lazer cutting

[clivem]

hi does anyone know of any companies that will lazer cut small quantities of silver sheet ?
many thanks
clive

[MuranoSilver]

How thick is the sheet you need cutting Clive?

[clivem]

wow that was a quick reply
.5 mm but so many pieces i have used lazer in the past for large sheet steel jobs so thought it might be handy for this
clive

[orestruck]

Oooh, I am waiting with bated breath to find out more.......! I have so many ideas scooting around that could really only come to life with the help of a lazer.......

Sarah

[Emerald]

there is only one man for the job GETi Wedding rings, black zirconium mens rings and titanium rings. - Home (http://www.geti.cc)

[orestruck]

I didn't know he does lazer work!
The company I work for stock Geti rings. I'll try and stick a few more orders his way. Lol!

[clivem]

many thanks for your help, i will give them a call in morning

[Emerald]

you will find him wondering round somewhere i am suprised he hasent chipped in

Sarah he uses the laser to decorate the rings, well so he tells us anyway!

[geti-titanium]

Hi clivem,

Our machines are capable of cutting sheet up to 0.5mm thick. I don't tend to look for laser cutting work because I think there are better machines out there dedicated to cutting whereas ours is more suited to engraving with the ability to cut sheet as well.

If the quantities aren't too big it may be commercially viable so I don't mind having a look if you would like to send me more details.

Hi orestruck, welcome to the forum and don't believe everything you may or may not read about me on here :-) Which of out stockists do you work for just out of interest?

[Emerald]

how many stockist have you in Devon oh Mighty Geti? :D

[geti-titanium]

how many stockist have you in Devon oh Mighty Geti? :D

only a few :-)

[caroleallen]

If Geti's not keen, have you considered having your sheet etched? I use Chempix in Birmingham and they're very reliable.

[Emerald]

If Geti's not keen, have you considered having your sheet etched? I use Chempix in Birmingham and they're very reliable.


hmmm wonder if they are cheaper than himself?

[caroleallen]

I think from memory it's abut £100 to do the tooling and about £90 per A4 sheet for etching. Thereafter it's about £90 each time, plus of course, the cost of the silver.

[Shaun750]

Laser cutting that's my kind of toy,but I expect they cost a fortune.

How about having a stamping die cut,if it a small production run. And at .5 they should be easy to cut.
I've been experimenting with these myself,but limited success,I've got some thick tools steel coming soon,see if that helps.
Sheltech - Custom Dies and Cutting (http://www.sheltech.net/onestep.html)

[Lisa Quinn]

Laser cutting that's my kind of toy,but I expect they cost a fortune.

How about having a stamping die cut,if it a small production run. And at .5 they should be easy to cut.
I've been experimenting with these myself,but limited success,I've got some thick tools steel coming soon,see if that helps.
Sheltech - Custom Dies and Cutting (http://www.sheltech.net/onestep.html)

There are several things that you can do to ensure that you are successful in creating stamping dies, the first is to ensure that you align the sheet to correct angle for the thickness of steel you are sawing, and you need to make sure that the blade is perpendicular at all times otherwise you will be unable to create a uniform cutting angle. Also, make sure that you have the die the right way round when stamping out the sheet if you have it upside down it will not shear the metal.

[Shaun750]

There are several things that you can do to ensure that you are successful in creating stamping dies, the first is to ensure that you align the sheet to correct angle for the thickness of steel you are sawing, and you need to make sure that the blade is perpendicular at all times otherwise you will be unable to create a uniform cutting angle. Also, make sure that you have the die the right way round when stamping out the sheet if you have it upside down it will not shear the metal.

Cheers for that Lisa,
I think the main faliure I've had came from the metal being thick enough,but not hard enough and then it was hard enough(a giant hacksaw blade) but not thick enough for the metal I was cutting, my first effort still works OK and that was a stainless steel coaster I had lying around.
I aneal the metal cut it and then tempered it.It cuts quite easy,even with a 0/5 saw blades,I've made a modified saw jig that is designed to keep the blade at 90 degrees,but feel i don't need it.
With the all in one cutter it's self aligns,but there is a little tag that need tidying up. The thicker die(that had male and female halves) had holes drilled through both sections that a rod(thick nail) kept both parts aligned.It worked several times before I broke the vice I was using to squeeze it broke,and then I distroyed part of the die.I as trying to cut really thick aluminum.
I'm using a monster vice now,If i get sucess with that and my new metal ,then i will probably make or buy a hydrolic press.
I've got a few more ideas of how to improve the design.
Thanks for the info,there's only one way for me to learn,and that's the hard way!

