Anyone got a laser cutter that can cut 1mm aluminium??
computer guy
Posts: 1,113
Hello everyone,
I have been emailing various companies looking for someone that can do some laser cutting for me but none of them want to entertain projects that aren't "huge" (like buildings). Over my years with the Parallax community I have read a few posts about members with various high end equipment and thought that maybe one of you might be interested in the job.
I will pay for the work including any costs for materials and shipping of the final parts.
So if anyone has a laser-cutter up to the task please let me know and I will email you the artwork.
Thanks,
Anthony
I have been emailing various companies looking for someone that can do some laser cutting for me but none of them want to entertain projects that aren't "huge" (like buildings). Over my years with the Parallax community I have read a few posts about members with various high end equipment and thought that maybe one of you might be interested in the job.
I will pay for the work including any costs for materials and shipping of the final parts.
So if anyone has a laser-cutter up to the task please let me know and I will email you the artwork.
Thanks,
Anthony
Comments
The company had "Blue" in the name. Like "Blue Saw" or something like that.
I'm not sure if the parts were laser cut or milled. Is there a reason you don't want them milled? Too intricate?
Have you looked at places that cut with water jets? I thought water jets were better for cutting metal.
I'll try to find that article.
Duane
It's mentioned at the bottom of this webpage:
http://blog.trossenrobotics.com/tag/dynamixel/
The shop is called "Big Blue Saw".
http://www.bigbluesaw.com/
There were also a couple of mentions of this place:
http://www.rapidsheetmetal.com/
and their sister company
http://www.rapidmachining.com/ which doesn't look as promising as the first two links.
If it's possible, it would be nice to see how your project turns out.
Duane
Thanks for your reply.
I would love to see that article.
I did a google search for "Blue Saw" and same up with "Big Blue Saw", so I have sent them the artwork and shall wait for a quote (they estimate 1-2 business days).
I haven't gone with milling as the design is intricate and milling is usually more expensive due to an increase in labor.
Water cutting is certainly a viable option (it also allows for thicker materials).
I was disappointed that the robot didn't end up working well.
He built an improved version Ginger.
Duane
Any ideas?
There is a company in Swannanoa, NC that does laser cutting cheap, Brisco Inc..... http://www.briscoinc.com/
They do VERY good work VERY cheap and usually very fast.
As a rule, if you send a DXF your part will be cheaper since they won't have to re-draw it from a PDF or whatever,
You are correct, 600 x 840 mm x 1 mm isn't very expensive. It's the cutting that costs money. The waterjet cutting machines that do the cutting cost money to own and operate, not to mention the operator time.
However, it's much less expensive than doing it by hand. If you value your time at $20/hour, our price makes it a better deal than if you could do it yourself in 14 hours. And unless you're a skilled worker, you probably won't have better results than what the waterjet can do.
On our website, we have a number of tips which can help you reduce the cost of your parts. The best ways to reduce the cost are:
1. reduce the number of holes (pierces)
2. reduce the part count by joining parts together
3. reduce the length of the cuts by simplifying your design
I hope this helps you. Please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help.
Massimo
If you're still looking for a solution I can help. We are good customers of an industrial laser cutter here in Melbourne. Aside from the regular work we send them (monthly), an apprentice used our cutter to get a robot base + mezzanine cut in 2mm AL. It came to about $100 including material (about 350 mm diameter circular plates).
At the very least I can easily get a quote for you. You need to send me a DXF, preferably in MM, as they drop the programming charge (~$40) if they get a dxf.
cheers
Lachlan
Late arrival to the thread, but it still says unsolved at today's date.
I just visited Pumping Station One, a makerspace in Chicago. They have an assortment of CNC, one of which is a 30 watt laser cutter. I don't know if this particular laser can get the job done for you, but they are pretty clever and might be able to do it with other means.
Maybe send them an email? The main guy is Sasha.
I've been looking into CO2 laser gear for quite a while as 'homework' for new business start-up. I've talked to and had demonstrations of equipment from most of the major players currently on the market, both for the enclosed and the open gantry style machines. I have a chart in front of me from one of the industrial laser manufacturers that can help answer your question. It shows a list of laser workable materials, the different laser power levels available, and if the material can be cut and at what thickness based on that particular wattage.
Aluminum is a good heat sink and takes a lot of wattage to cut, no matter what thickness. This chart lists lasers at 30, 50, 100, 150 and 400 watts... aluminum shows up in the 'cut' category for the first time at 400 watts, and at a thickness of only 0.050 inches.
Cutting or engraving also depends on how the material reacts to the particular frequency of light, so bear in mind that the chart I have is specific to CO2 laser work. A fiber laser can be much more effective for many metal types and you might want to look into those specifics or look for someone who has a fiber laser machine. My application does not involve aluminum, so my focus has been on CO2 equipment. Sorry I cannot offer more but I hope this has been helpful.
Anybody up on Fiber Lasers who can help Anthony??
Tim
For interest, from memory the cutting was about $90 and AL about $10
You need a lot of power to cut AL, because as I understand it Copper and AL are very reflective to the CO2 wavelength. I will try and find out what kind of power level they use. They also use high pressure nitrogen to help make the cut cleaner.
Can anyone point me towards a cutter that can cut and engrave copper, aluminum, silver, and gold?
-Phil
500 watts is a minimum for many metals .01" and thicker. Piercing may take even more.
-Phil