Hello from Denmark

[Busted Bricks]

Hi All,

My name is Michael Henriksen and I live in Denmark. I love model engines of all kinds and I'm hoping to start commercial production of small steam engines within the next year.

I make my living from laser cutting and have a1kW fiber laser for steel and metals and a 100W CO2 laser for wood and plastic. I also have a 50W fiber engraver for metal.

Best regards,

Michael

 

[stevehuckss396]

Interesting. Will you be making complete engines or kits waiting to be assembled?

 

[Busted Bricks]

Both eventually but will start out with kits. I'm still missing a CNC lathe and milling machine so for now I have to have parts made to order which slows things down a lot.

 

[Richard Hed]

Hi All,

My name is Michael Henriksen and I live in Denmark. I love model engines of all kinds and I'm hoping to start commercial production of small steam engines within the next year.

I make my living from laser cutting and have a1kW fiber laser for steel and metals and a 100W CO2 laser for wood and plastic. I also have a 50W fiber engraver for metal.

Best regards,

Michael

How does that 1kW laser work? How thick can it cut? can you use it in place of a band saw? Where did you buy it? Is it expensive? Am very interested as it might be able to replace a bandsaw for a similar price but do MUCH more than a band saw. I'm 1/4 Dane so we are relatives.

 

[Busted Bricks]

A 1kW fiber laser will only cut steel and metals. It can cut up to 10mm mild steel with O2 assist gas and up to 4mm stainless steel. 1.5mm brass is also possible. I paid USD34000 18 months ago but prices have dropped below USD30K now. This is direct import from manufacturer in China. The cuttting table is 2500x1250mm and the machine weighs about 3 tons. Not really a hobby machine and certainly not in the price range of a bandsaw

 

[Richard Hed]

A 1kW fiber laser will only cut steel and metals. It can cut up to 10mm mild steel with O2 assist gas and up to 4mm stainless steel. 1.5mm brass is also possible. I paid USD34000 18 months ago but prices have dropped below USD30K now. This is direct import from manufacturer in China. The cuttting table is 2500x1250mm and the machine weighs about 3 tons. Not really a hobby machine and certainly not in the price range of a bandsaw

OMG. When lasers first came out 30-40 years ago, one could build a CO2 laser buying some parts from Edmund Scientific very cheaply, but those parts were withdrawn after a short time, I suspect under government pressure, but not sure. I have always wanted to build one. Yes, not for hobbyists--too bad.

 

[Busted Bricks]

There is a huge difference between a low power CO2 laser and a fiber laser for metal cutting. My 100W CO2 laser was around the USD3500 mark. Smaller CO2 lasers like the K40 can be had for a few hundred dollars. Of course they won't cut metal....

 

[Richard Hed]

There is a huge difference between a low power CO2 laser and a fiber laser for metal cutting. My 100W CO2 laser was around the USD3500 mark. Smaller CO2 lasers like the K40 can be had for a few hundred dollars. Of course they won't cut metal....

Yes, I understand. What I am talking about was technology of 40 years ago. This was a 10,000Watt device--you had to buy all the components then put it together. I thimk it was very dangerous, that's probably why it was taken off the market.

 

[Busted Bricks]

Affordable, DIY10kW CO2 lasers 40 years ago? I doubt it. GIven that a CO2 laser is about 10% efficient it would have required 100kW worth of cooling to keep it running. A 10kW CO2 laser would be a very serious piece of kit and very, very expensive back then. I think you may be confusing mW with kW

 

[Richard Hed]

Affordable, DIY10kW CO2 lasers 40 years ago? I doubt it. GIven that a CO2 laser is about 10% efficient it would have required 100kW worth of cooling to keep it running. A 10kW CO2 laser would be a very serious piece of kit and very, very expensive back then. I think you may be confusing mW with kW

Honestly I don't remember the details. But I'm sure it was not milliwatts. It was VERY powerful, and indeed, it required some special cooling. All I remember was seeing the glass device which could be gotten in many different lengths and me drooling to be able to make one. I'm sure the price was high but not terrible. I lookt into the types of gasses, which were mixt and the results that were obtained. I'm sure todays stuff is much more advanced but it seems to me to be quite over priced.