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General Discussion / Re: Best coloured plexi glass for enclosure
« on: November 12, 2019, 05:31:09 AM »
thank you
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General Discussion / Best coloured plexi glass for enclosure
« on: November 10, 2019, 11:04:59 AM »
Hello everyone
I expect this has been asked before but I cant seem to find the right answer so I'm going to ask ands face the wrath.
I want to make an enclosure for my blue diode laser from Endurance, could someone please advise what is the best coloured plexiglass to use.
Do you have to use a special plexiglass that is rated for lasers or just a orange or green one to change the beam colour?
I'm used to use arc welding safety glass in a LCD helmet and that is obviously specially rated for Arc/Mig/Grinding, on lasers I have to admit I have no idea at all. Thank you.
I expect this has been asked before but I cant seem to find the right answer so I'm going to ask ands face the wrath.
I want to make an enclosure for my blue diode laser from Endurance, could someone please advise what is the best coloured plexiglass to use.
Do you have to use a special plexiglass that is rated for lasers or just a orange or green one to change the beam colour?
I'm used to use arc welding safety glass in a LCD helmet and that is obviously specially rated for Arc/Mig/Grinding, on lasers I have to admit I have no idea at all. Thank you.
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General Discussion / Re: laser venting
« on: November 10, 2019, 11:00:17 AM »The fan will be probably more effective if placed at the exit side.
That's what I've done for my K40 with 4m of 80mm hose. The blower is an Attwood turbo 3000 with a 12v power.
I've followed this advice: Exhaust on your K40 laser machine
Agreed, read the article and have done that and yes I can confirm huge amount of difference in suction and virtually no noise the best thing!!!
Apart from tidying up the electrics its all finished now and makes a huge difference to the smell in the workshop, Also waiting on a 230mm AC ring light to fit over the 130mm ducting and put some decent white light onto the laser bed.
Sucks smoke from about 1 metre from the laser area so not bad for a 30 watt inline fan! Takes care of the soldering station as well. Total length of ducting is about 3.3 metres with elbows and is 125mm in diameter. Flower pot tray was just under 300 mm in diameter. Total cost just under 30 euros including the light and fan!
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General Discussion / Re: laser venting
« on: November 04, 2019, 12:54:26 AM »
@pascalp
I have read your article on the k40 site and will have a go with the fan near exit of the hose. thanks, interesting to read.
I have read your article on the k40 site and will have a go with the fan near exit of the hose. thanks, interesting to read.
5
General Discussion / Re: laser venting
« on: November 03, 2019, 03:13:32 AM »
A slightly better system this time around rather than just the 120 mm pipe over the laser head and fan.
My laser sits on a desk adjacent to a outside wall and not in a special cabinet
I purchased a white 300mm flower pot saucer, together with a 120mm selection of pipes, elbows and inline extractor all to fit the 120 mm pipework, in addition i purchased a enlarging reducing section to go from say 80mm to 130 mm pipes
I made a 120mm hole in the middle of the saucer and inserted the reducing unit, then cut off the bits I did not need, then glued the reducer into the saucer, as it sits on the wider part of the "reducer" it acts like a support for the saucer, see pictures, then on top of this I intend to put a 90deg elbow, then a short section to the wall and then another elbow to take it up the wall, A valve that closes the pipe and then a "T" then the fan, the fan will go into this pipe and then more pipe to follow about 1 metre high to take it to a point in the wall where I can drill a hole and exit the 120mm pipe and use a one way flap to stop air coming in from outside.
The inline fan runs at 100% power all the time and is very powerful so I have purchased a small fan regulator and this will allow me to alter the fan speed easily, I also have purchased some ultra bright circular leds that will go on the underside of the saucer and flood the area with light without distracting my eyes.
I have to cut out a piece of aluminium to fit the saucer and then cut the 120 mm hole in it and the leds will go on this and that will act as a heat sink and reflector as I will polish it, all the wiring goes behind the aluminium disc so wont be seen and the whole lot can then be glued to the bottom of the saucer, the wires will go up the tube and come out before they get to the fan and there will be a small switch there as well along with a tiny psu for the leds which will be fed from the fan power, as its only fine smoke there will not be any issues with the wiring and the psu is sealed. ( I could have purchased a 12 volt DC inline fan but its not as powerful)
Once thats all done the saucer will be placed of the middle of the CNC unit to suck up the smoke etc.
I have run some simple tests using a Joss stick and the smoke off that instantly gets sucked up into the fan unit from at least 40 cms away in all parts of the cnc working footprint at full power, at half power I just need to reduce the height to about 25cms above the cnc but the fan does not make that much noise so it shouldn't matter to much. I could use a pice of simple collapsing pipe here to adjust the height of the saucer.
