G2-Fiber-Laser on Craig Andera

Nova Labs CNC Shop ER Wrenches

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Steve from the Nova Labs CNC shop asked me to make a pair of wrenches that could be used with a torque wrench to properly tighten ER collets: an ER25 hex wrench and an ER20 notched (spanner) wrench. The shop's existing wrenches didn't have a torque-wrench-compatible drive, so collets were being snugged down by feel rather than to spec — not great when you want repeatable clamping force on tooling.

Steve sent over a DXF to start from. I brought it into Fusion and beefed up the geometry in a few spots that looked underbuilt, laser-cut a prototype from thin scrap to check the collet/tool engagement, and later 3D-printed a second prototype once I was more confident in the final dimensions.

Before committing to material, I had an agent run a strain analysis on the design at the target torque (roughly 77 ft-lb — I believe that's the ER20 spec, though I'm not entirely certain) to make sure the thinner sections wouldn't yield or flex enough to throw off the actual clamping torque. That analysis is what drove a couple of the geometry changes.

Final parts are 17-4 PH stainless, laser-cut to shape on my fiber laser.

They're surface-ground before and after heat treatment (mostly for appearance), and heat-treated to the H900 condition for strength.

I laser-engraved the tool type on each wrench with my smaller galvo fiber laser and filled the engraving with orange nail polish — orange being Nova Labs' color.

Here's a short video of the galvo laser engraving the ER20 wrench.

Wrenches are done and headed to Nova Labs.

Laser Engraved Coins

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I've been engraving metal coins with my little fiber laser. It's so good for engraving.

First experiments (December 2024)

It took a few tries, but in December 2024 my experiments started to yield better results. This coin has a gear border around an open notebook and pen.

And the same coin from the top.

Later (August 2026)

Some more recent examples: a couple of coins with engraved portraits. I darken the recesses with brass black and then run them in a rock tumbler for a bit to remove the black in the raised portions.

Pi Day Ring

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My daughter generally designs jewelry for Pi Day. In 2026 she got done a little early, on March 6, which is eight days ahead of the 14th. Usually we're finishing up on the 13th.

This year's piece is a ring: ribbed, darkened bands with a pi symbol cut out across the front. The ribs are actually a mistake. Something to do with me setting up the rotary chuck on the laser wrong. But I liked the way it came out.

An earlier year's effort is on the Pi Day Earrings page.

Brass Memorial Plaques

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Another project for a friend. He asked me to engrave these to memorialize departed family members at their vacation home. They're laser engraved and coated with a clear finish to help keep them from tarnishing too quickly, since they will be mounted outside. I forget if I filled the letters with something or if the laser just left a dark enough surface that it was fine as-is.

I did remake the one that reads "1001" rather than the correct "2001". I didn't realize it was wrong until I showed this photo to someone else after the fact.

Brass Aiming Markers

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

These are based on this commercial product, an aiming aid for golf. I don't golf, so I'll take their word for how it works. A coworker said he'd like me to make one for him some day, and I said, how about today? I whipped the first one up on the evening of May 1, 2025. It only takes about half an hour.

It's a brass plate with a V-notched top edge and a fan of radiating slots engraved into it. Cut the brass to shape on the band saw, smooth it out on the belt grinder, laser engrave the marks, and fill them with epoxy.

On the back of that first one, I laser engraved my own logo.

A month later he asked for a batch. These got the K from our company logo on the back instead of mine, and I believe some of them were given to clients. Look at me - impressing customers on the golf course like an executive. Well, sort of like an executive. OK, nothing like an executive.

Hacker B&B Coin

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite projects ever. It's a custom brass challenge coin, and only one was ever made. It was a gift to my hosts at something called the Hacker B&B, a gathering of friends that is one of the highlights of my year.

The AI-generated image on the back signifies games, scotch, presentations, and food, four of the popular pastimes at the event.

Both images are converted from flat 2D art to a depth map using SculptOK, an AI-based depth map generator. I tried quite a few other approaches, and nothing came close.

Polished

After lasering, the coin goes into a rock polisher for an hour or so. It does a good job of cleaning out the soot from engraving.

But the final look is much improved by an application of "brass black", followed by about twenty more minutes in the polisher. Gives it a bit of definition and age.

Fiber Laser Setup

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Notes on getting my desktop fiber laser marker set up.

Ductwork (December 2024)

Need some ductwork for your laser? Just design and print some! Here's a tall round duct with mounting flanges, and a 45-degree elbow.

I did consider PVC pipe. In the end I didn't go with it because I already had a hole saw of a given size, the fittings are fairly expensive, and I didn't feel like driving over to Home Depot to buy another one. The slicer tells me the cost of the plastic, too: one part I'd just printed was $0.73 worth of PETG.

The cabinet (April 2025)

In April 2025 I finally got the laser set up in a cabinet that other people can be in the room with. It's a plywood enclosure with a green laser-safe viewing window and an LED strip, sitting on a 2x4 stand. The laser glows away inside.

Laser Engraved Water Bottle

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This one sort of surprised me. I knew I was going to be able to engrave the bottle, but my fiber laser is not a MOPA laser, so I was pleased to get the power and speeds just right to get a bit of color, especially given that it's our proper team colors.

Laser Engraved Coasters

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

These are coasters I laser engraved as presents one year. Because laser. Each set was chosen for the person it was for:

Profiles of people curling, for my brother who's big into it.
An image of my sister's sailboat, Priorities, which I previously also made a CNC engraved sign of.
Images of my family, for my parents.
A Superman "K", for my brother who is a fan of Smallville, and whose name starts with K.
A series of danger symbols, for my brother the forensic chemist.

Engraved on my 30W galvo fiber laser.

Engraved Steel Ring Test

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A polished steel channel ring with "This is a test" laser-engraved on the inside, from December 2024.

Laser Engraved Business Cards

Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This was a fun, quick project I did before we went to BunnyBots, a competition run by a local FRC team. I generated the bunny image using AI, and the robot is from our CAD. We made a limited run and handed them out to a few select people. I should do more of these.