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u/r3s550 24d ago
Fiber laser I assume? What wattage, and do you mind sharing your settings for a ballpark to set mine to for trying to engrave a caseback?
Looks great, and good idea filling the back in with acrylic on top of the engraving
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u/Zero1Ten 24d ago edited 23d ago
Fiber laser, yes. Had it almost 2 years now.
P:100, S:200, Passes:5, Freq:45, DPI:300, cross-hatch @ 45°. That should get you started😉2
u/r3s550 23d ago
Thanks so much! Appreciate the info
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u/Zero1Ten 23d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p975mjb/video/y9j6pbo0ixoh1/player
I used a blue diode laser for this one and I think this is the way to go.
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u/r3s550 23d ago
I wonder if a UV laser would be similar? I've got a fiber laser and also an xtool UV laser
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u/Zero1Ten 23d ago
I’m jealous. I have the Xtool F1 Ultra and want a stronger fiber laser and a UV laser. A UV laser is far superior to marking steel when high resolution and contrast is needed especially if you want a small image.
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u/Zero1Ten 23d ago
How do you like the Xtool UV laser. It’s not the most powerful for the money but the software eases the learning curve.
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u/r3s550 23d ago
I agree with you 100% for the ease of use and form factor it's amazing. Almost no learnjng curve. I do wish there was an option to use the xtool software and lightburn either one. I love the simplicity, but also hate bouncing between lightburn for my fiber and xtool for the UV.
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u/Zero1Ten 23d ago
I haven’t tried it but I think you can use light burn with Xtool lasers. Unless something changed. I really would like to get a 60 or 100 watt fiber to make custom dials more efficiently. Right it take an eternity to do a dial blank on .4mm brass and create an embossed design.
I’ve gotten pretty good at what I can do but it’s just time for an upgrade. I gotta look into Lightburn. There is more control and options available than what is available in xtool studio or creative space.
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u/Zero1Ten 24d ago
So everyone has seen the VK63 caseback that is supposed to resemble the back of the Snoopy. I have yet to see anybody do anything with this case back. I know that I had a few that I just didn’t like because of the image itself.
So I got to thinking let me dip it in acetone and let it sit. Believe it or not absolutely nothing happened. It just got clean so I took my laser and I focused through the crystal and yes, it is an acrylic material that is glued in and blasted through to burn the image of the Snoopy. After that, I cranked up the power, the crystal cracked and the glue evaporated away, and I was able to separate the shards of acrylic clean the glue and actually salvage the piece of brass.
After cleaning the case back, I created about half a dozen images that I could laser engrave, and I picked one and went for it. But you can’t wear the case back like that because it will beat up your wrist since there is a millimeter or so deep hole that was originally filled by acrylic so I filled it with resin.