That is the plan,waiting on the leds and fan regulator for final install, using a tumble dryer extension hose for the time being, Photo below is of the saucer and joiner.
The idea is I get a lot of ventilation to clear the area, I get bright controllable overhead lighting and my 3018 CNC nearby can also use the ducting by using the "T" in above the valve to take away the sawdust and smoke off that laser as well...
Bit more work but kill two birds with one stone and as my new workshop is in a room under our Lounge( house is on the side of a hill) no smoke smell in the house at all or dust more importantly !!! The intention is never to run both machines at the same time so i'm not worried about the risk of dust catching fire from the laser or lack of suction. More photos to follow once complete. ( Shortly I hope )
My laser sits on a desk adjacent to a outside wall and not in a special cabinet
I purchased a white 300mm flower pot saucer, together with a 120mm selection of pipes, elbows and inline extractor all to fit the 120 mm pipework, in addition i purchased a enlarging reducing section to go from say 80mm to 130 mm pipes
I made a 120mm hole in the middle of the saucer and inserted the reducing unit, then cut off the bits I did not need, then glued the reducer into the saucer, as it sits on the wider part of the "reducer" it acts like a support for the saucer, see pictures, then on top of this I intend to put a 90deg elbow, then a short section to the wall and then another elbow to take it up the wall, A valve that closes the pipe and then a "T" then the fan, the fan will go into this pipe and then more pipe to follow about 1 metre high to take it to a point in the wall where I can drill a hole and exit the 120mm pipe and use a one way flap to stop air coming in from outside.
The inline fan runs at 100% power all the time and is very powerful so I have purchased a small fan regulator and this will allow me to alter the fan speed easily, I also have purchased some ultra bright circular leds that will go on the underside of the saucer and flood the area with light without distracting my eyes.
I have to cut out a piece of aluminium to fit the saucer and then cut the 120 mm hole in it and the leds will go on this and that will act as a heat sink and reflector as I will polish it, all the wiring goes behind the aluminium disc so wont be seen and the whole lot can then be glued to the bottom of the saucer, the wires will go up the tube and come out before they get to the fan and there will be a small switch there as well along with a tiny psu for the leds which will be fed from the fan power, as its only fine smoke there will not be any issues with the wiring and the psu is sealed. ( I could have purchased a 12 volt DC inline fan but its not as powerful)
Once thats all done the saucer will be placed of the middle of the CNC unit to suck up the smoke etc.
I have run some simple tests using a Joss stick and the smoke off that instantly gets sucked up into the fan unit from at least 40 cms away in all parts of the cnc working footprint at full power, at half power I just need to reduce the height to about 25cms above the cnc but the fan does not make that much noise so it shouldn't matter to much. I could use a pice of simple collapsing pipe here to adjust the height of the saucer.
That is the plan,waiting on the leds and fan regulator for final install, using a tumble dryer extension hose for the time being, Photo below is of the saucer and joiner.
The idea is I get a lot of ventilation to clear the area, I get bright controllable overhead lighting and my 3018 CNC nearby can also use the ducting by using the "T" in above the valve to take away the sawdust and smoke off that laser as well...
Bit more work but kill two birds with one stone and as my new workshop is in a room under our Lounge( house is on the side of a hill) no smoke smell in the house at all or dust more importantly !!! The intention is never to run both machines at the same time so i'm not worried about the risk of dust catching fire from the laser or lack of suction. More photos to follow once complete. ( Shortly I hope )
6
BenCutLaser / BCL UPDATE? (CLOSED)
« on: November 01, 2019, 06:02:19 AM »
Can someone please advise when BCL was last updated as I cant seem to see any updates since 2017 ? Is this the case?
Is it still the software to go to for cutting and T2 for Engraving?
Can anyone please shed some light on this for me also is there a trial limitation on BCL like number of minutes used or code generated etc please.
I am trying to decide on what software to buy and invest in thanks.
Many thanks
Neil
Is it still the software to go to for cutting and T2 for Engraving?
Can anyone please shed some light on this for me also is there a trial limitation on BCL like number of minutes used or code generated etc please.
I am trying to decide on what software to buy and invest in thanks.
Many thanks
Neil
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General Discussion / Re: Logos and Text on a Arc.
« on: October 31, 2019, 01:53:03 PM »
Thank you very much Zax for the help, I thought I was on mostly the right way on T2 but I wanted really to use just one file so i will try it out in inkscape . Many thanks
Neil
Neil
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General Discussion / Logos and Text on a Arc.