[clivem]

hello Geti i will sort a dwg file out shortly perhaps you could have a look
many thanks
clive

[clivem]

well thanks to all for suggestions its appreciated

[geti-titanium]

hello Geti i will sort a dwg file out shortly perhaps you could have a look
many thanks
clive

will do clive

[ps_bond]

I think the main faliure I've had came from the metal being thick enough,but not hard enough and then it was hard enough(a giant hacksaw blade) but not thick enough for the metal I was cutting, my first effort still works OK and that was a stainless steel coaster I had lying around.

Easiest way to solve that is get the right stuff to start with... Spheroidised annealed O1 tool steel is readily available from - for example - Cromwell Industrial Tools UK: Discount Prices For Power Tools, Hand Tools and Cutting Tools - Free Next Day Delivery (http://www.cromwell.co.uk) as "ground flat stock". Cuts easily, a doddle to heat treat and very tolerant of mistakes on HT, so you can have another go if needed.

[Shaun750]

Easiest way to solve that is get the right stuff to start with... Spheroidised annealed O1 tool steel is readily available from - for example - Cromwell Industrial Tools UK: Discount Prices For Power Tools, Hand Tools and Cutting Tools - Free Next Day Delivery (http://www.cromwell.co.uk) as "ground flat stock". Cuts easily, a doddle to heat treat and very tolerant of mistakes on HT, so you can have another go if needed.

Cheers for that Peter, I manged to get some tool steel from ebay and could only find companys that deliverd half ton at a time through googling,I've added Cromwell to my favorites,tht will come in handy.

[ps_bond]

If you're making punches & the like, they do the GFS in square section as well - they also have silver steel in useful diameters that is a doddle to heat treat. I keep buying it from them in 5' lengths...

You can buy directly from their depots - my nearest is down by the docks here - but for some of the materials they don't keep a full stock in all of their locations. Probably for the best, I can spend quite enough with them without seeing more shinies.

[Shaun750]

If you're making punches & the like, they do the GFS in square section as well - they also have silver steel in useful diameters that is a doddle to heat treat. I keep buying it from them in 5' lengths...

You can buy directly from their depots - my nearest is down by the docks here - but for some of the materials they don't keep a full stock in all of their locations. Probably for the best, I can spend quite enough with them without seeing more shinies.

Punches!! That's the next project,might have to actually do some hand engraving!! If i could stay awake for 24 hours I wouldn't mind spending the time.
If you don't mind what's your tecnique to temper them back to hard enough.
I know before i start, my mind will say as hard as possible,and shatter the punch,although I get a weird pleasure in testing something until destruction.

[ps_bond]

Punches!! That's the next project,might have to actually do some hand engraving!! If i could stay awake for 24 hours I wouldn't mind spending the time.

I know what you mean. Although you've just reminded me I need to sort out my spares of gravers that I've got sat unused.


If you don't mind what's your tecnique to temper them back to hard enough.
I know before i start, my mind will say as hard as possible,and shatter the punch,although I get a weird pleasure in testing something until destruction.

Well, clearly you recognise the balance between hard/brittle & soft/malleable. It depends on how I'm doing things - if I'm doing HT with a torch, I'll only harden the business end of the tool & try to leave the other end of the punch dead soft so there's no chance of it chipping; I'll also do a progressive temper on it, heating it some way back from the end and allowing the colours to travel along until it hits the colour I want, then quench again (to stop any more heat flowing). Tempering by oxide colour is *very* approximate and varies according to the steel type - but it's usually good enough. If I'm HT with the oven (kiln, not domestic) I just dial in the temperature & let it soak - that way the whole tool is at the same hardness.

This chart - Temper Colors and Steel Hardness : anvilfire.com (http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQ-article.php?bodyName=/FAQs/temper_colors_hardness.htm&titleName=Temper%20Colors%20and%20Steel%20Hardness %20:%20anvilfire.com) - is OK as a start point, but don't expect the hardness to be all that close for O1 - it'll be slightly closer for the silver steel.

