The new Epilog Zing is designed to bring laser engraving to the home for personal use. It's got 25 watts of power, a small enough footprint to fit neatly on your desk, and the video above shows it has a pretty high resolution. But compared to the mini18, the Zing has less Z movement, a lower wattage, a smaller engraving area, and about half the speed. Also, with a price set around $8,000, we don't think many people will be buying them for personal use just yet. However, if you have a small home business that requires these services, the Zing could be perfect. If you are looking for more information on laser engraving, see [ladyada's] laser information page.
[via Engadget]
Epilog Zing personal laser etching
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Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. It may not be a hack, but I could think of a lot of laser engraved stuff that could be used for hacking or used for making a hack look impressive.
Think about it, before you scream "not a hack":
- Laser cut mounting brackets for PCBs and components
- For that matter, Laser cut PCBs.
- custom engraving for cases, hardware, etc.
Posted at 10:00PM on Jul 12th 2008 by firestorm_v1
3. perhaps not a hack in and of itself, but I would put this in "tools & techniques" definately within the scope of this blog
Posted at 12:50AM on Jul 13th 2008 by cromag
4. @firestorm_v1: You can't use a laser to cut PCBs, or etch away the copper. You can use it to etch away paint, forming a resist pattern. The other uses are valid...provided that your material is okay to use in the laser (polycarbonate or styrene is bad). There's also rubber stamps, spray stencils, small-scale woodworking, etc. Actually, today I made some of these on the laser, some holder brackets for ShiftBrites: http://flickr.com/photos/macetech/2662478061/
6. @ garrett
how come you cant use the laser to etch away the copper layer? i would have though it could just engrave the board by the thickness of the copper layer to remove it. does it have something to do with the reflectivity of the copper surface?
Posted at 5:18AM on Jul 13th 2008 by peter
7. not a hack
Posted at 3:47PM on Jul 13th 2008 by john.s948@mint.us.to
8. The CO2 lasers work by superheating a tiny area until it explosively vaporizes. It's more of a cutting action than a burning action, although intense heat is part of the process. Basically the material has to be easily vaporized, and there's an order of magnitude difference between plastic and metal as far as melting and vaporization temperatures. Interestingly, you can still etch (not cut) glass, but that's mainly because the heat creates little stress fractures that divot the surface of the glass rather than vaporizing it.
9. In the article it's stated the laser is '25W', whereas the video shows (at around 1:06) the device is markes as '35W'.
Posted at 5:45AM on Jul 14th 2008 by S. Sheldrake
10. Hello fellow LaserMasters!
I work at Etchstar.com and we use and love Epilog Lasers. We have
several and they always work well. Good luck to Epilog with this new
consumer-focused product! If you want to see what we've done with
Epilogs in the past, check out our sites:
Etchstar.com
Etchstar.com/blog
JournalEngraver.com
CustomMilitaryGear.com
...more coming soon...
Please contact us if you buy one of these lasers and you are
interested in becoming an Etchstar.com Partner!
Sincerely,
Duston
epilog@etchstar.com
Posted at 3:24PM on Jul 14th 2008 by Duston Harper
11. i was about to buy one of these ... 300 a month ... not to bad
Posted at 5:03PM on Jul 17th 2008 by toki mccown
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1. @ John.
but it could be a very useful tool for hacking.
Posted at 9:17PM on Jul 12th 2008 by clark