Question Sn or Al Laser cutting.

General DIY and IT hobbyist here....first post so please be gentle.

Discovered stepcraft on u tube and am looking into purchasing a machine in the future, when funds allow.......this could be a while.....did have a look for second hand machines but found none for sale....llcould this be a good sign ..........anyway the decision would be based on my need to cut hundreds, possibly thousands of geometric patterns in sheets of 99% pure tin foil, or aluminium foil, (happy with the tolerances of the stepraft). Thickness of the foil I am unsure about. But let's say it's your standard kitchen foil thickness.

Is this something anyone has tried? Is it possible with the laser power?

Or would it be better to layer the sheets of foil to an inch or so thick and use a plunge router technique, perhaps with a jig pressed to reduce tear out?

Complete novice here but do hope someone might be able to answer the above.

Thanks in advance

(Now Off to look at some ore of you chaps amazing creations.....its 1.30am, but the idea of a home cnc machine is keeping me awake strangely enough..... )

Just a quick thought for you, this is a hobby machine and as such can, as you have seen, produce some spectacular results.

It does however require very careful assembly and adjustment if it is to give of its best. This is particularly true of the larger machines, these do need to be mounted on a stable flat surface and adjusted in situ to give best results.

So my initial advice is to consider carefully the model you choose in relation to your intended and possible future use. There is a huge amount of information and innumerable video clips available on-line to let you see the possibilities and some of the pitfalls.

Can't offer anything concrete in answer to your questions I'm afraid. The stacked idea might just work if there is an easy way of holding the the stacked foil without a central hole (magnets?? - interrupted cutting cycle while you change the clamps??).

Peter

Thanks so much for the reply, looked at the tube and have seen the good the bad and the ugly.....understand that these machines need careful assembly and maintenance to produce good results and would be looking for the largest size with the laser, hence the time factor in being able to afford.

Also looking at the x carve but not sure. The thing is I've not seen a you tube video of anything doing what I need done, Ie cutting tin or aluminium foil quickly and cleanly in single or multiple layers. Sure once that project finishes there will be plenty of other things it will be used for,

Thanks again for replying,

I got my stepcraft before the laser module was released and promptly made my own. Works great. As for finding second hand stepcraft machines, highly unlikely. These machines are so versatile, once you have one, you will never want to get rid of it. I am even considering getting a second smaller one.

Aluminium is shinny and i am sure you need a co2 laser to cut that . Unless you can obtain a diode laser with a suitable nm rating.
My experience is lasering/ burning wooden objects 445nm.