Oh, one thing - when you harden & quench, it's nice to have some sort of antiscale on the metal as you're doing it - this can be something exotic like Brownells PBC anti-scale compound, a wash of bentonite clay or... A bar of soap. Warm the steel a bit, rub the soap on it to coat the steel (if it's warm enough, the soap melts), then heat to read & quench. Makes cleanup much easier. And O1 - despite being an oil-hardening steel - can be successfully hardened in water in thin sections.

[Shaun750]

Thanks Peter you've done a lot of the hard work for me.
I've taken a few pics of the disasters and some success I've had (it's good for a laugh if nothing else).
I better start a new thread,I keep hijacking others,with tangent questions.
As usual I'm going ambitious from the outset,I was told that the die I tried to make would cost a $1000 ,by a company.

bentonite clay!!! I just chucked a big bag of it away.I found a recipe for green sand,and found out that a certain cat litter,was bentonite,It didn't work great.I don't tidy up very often,but when i do everything gets chucked!

[orestruck]

Al
I work for Carol Anne in Barnstaple (For my sins)

Sarah

[caroleallen]

Oh God Sarah, that's who I keep being mistaken for. Gets a bit awkward at times.

[geti-titanium]

Al
I work for Carol Anne in Barnstaple (For my sins)

Sarah

I guessed it might be - say hello to everyone for me :-) I had a broken leg the last time I came to you and I seem to remember climbing a really steep flight of stairs - frightened me to death coming down again! :-)

[Di Sandland]

Al
I work for Carol Anne in Barnstaple (For my sins)

Sarah
LOL - part of my ritual on the way back to the car park is to look at the indy stuff in the RH window. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's -err - not so good (was gonna use a bad word). Some people's finishing leaves a lot to be desired. ;)

[caroleallen]

Oh, that's interesting Di. I was thinking her stuff was brilliant and people might be disappointed if they compared me to her.

[Di Sandland]

I think those pieces I'm talking about aren't hers, they're bought in from small designer/makers. The stuff I have seen of hers is lovely.

[geti-titanium]

Not quite laser cutting, more laser marking, but I thought you peeps might be interested in seeing some decorative skulls we marked on a customers paintball gun today.

The gun is anodised aluminium and the idea is to burn the anodising off leaving the aluminium colour underneath to give a contrast

2152

[Di Sandland]

Alan, that really is rather beautiful...

[MuranoSilver]

That IS beautiful.....hmmm wonders if Carole will have some appearing in her shed soon ;)
Nic x

[caroleallen]

Mmm, I'm wondering that too!

[orestruck]

Well you can stop by and say hi next time Di!

Al, those stairs bite me in the ass every so often. I've fallen up them many times only narrowly escaping serious injury! Mind you, where there's blame there's a claim :P

Carole, believe me, you'd like their turnover ;)

Oh and there is no "Carole Anne"........everything sold comes from designer makers, big and small. The stuff thats not so good gets weeded out pretty quickly. The girls in the shop let the buyers know when something is crap quality. I am quite vocal in this regard! Especially as I work really hard on my stuff and it's often in the window next to the stuff that I don't respect. I've got some stuff in the window currently by a reasonably local designer that would be more at home in accessorize - but we have to give it a go and some suppliers are desperate enough to do a sale or return that we just run with it. But often they "don't get invited back"!
The right hand end of the right window is currently my "bit". I get to display it, decide on the look etc. It's the best part of the job.

Sarah

[caroleallen]

Well you've shattered all my illusions now! What do you mean "there is no Carole Anne"?

[orestruck]

The shop is named after the wife of it's first owner - about 30 years ago! The current owner is Fran Gubb. She bought the shop about 20 something years ago with her brother (Kit Heath).
She bought Kit out about 7 years ago. She now runs the business with her husband Andy.

[caroleallen]

Aha! The famous Kit Heath.

[Di Sandland]

The right hand end of the right window is currently my "bit". I get to display it, decide on the look etc. It's the best part of the job.



That's my favourite bit! I tend to avoid the rest. Last weekend I think it was I noticed the not so good pieces - actually it might only have been the one piece. It was the finish and the silver was a bit thin. You have a piece in there I love - all those wonky circles forming quite a deep, almost v-shaped necklace

[Di Sandland]

ah! I thought it used to feature Kit Heath's stuff when I first came here (about 11 years ago). Hasn't he got premises on Roundswell Ind Est now?

[orestruck]

Yeah, thats where his HQ is.