« on: October 31, 2019, 08:47:51 AM »
I was really excited yesterday I finally sorted out arc text in my head properly and got my summer rental apartment name which is Sitges Villa Apartment all nicely on an arc, burned well and now I want to add my logo underneath it and I am not sure 100 % how to add this.
I would like to just have the one file that I can open and burn it all in one go rather than having separate files. Is this possible?
I think I am going to have to trace it and add it in somehow using Trace/Sketch Plus Overlay as currently its a PNG and I need to "Trace" it first.
T2 is new to me and I am still learning an awful lot...I am not worried to be honest about cutting its engraving I am after as I want to let my guests have a memento of their stay, like a small box engraved with their names from this area etc but I want the apartment name and logo on it and on the bottom of the box our QR code ( dont know if this has ever been done yet) .
The Church over Sitges is very famous and has been painted by Dali, Picasso, Goya, Miro amongst others and my daughter did this sketch a few years back of it on the back of a tiny notebook which i managed to save. I have since scanned it in at very hiog rez and use if for our cards etc.
Just not sure on the process of adding a graphic in and then adding text to it later. Also not sure on what sort of font to use so looking on advice as SVA are quite a lot of words and the logo is small.
Is there anyway this could be done in inkscape and then read by T2 as a file that needs little or no work? Could it be done easily just in T2, I simply dont know hence my question and forgive for my ignorance please, thanks
I would like to just have the one file that I can open and burn it all in one go rather than having separate files. Is this possible?
I think I am going to have to trace it and add it in somehow using Trace/Sketch Plus Overlay as currently its a PNG and I need to "Trace" it first.
T2 is new to me and I am still learning an awful lot...I am not worried to be honest about cutting its engraving I am after as I want to let my guests have a memento of their stay, like a small box engraved with their names from this area etc but I want the apartment name and logo on it and on the bottom of the box our QR code ( dont know if this has ever been done yet) .
The Church over Sitges is very famous and has been painted by Dali, Picasso, Goya, Miro amongst others and my daughter did this sketch a few years back of it on the back of a tiny notebook which i managed to save. I have since scanned it in at very hiog rez and use if for our cards etc.
Just not sure on the process of adding a graphic in and then adding text to it later. Also not sure on what sort of font to use so looking on advice as SVA are quite a lot of words and the logo is small.
Is there anyway this could be done in inkscape and then read by T2 as a file that needs little or no work? Could it be done easily just in T2, I simply dont know hence my question and forgive for my ignorance please, thanks
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General Discussion / Re: New T2 Facebook Semi Official group
« on: October 24, 2019, 02:57:43 AM »I just created the site to allow people to show off there work as some people like to do this, personally I try to avoid Facebook and I dont think its a good place to support software but what it is good at is connecting people and allowing them to exchange ideas freely and to share files and designs and to show pictures videos etc.
this is why Zax allowed us to use the logos for which were grateful and to have his blessing, Its not designed in any way to be a support place, i have made that very clear to members.
Just letting people meet basically and if it means we sell a few more copies of software to new users than that is a great add for T2 and means we have better quality software for our hobby .
Also I would lie to build up a library of files and ideas on training, whats new, how to focus, etch on glass, slate etc, just an exchange on information easily and in the public domain for everyone to use who is a member.
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General Discussion / New T2 Facebook Semi Official group
« on: October 21, 2019, 01:17:55 AM »After some members requests on the official T2 Facebook group and with kind permission from T2 I have now created a new facebook group where everyone can post, share files, show off work and chat in general and offer support to other members.
It is a closed group and you can join it here https://www.facebook.com/groups/t2laser/members/
Please not that T2 will not monitor this site officially and no requests for support from T2 should be made on this site, for official support please come here or the Eleksmaker forum.
Our group is like a meeting place to chat and help promote T2 and basically swap files and let us all see each others works etc.
Please feel free to join and post away.
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T2 Engraving / T2 Tutorials, learning guides, videos etc.
« on: October 20, 2019, 09:39:35 AM »
I am actually a registered Lightburn user and have been for the last 18 months.
Its a great piece of software and I enjoy using it, I am by no means a techie and I bought my laser with relatively little experience into CNC.
A friend of mine recently showed me some of the options that T2 Laser can do and I would like to learn T2 properly as it is part of the whole experience and well you never know what happens with software nowadays.
Are there any decent tutorials out there that anyone knows of, has anyone written a really good guide on the software please?
