Is there a diode laser with suitable power and wavelength for burning/etching wood, leather, and maybe some plastics? I'm converting an old cricut cutting machine to full cnc.
This is a very simplistic question and it must have come up before but usually I see something like "What diode laser is best for cutting 3mm acrylic?".
I don't want to cut anything much thicker than paper and I have seen some blu-ray laser CNC machines that seem to do all I need, but those lasers are like 300mw and I wouldn't mind going a bit hotter than that.
I understand I'm at the shallow end of the learning curve, but I'm a quick study and I will learn best by doing, yet I fear investing in a laser to get started then finding out that everything is great except the wavelength I chose is only good for cutting marshmallows.
Would a 3w 808nm IR laser get me where I want to go?
This is a very simplistic question and it must have come up before but usually I see something like "What diode laser is best for cutting 3mm acrylic?".
I don't want to cut anything much thicker than paper and I have seen some blu-ray laser CNC machines that seem to do all I need, but those lasers are like 300mw and I wouldn't mind going a bit hotter than that.
I understand I'm at the shallow end of the learning curve, but I'm a quick study and I will learn best by doing, yet I fear investing in a laser to get started then finding out that everything is great except the wavelength I chose is only good for cutting marshmallows.
Would a 3w 808nm IR laser get me where I want to go?