Experience with Laser Engraving Stainless Steel?

[Blaine]

Just a quick and curious question to see if anyone has first hand knowledge of laser on stainless action (I've read varying things on the internets).

How deep of a cut can one realistically get compared to how wide the line is?

I'm sure it all depends on the laser type and power etc...

I'm thinking of starting up my 7 blade set. Stainless steel scales, each one engraved with images of the etymology of the day name. So for example, Wednesday (today) would have a norse theme with Odin hanging from the World Tree (*see attach for 20 second mock up).

Tuesday would have Tyrs killing someone, Saturday would have Saturn eating a baby...etc.

The only caveat is I'd like to have a nice amount of detail and pulling from old woodcarvings means lots of cross hatching.

Thanks for listening to what I can now see is and amazingly vague question. I might as well have asked if a battery could power a city. A sufficiently awesome battery could. A dollar store AA? Not as much.

 

[_JP_]

I think Thirdeye can help you out.

 

[Jim]

I think Thirdeye can help you out.

Indeed!

 

[mdunn]

thats a bloody awesome idea, mate

 

[strat1117]

I think Thirdeye can help you out.

Definitely. Ray is your man.

 

[Ookla The Mok]

Definitely. Ray is your man.

I concur!!

 

[thirdeye]

How deep, your right. It all has to do with your power, speed and focus distances. I've cut clean through 4" SS and it was a very narrow cut however we are talking about a 4000 watt laser which is not what you want to do this work.

I would suggest you consider a marking process in which annealing is done.
This was done on Moks blade above in which I used a much smaller less powerful laser.

 

[Blaine]

How deep, your right. It all has to do with your power, speed and focus distances. I've cut clean through 4" SS and it was a very narrow cut however we are talking about a 4000 watt laser which is not what you want to do this work.

I would suggest you consider a marking process in which annealing is done.
This was done on Moks blade above in which I used a much smaller less powerful laser.

Awesome! Expertise appears despite my barely coherent question.