mayhem2408 wrote:3d0g wrote:I'm running a 100W CO2 laser and throttled power back as far as I could yet still get it to trigger. My beam width at the focal point is .33mm - over 3x the size of the movements in this test file...
CO2 lasers are great for power, but not for dot size. My 4.5W diode laser has a focal dot size of 0.07mm and the driver provides very good linear control of the power.
Can you tell me which diode laser your are using? Everything I have seen on the market has a spot size much larger than 0.07mm, so I am very interested in buying a diode laser if it can reach this small of a spot size. J Tech Photonics specifies a spot size of .011" to .014" (.28mm to .36mm) for their diodes, which is much worse than my CO2 laser.
My CO2 laser has a kerf of 0.10 mm with a 2" lens, and I assume smaller with a 1.5" lens (but I haven't tried it), but I would love to use a diode laser for etching projects. Thanks!