DIY Fiber Laser Cutter V2 | Part 12: It’s Done!

[@Chris-bg8mk]

You’re a heck of an engineer Travis!

[@stuntevie]

this is some seriously impressive stuff to watch, i'm in the laser cutting industry for almost 13 years now, and it blows me away that you have a downscaled version in your garage! some word of advice, if i may.. on the 8mm the pierce was indeed to close for comfort, but probably not the reason for the mark on the part. anything above +-3mm sheet needs a reduced approach to ensure a proper puddle before reaching cutting speed (at 5:17 there is a parameter for slow start). if you are cutting with oxygen (and not compressed air) you might want to lower the cutting pressure. pure oxygen will boost the cutting proces by factor 4 to 5. low pressure cutting (oxygen) is around 14 to 22 PSI. on 8mm steel we barely hear the cutting gas flowing. the most important parameters are cutting pressure, speed and focus. the cutting edge is a good indication on speed, the 8mm you see the lines curving to the back, indicating the top puddle is moving faster than the bottom. the right cutting speed will result in almost straight cut lines. aluminum is a pain in the ass to be honest, a good indication for good cutting parameters is when the light right under the nozzle emits a bright Cyan

[@diyfiberlaser]

Yes you may...and thank you, I really appreciate your advise! It's been challenging and mostly experimental to figure out good cutting parameters without any experience or training. I will certainly take your input into consideration next time I'm dialing in settings!

[@Dellpodder]

Thats an impressive result! I was blown away by how crisp the logo was in that thin sheet.

[@BhEaN]

Literally THE BEST series of videos about DIY laser cutters on KZbin, I enjoyed every second of them! Thanks for sharing!

[@dfn808]

Excellent, one of the best build projects I've followed 👍

[@natarem]

Incredible series and really liked version 1 as well

[@JoseAlcerreca]

Congrats! Looking forward to the next project

[@AndrewPrice2704]

Fantastic! Looking forward to starting mine 😁

[@chadbennett]

THIS IS AMAZING. I love what you have done and I want one of these SO BAD. It really is amazing what you have done. Thank you for sharing this.

[@Chris-bg8mk]

Sweet!

[@lilow3378]

Well done, it's been a pleasure to watch and make contact with yourself.

[@Skyfirelaser]

When I finished watching the end of your video, I made this expression.😊😊😊

[@akhtarmohammad6205]

If you want to see us building the same thing again and posting some videos about it please consider building a DIY kit for this DIY fiber laser cutter.

[@dcmotive]

Nice work. April or October is the best time of year to see China. Have fun!

[@OdisHarkins]

Impressive for sure!

[@moh.jumasadeqi5887]

Congrats, Looking forward to the tube cutting project.

[@thequietfoundation]

Congrats and thanks for the content!

[@TheDistur]

A beautiful machine.

[@theatomproject007]

The Final count-down..deet de dee dr..

[@xLibelle]

On the fine cutting, re-order the cuts so you do the center first so you have more support. The other thing would be, on the 24ga, get the smallest orifice and test for the smallest energy possible. Your setup will do it. Open the orifice up and you will get 12mm with settings testing - you'll still end up with a cleaner job that plasma will do. *THUMBS UP*

[@diyfiberlaser]

Thanks for the advice, that makes sense! The smallest nozzle I had on hand was 1.5S, so that’s what I used, but yes I should order some smaller sizes. I used 2.0D on the 8mm, after seeing the results I definitely want to try thicker…I think I have some 2.5D and 3.0D nozzles to test

[@xLibelle]

@@diyfiberlaser I use 1.0 double on everything 16ga to 20ga mostly because I haven't seen a difference with single. 2.0 is good for 8mm but I have found that you won't see higher cutting performance without opening the orifice up. I think your cleanliness on the cut and slag will clean up more with tuning. I may have to tune in ($) to your patreon though, you have more info that I on this - you're doing great stuff!

[@CraigHollabaugh]

First 8mm steel was with oxygen? Congratulations, job well done. You'll be using your new machine for years to come.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Yep O2, it cut really nice...now I want to push it and test 10-12mm

[@CraigHollabaugh]

@diyfiberlaser we got our SkyFire 2K 4n1 a week ago and have marveled at it's welds. Next we're exploring cutting, but we first need a safe cutting environment as you've created here. Thanks for your discount code, it came in handy.

[@ElectroMechanical]

@@diyfiberlaser Please do. Would be awesome to get an idea of max thickness for different materials.

[@michaelschwaiger624]

Please do the tube laser next. Impressive series so far!

[@diyfiberlaser]

It’s in the works!

[@UndercoverFerret404]

Amazing build !

[@rosswoolley2854]

Oh no not the final video I was enjoying this series.

[@diyfiberlaser]

haha, don't worry! the laser tube cutting machine will be a fun project also, maybe even moreso than this series!

[@MyDanglingUnit]

Please do a good review of the laser welder I think there is a lot of interest and Skyfire one is at a great price

[@diyfiberlaser]

I am very interested, every video I’ve seen makes them look very easy to use with great results. I will try to be thorough and share a lot of information.

[@leocelente]

At this rate the next project should be an angled bracket making machine haha

[@diyfiberlaser]

Haha Yes!!!

[@chrisfischer511]

Travis, can you please look into using the same laser source for laser welding? Having one source for both is such a high value proposition! Maybe ask skyfire about it when you go to china!

[@diyfiberlaser]

Yes, I can bring it up when I'm visiting. The idea is interesting, but the idea of switching the optical cable between the welding head and sheet cutting head every time you want to use a different process sounds like asking for trouble, as the optical cable and lenses are very susceptible to damage from dust...I would not feel comfortable doing this repeatedly. If you were to just use the welding head for cutting, then you wouldn't have capacitive height control for sheet cutting...I imagine a new cutting head would need to be designed to combine the features of both types.

