get it done in 30 seconds or so. Iām really uncertain how long it would take, for example with the 5W IR Xtool laser I linked to you earlier. The power / speed settings are not completely linear in my experience. This was running 200mm/s at 40% power. I think even with a 5W IR you could mark faster than engraving with a vbit, and the type of images/quality of text is different than an engrave.
The downside of a that laser is itās fairly small marking area, compared to say getting the JTech and having and ENORMOUS imaging area on your 1F. I did a bit more research and it appears you should be able to mark aluminum in conjunction with marking spray with a diode laser. Your marking speed will be slower, but given the table size you could jig up MANY of your clamps and just let it run, at the end of the day your / unit imaging time may be quite similar. If you can setup and run say 60 at a time versus 2-3 at a time on the IR laser, that definitely adds up.
The downside of using marking spray is that it can be pricey and Iām uncertain if the marking has the same longevity as IR engraving. I have used marking spray on brass w/my CO2 lasers and it creates a beautiful black mark that is pretty durable, but I feel if it was in heavily used environment you may experience the marking being scratched off. It feels more to me like a high quality powder coating when itās complete.
Hereās a couple images and what not, since a picture is worth a thousand words (not that Iām opposed to rambling on for 1000ās of wordsā¦ 
)
Finished Clamp (IR MOPA Laser)
Marking Spray on Brass with a CO2 Laser
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The middle one is actually the result directly off the IR laser, no marking spray required.
The bottom picture is the one where I used marking spray to mark on brass.
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cool what wattage did the middle one use? and what would be the cost of that setup?
That was done with a Monport 100watt IR MOPA laser at 40% power and a imaging speed of 200mm/s.
I also redid the captions to put them underneath the image which is better formatting now that I think about it, should clarify what is what. I tried to add extra line spacing but the forum software takes that out, which would make sense to save from having to scroll forever.
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i looked it up and no I do not have an extra 4 grand laying around right now lol
but thanks.
Sorry, I missed your question about the cost, currently that laser is around $6500, though they do run sales from time to time.
I bought mine a couple of years ago when they were a bit less expensive and received a very nice discount, but it was still a substantial investment.
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ouch! after spending as i already have on CNC Iād actually like to stay married. So Iāll have to wait till i can sell enough clamps to invest in something new.
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