Laser engraver & laser info.

Background
I have been using a (Toy) 1W 405nm Laser engraver and want to advance to a 15W DIY gantry style engraver to learn grbl & to etch/engrave harder substances other than wood. Then maybe if I live long enough to a professional made machine.
The 'toy' has been very productive and has made enough income with its service to pay for the larger machine 5X over in under 6 months of 'playing', by enhancing artwork my wife creates.
Questions
I understand what TTL is but what are the advantages of a TTL vs Analog laser when it comes to engraving?
The 'toy' I picked up uses a weak light mode to define the engraving area which requires you to switch it off before burning/engraving.
Are Diode Lasers (10-15w) really strong enough to etch/engrave hard substances like stone, certain metals, ceramics?
What type of laser is needed to create 3D glass internal engraving?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Please keep it simple, I am ooooold and the memory chips need to be upgraded.

I have forgotten more than some will ever know and what I still know makes me dangerous. I worked in the entertainment industry (rock n roll/Theatrical/TV lighting) with lasers in its infancy, early 70's, then for an ATE company that used a laser to burn off a defective IC trace on the discs they grow them on, and ended up as an Electrical Contractor soon to retire and PLAY!
Thank you in advance.

there are no advantages to TTL over analogue for laser engraving. it's just easier and cheaper to make TTL drivers so that's what the market is flooded with.

got a link to the engraver you're looking to buy? it is in all probabilities not a 15W engraver. chinese specs don't always intersect with reality.

3d internal engraving is done with a q-switched yag laser. you're not going to do it at home.

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Originally Posted by middlechamber

Background
I have been using a (Toy) 1W 405nm Laser engraver and want to advance to a 15W DIY gantry style engraver to learn grbl & to etch/engrave harder substances other than wood. Then maybe if I live long enough to a professional made machine.
The 'toy' has been very productive and has made enough income with its service to pay for the larger machine 5X over in under 6 months of 'playing', by enhancing artwork my wife creates.
Questions
I understand what TTL is but what are the advantages of a TTL vs Analog laser when it comes to engraving?
The 'toy' I picked up uses a weak light mode to define the engraving area which requires you to switch it off before burning/engraving.
Are Diode Lasers (10-15w) really strong enough to etch/engrave hard substances like stone, certain metals, ceramics?
What type of laser is needed to create 3D glass internal engraving?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Please keep it simple, I am ooooold and the memory chips need to be upgraded.

I have forgotten more than some will ever know and what I still know makes me dangerous. I worked in the entertainment industry (rock n roll/Theatrical/TV lighting) with lasers in its infancy, early 70's, then for an ATE company that used a laser to burn off a defective IC trace on the discs they grow them on, and ended up as an Electrical Contractor soon to retire and PLAY!
Thank you in advance.

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What type of laser is needed to create 3D glass internal engraving?

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... this is mostly done with "green" pulsed NdYAG- or fiber-lasers by focussing inside the glass to create small cracks.

10Watt-IR-diodes can engrave coloured stone and ceramics, but are not suited for engraving metal.

"Blue" (445nm) 6.5Watt-diodes with better focussing can be used for marking steel ... 2W@445nm are enough to mark coloured anodized aluminium.

When engraving BW-images, then an analogue controller is better working than ON/OFF TTL or PWM - but this too depends on the software ...


By the way - here you'll find a bunch of infos about - http://forums.reprap.org/list.php?133

Viktor

Thank you for the link. I will peruse & hopefully I'll learn a thing or three, everything I've learned is by seat of my pants, which I'm sure is all wrong but everything I picked up was used asis and no instructions no software, no drivers. I got it all going now that I can see a big potential, I want larger working area and ability to do other materials.
Thank you