I have seen a few things I would like to play with after also seeing a video last week that someone posted about working with wooden spoons and small pieces of wood which interests me as my wife is a Early Years Teacher and SEN Co-Ordinator and she is always on at me to do things for her class kids.
If you know of anything please feel free to post, thank you very much Neil Scott
I'm aware the developer of T2 is part of this forum, I am based in Spain near Barcelona but I am English.
Its a great piece of software and I enjoy using it, I am by no means a techie and I bought my laser with relatively little experience into CNC.
A friend of mine recently showed me some of the options that T2 Laser can do and I would like to learn T2 properly as it is part of the whole experience and well you never know what happens with software nowadays.
Are there any decent tutorials out there that anyone knows of, has anyone written a really good guide on the software please?
I have seen a few things I would like to play with after also seeing a video last week that someone posted about working with wooden spoons and small pieces of wood which interests me as my wife is a Early Years Teacher and SEN Co-Ordinator and she is always on at me to do things for her class kids.
If you know of anything please feel free to post, thank you very much Neil Scott
I'm aware the developer of T2 is part of this forum, I am based in Spain near Barcelona but I am English.
12
General Discussion / Re: i will leave this here
« on: October 20, 2019, 09:19:16 AM »
Well I am a new member here so I can't comment too much as I am not fully sure yet what is accepted and what is not, all I can say is 2 years ago I was looking for a Laser engraver cutter to make things for my wife's school, she is SEN Co-Ordinator and Early Years Teacher so loads of things to make.
I did a reasonable amount of research on the internet about lasers and decided totally to not even go into the K40s because of the safety risk and the 1000 hour supposed limit on the tube. I was then warned off most chinese diode lasers and ended up at some point on the Endurance Site on Facebook which was relatively new back then.
Since that initial contact I purchased the most powerful Laser at that time a 8.5 Watt plus , turnkey Laseraxe A3 CNC machine solution with a 3 axis board and have been delighted with the results over the 2 years, I am a regular contributor and now administrator on the Endurance Facebook Group. George cleverley lets the group administer itself by use of numerous moderators and a couple of administrators.
This seems to work out well and he regularly asks us for input on how the group should be run, articles to be written and videos for tutorials etc. We all help and there is I believe a very good user base now.
We have asked George numerous times to keep his website under control and reduce the huge amount of popups that appear and contact information as in reality as stated above it just simply puts people off.
We run competitions all the time which basically advertises the products, the prizes and prizewinners are totally genuine and sometime ago I even won a small 2.5 watt laser!
Names are pulled out of an official hat or literally by the number of points you score on social media coverage, I was after a small laser in particular for my 3d printer and won it about a year ago. (I hasten to add neither moderator or admin back then or I would not have accepted it)
The members on the group help sell the lasers for George and most times I strongly believe he does not need so much propaganda on his site. Its currently undergoing renovation for the better and we are adding new sections to it from the group and basically removing the old dross that was there from before.
One of the initial problems I found was that the laser I purchased came with some god awful open source software and no manual, I personally come from a forward focused customer service background in the City of London, I won't stand for any crap service ever especially when I am paying a lot of money for it.
This has now changed for the better and we have asked George to do deals with T2 and Lightburn and sell the lasers direct with a software option to newbies to make sure that their first out of the box experience is a good one with proprietary software if he is selling a turnkey product, after all he is not selling these cnc lasers to techie people mostly its people who want to make toys, gadgets, do a bit of engraving and perhaps add something extra to items that they might sell.
This is very very important to remember in business. cash is king, you can not ever forget your previous or current customers ever.
Endurance are not selling to turnkey solutions to heavy CNC users, that is covered by a different option that Endurance now sell.
Its therefore important that these people are not put off like I was straight from the start with regards to the software problem. I didn't even know from day 1 I could have used my laser on my Macbook Pro and ended up buying a cheap windows laptop to get it to work. If I had been pointed into the right place form Day 1 I would have been a lot more happier.
Since I experienced this I have done everything, along with other group members we can to stop this sort of problem from happening and stop Endurance sending out lasers willy nilly to people for reviews and to maintain a much tighter quality control on their products which I hope can now been seen.
I have not had any problems with my laser diode , its still as good as it was two years ago and I since have been able to get my hands now on the new 10 Watt laser with its on driver unit box and this is a whole new league for me.
I hope that if any of you come over to the facebook group you will have only a good experience but if this is not the case then please feel free to email me directly and I will take it up with Endurance lasers, the moderators and administrators will take Endurance and George to task if we feel there have been any problems or issues.
