I’m considering buying a laser engraving machine e.g Epilog Legend or Laserpro Spirit, and need to know whether or not these type of machines can be used within a garage environment. I’m thinking in terms of fire risk etc - I’m considering using a garage that has cans of paint and other flamable items stored. Also, the garage is not heated so could get quite cold sometimes during the year.

Answer:

I would not be especially concerned about the fire hazard — the laser itself must be well contained within the machine. If not, your eyes would be at greater risk than the garage.

I might be concerned about the temperature extremes, however. You should be careful to keep condensation from forming, which is a particularly big problem on suddenly warm days when the garage temperature is lower than the ourside air. In my workshop, I have a small electric heater that keeps the inside a few degrees warmer than the outside.

Temperature could cause problems with:

• lubrication of moving parts, including linear slides.
• condensation.
• laser power levels and power level calibration.

Grease becomes quite stiff at low temperatures, unless it is chosen for low-temperature properties. Increasing the resistance to movement may de-tune the servomotors and increase the positioning error to the point where it becomes useless.

Condensation will hurt you in many ways. Lenses fog. Water gets into the lubrication. Water corrodes steel and aluminum. Water conducts electricity, and alters the behavior of the electronics. Most electronics specifications indicate a wide permitted temperature and humidity range, but require that the conditions be “non-condensing”.

Many laser systems are non-linear with temperature. I don’t know the source of this laser, but if youare operating outside of the customary temperature range, the electronics may not be able to sustain a stable beam. The results and consequences would be difficult to predict.

Depending on how large the unit is, I see that the Laserpro Spirit can consume up to 4400 watts. Be sure you have sufficient electrical capacity.

Personally, I’d love to have one of these machines. Good luck with it, and enjoy it.

Whether you realize it or not, personalized and engraved products are everywhere and someone, somewhere is producing these amazing items and profiting, too.

What about the start up cost of a laser engraving service company? Very affordable! Because a complete laser engraving system that includes computer, software and supplies can be purchased reasonably.

Engrave with laser technology cigars, iPODS, Mac Books, acrylic, counter tops, wood, rubber, stone, leather, fabric or glass to make and personalize unique gift items, recognition awards or keepsakes. Personalize plaques, pens, pencils, or cases. Cut puzzles. Mark tools. Engrave tags. Even etch wine bottles. There are endless possibilities!

Today’s post is a clear example of the different uses of this amazing technology. Below you can see a laser engraving glass with rotary attachment. With the rotary attachment we can engrave most round objects.

Granite is one of the hardest surfaces, and so is perfect for an outdoor plaque, memorial or gravestone. And with laser technology, a photo of the deceased can be added to the gravestone or memorial simply and easily. Granite is usually black but can be found in a dark gray. Black is most often the color of choice, and many feel that the blacker the granite the better stone.

If your desire is engraving your own granite, it is important that you can control carefully your engraver or before buying one to make sure that the engraver you have will cut into granite. Many smaller table top machines do not have the power to etch in granite, so it’s important to check this important point carefully.

Nevertheless, there are many companies, both on the internet and in your neighborhood, who do have the ability to etch in granite. Because granite is heavy, check carefully into shipping costs before you buy—the cost of shipping alone may make it worth the effort to find a local shop who can create the laser engraving in granite that you wish. The newer machines can take a photograph or a piece of complicated art and etch it into the granite, to create a one of the kind, long lasting memorial, plaque or gravestone.

Of course, they’re not doing this for proverbials and giggles; they’d like very much for you to splash out $10k on one of their engraving machines. Now, assuming you’re not planning to engrave every single solitary item you own (plus those belonging to other people) it’s likely cheaper to go somewhere that already has an engraving machine and get them to do it as a one-off, but who cares. I just like seeing an iPhone undergo laser surgery.

