Using The xTool F1 Ultra To Engrave A Sterling Silver Plumeria Ring

[@richardbarnes3665]

THAT IS A COOL BENCH PIN!

[@bitwhiskers6969]

Do you worry about loss of the silver from the laser?

[@jackjellies9854]

@@bitwhiskers6969 thanks for asking. Not particularly. When I engrave by hand I rarely can recover much in the way of chips either. But, it does vaporize the metal and it will lighten it a bit. I may do a before and after weight comparison for interest. But for most of my designs, I sense the losses are close to being in the noise.. for deep designs or cutting the losses might be significant

[@hooksntoggles]

I see how deep the engraving is. If you did try, do you think you could cut it out fully given enough passes? I have already seen your Titanium cut out video. Very informative. Would annealing the silver help? What about Argentium vs Fine silver? Do you think it would make a difference in engraving or cutting? I am also wondering about precious metal clays that have been dried enough to carve before firing.

[@jackjellies9854]

@@hooksntoggles cutting is a bit different. Right now it is easier to get depth using the emboss function since it allows for an axis rotation after each pass. To cut effectively we really need to have a wobble in the laser path so that the kerf can be a little larger and eject metal. I’ve not found a difference between annealed and hard for silver. Can’t speak to Argentium since I don’t use it but it may do just fine. It has a harder time with fine silver though. It will work, but the addition of copper to alloy it makes it easier to laser engrave. Also don’t know about the unfixed but dried silver clay. But that might be an interesting application.

[@hooksntoggles]

@@jackjellies9854 Thank you for answering my questions. I am but a novice. I only know enough to be dangerous with a torch.