We strongly believe that Endurance has a really good range of products and excellent after sales service and delivery.
Endurance Lasers pay none of the moderators or administrators any money for our work, we do it because we believe in the product.
If I was asked If I was to buy another diode with the knowledge I now have the answer is yes I would get one from Endurance.
Your money is safe, you will get a quality product and if there is a problem there is enough of us there to sort it out and to help new users now.
I am a happy Endurance Lasers user.
Thanks
Neil Scott
Sitges
Spain.
I did a reasonable amount of research on the internet about lasers and decided totally to not even go into the K40s because of the safety risk and the 1000 hour supposed limit on the tube. I was then warned off most chinese diode lasers and ended up at some point on the Endurance Site on Facebook which was relatively new back then.
Since that initial contact I purchased the most powerful Laser at that time a 8.5 Watt plus , turnkey Laseraxe A3 CNC machine solution with a 3 axis board and have been delighted with the results over the 2 years, I am a regular contributor and now administrator on the Endurance Facebook Group. George cleverley lets the group administer itself by use of numerous moderators and a couple of administrators.
This seems to work out well and he regularly asks us for input on how the group should be run, articles to be written and videos for tutorials etc. We all help and there is I believe a very good user base now.
We have asked George numerous times to keep his website under control and reduce the huge amount of popups that appear and contact information as in reality as stated above it just simply puts people off.
We run competitions all the time which basically advertises the products, the prizes and prizewinners are totally genuine and sometime ago I even won a small 2.5 watt laser!
Names are pulled out of an official hat or literally by the number of points you score on social media coverage, I was after a small laser in particular for my 3d printer and won it about a year ago. (I hasten to add neither moderator or admin back then or I would not have accepted it)
The members on the group help sell the lasers for George and most times I strongly believe he does not need so much propaganda on his site. Its currently undergoing renovation for the better and we are adding new sections to it from the group and basically removing the old dross that was there from before.
One of the initial problems I found was that the laser I purchased came with some god awful open source software and no manual, I personally come from a forward focused customer service background in the City of London, I won't stand for any crap service ever especially when I am paying a lot of money for it.
This has now changed for the better and we have asked George to do deals with T2 and Lightburn and sell the lasers direct with a software option to newbies to make sure that their first out of the box experience is a good one with proprietary software if he is selling a turnkey product, after all he is not selling these cnc lasers to techie people mostly its people who want to make toys, gadgets, do a bit of engraving and perhaps add something extra to items that they might sell.
This is very very important to remember in business. cash is king, you can not ever forget your previous or current customers ever.
Endurance are not selling to turnkey solutions to heavy CNC users, that is covered by a different option that Endurance now sell.
Its therefore important that these people are not put off like I was straight from the start with regards to the software problem. I didn't even know from day 1 I could have used my laser on my Macbook Pro and ended up buying a cheap windows laptop to get it to work. If I had been pointed into the right place form Day 1 I would have been a lot more happier.
Since I experienced this I have done everything, along with other group members we can to stop this sort of problem from happening and stop Endurance sending out lasers willy nilly to people for reviews and to maintain a much tighter quality control on their products which I hope can now been seen.
I have not had any problems with my laser diode , its still as good as it was two years ago and I since have been able to get my hands now on the new 10 Watt laser with its on driver unit box and this is a whole new league for me.
I hope that if any of you come over to the facebook group you will have only a good experience but if this is not the case then please feel free to email me directly and I will take it up with Endurance lasers, the moderators and administrators will take Endurance and George to task if we feel there have been any problems or issues.
We strongly believe that Endurance has a really good range of products and excellent after sales service and delivery.
Endurance Lasers pay none of the moderators or administrators any money for our work, we do it because we believe in the product.
If I was asked If I was to buy another diode with the knowledge I now have the answer is yes I would get one from Endurance.
Your money is safe, you will get a quality product and if there is a problem there is enough of us there to sort it out and to help new users now.
I am a happy Endurance Lasers user.
Thanks
Neil Scott
Sitges
Spain.
13
General Discussion / Eleksegg
« on: October 20, 2019, 08:36:32 AM »Hi Everyone
New user here Neil Scott from Barcelona in Spain in search of the infamous egg drawing machine from Eleksmaker
Does anyone have one is existence and is looking to offload it, if so please could you contact me thank you.
My wife is a Early years teacher and Special Needs Coordinator and she would like me to produce eggs and so on for the the kids at her school, Its seems pretty well sold everywhere it would seem but Im sure there must be one out there in a dusty shelf somewhere that no one wants anymore? Thank you.
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