[@chrisfischer511]

@@diyfiberlaser ok great point. Some searching reveals there exist beam switches made by ipg for this very purpose(get the most from your laser source). Perhaps there is a beam switch that was economical enough for our purposes. Could you inquire in your journeys?!

[@diyfiberlaser]

@@chrisfischer511 thanks for sharing, that switch is very interesting, it looks exactly like what you'd need. I'll bring it up and see if they know of any other alternatives.

[@skylarwagner1155]

Can this set up engrave metal as well? Love the series, have been watching since version 1. Hoping to build a 60”x120” machine for my shop in the near future.

[@diyfiberlaser]

It can do a crude engraving, for example a part number or bend line, but it’s not high quality like you would get with a galvo head engraver

[@akhtarmohammad6205]

I am so excited to buil my own version of V2 DIY laser cutter, but since buying every part and shipping to is very time consuming I highly encourage you to please porvide a complete kit for this project since you are visiting the sky fire team in upcoming month it will be a great time to discuss about the kit. I am almost sure that some of your viewers are thinking about building one but getting the parts and shipping every one part to them is time consuming and will be more expensive from shipping a complete DIY kit.

[@diyfiberlaser]

That is an interesting idea. I don't know if there is enough interest to make it worthwhile, most people seem to want a larger cutting area.

[@akhtarmohammad6205]

@@diyfiberlaser for making large area it is possible to ship the electronics complete set but for mechanics we can find aluminum profile for our size and also for rails and pulley and belts and other parts. Please provide a kit for electronic parts at least.

[@akhtarmohammad6205]

when you said the next poject will be tube project, I wonderd if that was a co2 laser cutter or to cut some metal tube with fiber laser. If the next project is about cutting some tube with fiber laser cutter, I highly recomment considering a project about co2 laser cutter.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Fiber laser tube cutting machine. There are already many video series about diy CO2 lasers on KZbin, mine wouldn't really add anything new.

[@sveininge]

When exporting dxf in fusion you should use map board pro plugin, makes exporting dxf waaay easier:) just a tip

[@diyfiberlaser]

Thanks, I'll check it out!

[@sveininge]

i use it all the time, i have only buildt a co2 laser . love your big project here.

[@moonwalker034]

Nice machine and excellent explanation! What do you think about the 3in1 laser machines which can be used for cutting/welding and cleaning as a laser source?

[@diyfiberlaser]

I've never tried it

[@amydyer3344]

Hi Travis Epic effort dude. have you tried cutting wood with it 10-15-20mm?

[@diyfiberlaser]

no, I think CO2 lasers have a more appropriate wavelength for cutting wood. I've seen a few videos of people doing it, but I haven't had the use-case to test it.

[@randallservidio5919]

Love this series and looking forward to the tube cutting. Quick question. I see you listed costs at approx. $10.5k. Do you know what the PCBWay parts would add to final costs?

[@diyfiberlaser]

Untapped, I think they are around $1275

[@csxal]

Travis, I have really enjoyed your series and am considering building my own now. I was wondering, I mostly have .125 aluminum cut for parts I use. I would love to hear your opinion if you think your setup could be expanded to handle 5x5’ cutting area? My current largest part that I need to cut is 35” square. I realize the cost would increase with the added table size but it would still be way less costly than a commercial unit and I haven’t found any in a 5x5 bed only 4x8 or 5x10. Thanks for a rest series! I will be joking your discord board once I get closer to building.

[@diyfiberlaser]

I would probably be using thicker extrusion and rack & pinion drive at that size.

[@brianschwabauer3297]

Hi from Argentina! It seems like you know what you're doing... Is it too crazy to think that you could be the first person to achieve an open-source SLM. Perhaps an induction heating system could be used for rapid and controlled heating of magnetic metals. The laser source should be between 700W and 1000W. The structure should be similar to SLS, along with a gas system and a modified chamber to maintain the temperature. sorry for the spam :) but i really need to see this dream machine come to live.

[@brianschwabauer3297]

Could the Laser CNC V1 possibly become the next open-source SLM machine? If it's too expensive to buy all the components...

[@diyfiberlaser]

Haha, the SLS4All is a really interesting machine! I have to admit that I have done some research into the possibilities of DIY metal 3d printing...I love 3d printing and lasers! I'd probably need a team of smarter people than me to help pull it off...you seem to have done investigation into the idea...are looking to get involved in a side project? : )

[@diyfiberlaser]

@@brianschwabauer3297 I will probably tear down the V1 machine to use the components for my upcoming tube cutting machine. But when I have time to do more research, I wouldn't mind spending some money on the project if I thought I could pull it off...metal 3D printing at home is a dream of mine too!

[@brianschwabauer3297]

@@diyfiberlaser I share your enthusiasm for 3D printing and lasers! While I’m really passionate about the idea, I have to be honest-I don't have the technical skills needed to tackle this project on my own. That said, I’m about 98% sure it’s possible with the commercial technology available today. I’d love to stay in the loop and contribute in any way I can, even if it’s just on the research or brainstorming side. Who knows, maybe with the right team, we our you could make it happen!

[@brianschwabauer3297]

Looks like Metal Matters allready did it "kzbin.infoPEHv2lDC-ls?si=Sh42-tn3fzKPOso_"

[@American.Divergent]

Cutting with nitrogen gets pricey?

[@diyfiberlaser]

Ya, you can run through bottles pretty quickly

[@772777777777777]

8m carbon steel, is the top end for your 1kw laser, but let do some real word diy let do multi cuts and see the results... would the results be better with plamza or by hand.... show us the extreme... with examples