Add a Damasteel Pattern to a Knife Blade with a Fiber Laser

[@mlgcustoms9987]

Hey Jeffery! Thanks for your videos on EZcad 2, very helpful. I was wondering if you can do a short video on all the stuff you are talking about in this video before bringing it into EZcad, putting image into illustrator, changing a picture to a vector file, different file types you mentioned and then bringing it into EZcad? I have a 50w fiber laser I'm trying to figure out and learn. Having some trouble with vector files and creating images from scratch in EZcad. Anything you can put out there or even reference is very much appreciated! Thanks man!

[@SwissplWatches]

So creative!

[@yawanopa]

Watching your Marking Dragons video, the second dragon has a good dark shine (would this be classed as an anneal?) but would something as thin as a kitchen knife withstand that level of heat over 11 mins or so without warping? Could you have worked on this blade for longer? Currently trying to weigh up the pros and cons versus the Cermark/50W Co2 process for dark marking thin stainless (not necessarily knives but I work a lot with 316).

[@jefferyj]

Thin materials will tend to warp, but this knife is fairly thick so marking for a longer time wouldn't be a problem. Keep in mind that an anneal is done with lower power (some people use higher power and take the laser out of focus) which won't be terribly extreme.

[@enlightenement]

Hi Jeffery could you tell me please? I want to change the lens on my 30 what to a 300 x 300 do I need to save or change settings. Your help would be much appreciated. Thank you Trevor

[@jefferyj]

Duplicate your Ezcad folder and rename the new folder to Ezcad 300x300. Install the new lens and go through the adjustments for your workspace size, distortion/scale, etc. As long as you maintain two separate folders with different parameters, you should be able to save your settings for both lenses. On my laser I have one lens so my only experience doing this is when I helped my friend with a 30w swap from a 300x300 to 100x100 a month or two ago. The steps after creating the new folder - if I recall correctly - are to go to the system parameters and change the size and position of your workspace to fit the new lens (if you have a 100mm lens now it should be something like be -50,-50 for position, 100x100 for workspace), then go to configuration parameters and change the field size, and lastly, go through the distortion/scale adjustments. Probably doesn't need to be mentioned but just remember your focal length will be a lot longer now with your 300mm lens so the head will be much higher. Off the top of my head, that should be it.

[@jreaper23]

Awesome! I have a 20W laser very similar to this one. Have you had a chance to mess with the rotary settings at all? Would love to see a video on that!

[@jefferyj]

Hi - I'd do it if I had the rotary, but I didn't buy it with my laser.

[@husseindahrouj9562]

Nice mann! Looks good...

[@lukajurac7727]

While watching your videos and some others I noticed that some lasers will hatch large vector images shape by shape. For instance let's say you have 3 x 3 square piece of material and you cover it with a hexagon pattern. Some lasers will mark each hexagon separately in the pattern and some lasers will sweep left to right and engrave that same pattern like a laser printer. Do you know how to fix that?? Thanks!

[@amdcustom12]

I fix the problem of compiling the sign of a shadow effect or a burning effect, how do I get rid of that effect? Please help 🤝

[@jefferyj]

Not sure I understand the issue...do you have a picture or video or something?

[@koreytrippany9381]

In your opinion, is the 30w worth the extra money? I'm looking at purchasing one of these for my Gun Store FFL business. Looking to engrave firearms, stipple polymer, and add logos. I would like to buy the 20w due to price, but im worried about quality.

[@jefferyj]

If I were buying one today, knowing what I now know, I'd probably go with a 30w with two lenses - 100mm and something larger, maybe 200 if not all the way to 300mm. That being said, the 20w is more than enough for the vast majority of my marking (mostly just anodized aluminum). I did have the same thought as you when I was initially shopping for mine...who wants to pay an extra $500 or $1000 for the extra power if it ends up being a piece of junk. So far that hasn't been the case and I've been happy. Hope this helps.

[@koreytrippany9381]

@@jefferyj Thanks for the quick reply. Currently i have been looking at the 20w and 30w 110mm and 150mm. Are the lenses easy to change if purchased later? And other than speed, what benefits a 30w over a 20w. Thanks.

[@jefferyj]

The smaller thread lenses like mine are more difficult to find than the larger. I don't remember the exact thread sizes off hand, but I think mine is something like 53mm in diameter whereas the larger common ones are m79 and m84. If you go the ebay route, you'll probably have a small one like mine. They screw in to place, but the settings in ezcad will be different for each lens. You can maintain two separate ezcad folders to make this simple. Speed/depth is the primary reason for going with the higher power laser source.

[@texastoughengraving]

may I please ask, where do you find the damascus pattern PNG's???

[@jefferyj]

Do a google image search for damasteel patterns, then save and vectorize it in illustrator/coreldraw/inkscape.

[@texastoughengraving]

@@jefferyj Thank you so much

[@burkewl33]

Have you ever tried to mark hot rolled steel? did it work with the mill scale?

[@jefferyj]

I don't think I have, but I imagine it wouldn't be an issue.

[@burkewl33]

@@jefferyj thanks 👍

[@arnoldg3076]

Do you mind sharing your svg or ezcad file? Thanks

[@jefferyj]

You would be better off tracing the shape of the knife you want to do this than trying to reuse mine. Here is the ezd file: ufile.io/7vqfvsg3

[@arnoldg3076]

@@jefferyj Hey, thanks for the file, I discovered new function on EZcad on how to deal with the Damascus svg file export from Corel after seeing how you processed yours. Thanks again! Definitely a subscriber here! :)

[@dafidp]

how much does electricity cost

[@jefferyj]

I've never actually checked what it draws. I have a kill-a-watt meter so I'll find out.

[@dafidp]

@@jefferyj where did you get money,,? in Indonesia, $ 100 is very difficult

[@franciscoherrera9342]

Have you ever tried rubber? Any success?

[@jefferyj]

I have but the effect is very slight.