What’s everyone’s thoughts on UV lasers? Thinking about looking into them since it seems more and more are coming out quickly. Anyone have a simplified explanation of the difference between them, co2, and diode.
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Don’t look into lasers, ya crazy person! Especially UV ones.
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GPT is so good at stuff like this. I asked it how it would respond to your post and to give it to me in markdown in case there were tables or other formatted output. (the forum accepts markdown)
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Here’s a succinct reply you could post:
UV lasers are becoming more popular, but they’re a bit different from CO₂ and diodes:
| Type | Wavelength | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UV | ~355nm | Fine engraving on plastics, glass, some metals | Precise, minimal heat, usually pricier |
| CO₂ | 10,600nm | Wood, acrylic, leather, glass (non-metallics) | Powerful, common, larger footprint |
| Diode | 450–455nm | Wood, leather, some plastics | Affordable, compact, weaker cutting power |
Simplified:
- UV = super precise, cold marking, good for specialty materials.
- CO₂ = strong, versatile for organics and acrylics.
- Diode = budget-friendly, portable, but less cutting depth.
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I spent these past ~ten days falling into countless rabbit holes over all things laser.
The first take-away is that there’s an expanded world of materials that us dyed-in-the-wool old-school Glowforge (not Spark/Aura) users have been held back from because it either didn’t work or was a colossal PITA to prep & laser correctly or partially…. Looking at you, marking bare metals, etching glass & incinerating rubber stamps.
This is where all those rabbit holes start clueing in that all the different types of lasers have their specialties. Had you asked a year ago what my next laser would be, the answer would’ve been a CO2 with rotary attachments and mo’ powah. Realizing now that CO2 of any size would still peg me in the same materials camp, TODAY the aim would be to have a smorgasbord of lasers to tackle a greater swath of abilities.
In addition catching @trually ‘s clip before the OP question was asked, I also got insight from this run-down:
The first laser on my priority WANT list is the Fiber Laser. Actually, I didn’t fully realize that I’ve wanted a fiber laser for the last ~15 years. Back then, a small portion of my custom ring jobs would have a laser-engraving request added. The one B2B shop in Jeweler’s Row hanging out a shingle for laser engraving would be unavailable half the time due to machine maintenance or repair. I looked up the name of the machine that would do this specialized task (Roland, maybe?) it carried a $80,000 pricetag (in 2007 money)
Having attended the ACF National Convention a couple months back and watching Wusthoff engrave stainless chef knives at their booth, I took a deeper look getting back. I wasn’t thrilled at the open nature of their deployed model (likely ComMark) but all this clicking led me to the recently unveiled xTool F2 Ultra. It started ticking many checkboxes with its 60watt MOPA Fiber Laser.
- Rotary Attachment for engraving metal tumblers and rings alike
- Able to cut through some metals up to 2mm
- Able to load a depth map and 3D relief engrave into solid brass
- Vary it’s pulse length & frequency to color tint certain metals
- Can use cameras or laser framing to plant targeted jobs
- Can fit objects 6 inches tall
- Doesn’t suspend features behind a subscription paywall
- Numerous thoughtful features like removable exhaust fan module and peg-hole anchors at the base for job repeatability
Like its F1 predecessor, it sports a SECOND inline laser; a 40watt blue Diode Laser. This feature is pretty massive for the show crowd as a single machine can cover both metal cutting as well as engraving the familiar group of materials we CO2 operators have taken for granted.
I’ve had my finger hovering heavily above the F2 Ultra’s Checkout button for the past four days. The $400 promo anniversary discount certainly helps, but I can’t resolve the remaining question brought up by brain cell #4 in the back, back row: What if they (or anyone else) reconfigured a follow-up model to have a MOPA Fiber and UV within the next 6-12 months? After all this rabbit hole diving, THOSE are the two laser types I want the most, steering this back to your initial question.
The Achilles heel to Fiber and Diode is they pass right through clear acrylic. For us existing CO2 owners, I’m having a very hard time seeing what Diode specifically brings new to the table. If the Venn diagram of CO2 engulfs all of what Diode can do, then the latter is redundant to me. The only possible use-case for Diode on the F2 (for me) is engraving something wooden/organic with the Rotary Attachment. I haven’t thoroughly fleshed out whether Diode can handle the entire range of glass materials (boro silicate, lime, crystal, tempered, etc). It’ll only cut/engrave opaque acrylic, but not clear.
Marrying two or more laser types into one machine? Love that idea. Imagine using the Fiber Laser to do heavy brute force relief engraving and without needing to transfer/re-jig the object to another machine, then use the UV portion to possibly cold-ablate the char away in specific areas?
UV’s other strengths like cold-marking plastics, sub-engraving of glass & acrylics, engraving rubber, etc is very much a clutch expansion.
xTool’s gantry CO2 lasers, the P1, P2, and now P3 seemed to have come out in short sequential order. I’m willing to wait & see if they do likewise with a F2 Ultra successor.
In the meantime, another interesting site to keep tabs on:
Click into a specific model, in the resulting page, you’ll find a tiny info logo ( i ) next to the price. That makes it pop up a chart showing the pricing history of that unit.
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You didn’t mention flying galvo lasers.
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Not only are UV considered a cold laser, the newest UV lasers aim to create deep crystal engravings. Mr. Carve just recently closed a Kickstarter, and XTool is hinting at this being in the pipeline. I initially backed the Mr. Carve UV laser, but changed my mind last minute. I have several XTOOL products and would rather stay with a known brand/software interface.
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