Sound like Hollywood? It’s not. It’s the defense industry. After leaving AOL, Shuler was introduced to the technology through a Department of Defense program that pairs successful entrepreneurs with internal projects that it believes have commercial promise. It had been working on the a short-pulse laser project with the University of Central Florida. Schuler formed Raydiance and bought the rights, and has since received $25 million from venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a $10 million research contract from the US Navy and more angel funding from former Senator Bill Bradley.

According to Raydiance’s website:

“UltraShort Pulse lasers have compelling capabilities that can deliver major benefits to hundreds of lucrative markets. The problem is that that technology is impractical. It’s too expensive. It requires highly trained Ph.D.’s to operate. And while scientists in research labs have shown how USP photonics can revolutionize important applications, today’s USP systems don’t have the throughput they need for most real world applications. Raydiance’s vision is to liberate USP technology from the university lab domain and put it into the hands of hundreds and then thousands of inventors and entrepreneurs. In short, Raydiance’s mission is to make USP technology accessible.

Raydiance’s vision is to see USP technology power a new generation of products and services that revolutionize medicine; transform materials processing and manufacturing; and change the business of defense forever.”

This laser is no Hollywood prop. The technology itself has been around for years. The Petaluma, Ca.-based company’s innovation is that it takes a room-sized laser machine, fits it into a desktop-sized device and provides better software controls. Here’s a little more about the science, from a recent BusinessWeek article:

Unlike conventional lasers found in DVD players, phone networks, and welding shops, USP lasers switch on and off at impossibly high rates–as quickly as once every femtosecond, or a billionth of a millionth of a second. Those concentrated blasts can obliterate any material by literally knocking electrons out of an atom’s neighborhood. That means the lasers can do their job a few atoms at a time if need be, without heating up surrounding material. Since the zapped material is ablated into oblivion, there’s nothing to heat up or melt.

According to the Santa Rosa Press-Gazette, the first commercial applications will be out later this year.

The SF Chronicle points to one company, called EpiRay, that’s licensing the technology to use for cosmetic purposes. Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ajit Shah, who has experience developing surgical systems for SRI International, is raising $500,000 in seed funding. A former Raydiance consultant, he hopes the new device will be able to do things like remove tattoos — vaporizing the dyes that form a tattoo without burning the skin, in contrast with today’s painful techniques. However, the article notes, that he won’t be able to start testing with FD oversight and approval.

Companies like EpiRay are part of Schuler’s plan. He wants Raydiance’s technology to be the source of a new set of commercial laser innovations.

This is quite a leap from Schuler’s job at AOL, where according to a “resume” from 2001, his “proudest accomplishment” was “confounding the technology elite of Silicon Valley, who thought AOL was doomed because it dumbed down the Internet.” What lessons from AOL, we wonder, will Schuler bring to commercializing this space-age technology? Basic scientific research always promises a lot, but is hard to turn into profitable companies. We’ll keep watching.

ideas or help?

a work venture.We want to make copies of training videos.

Answer gets 10pts.!

house is actually owned by my dad, and he pays all the bills, although I live there also. Basically, I want to use the laser engraving machine in the garage because it saves me having to pay out for a commercial industrial unit. If the engraving machine became damaged in a fire or was stolen, would it be covered by the normal house insurance. Also, if the engraving machine caused a fire (very unlikely) and damaged items within the property, would the insurance pay out.

Scott K for the answer.

I did use the laser engraving machine just on a hobby basis, would I be able to make and develop items which later I might sell when I start up my business at a later date? Also, what if I used the machine just to develop items only e.g everything I made I did not go on to sell. Finally, is there a maximum you can make and sell on a hobby basis before the insurance becomes invalid e.g surely you can make and sell some items, for instance, on e.bay before you have to start changing the insurance policy. Is it the case that as long as you don't sell items under a business name everything is OK?

There are many industry-standard engraving and signmaking software in the market. You must find the most appropiate for your needs. Besides, It is better if the software has been designed by professional engravers and is compatible with most engravers, routers, vinyl cutters, printers and signmaking equipment.