No. None of the xTool F1, F2, F1 Ultra or F2 Ultra laser engravers will cut 925 silver, 14K solid gold or gold filled sheets.
From xTool ads, it looks like it can because it could cut brass connectors and signs, and emboss thick brass coins. It seems counterintuitive that it can cut brass and steel, which are much stronger, but cannot cut gold or silver. This is because brass, aluminum, copper and stainless steel behave very differently from precious jewelry metals like sterling, gold filled and solid gold.
Gold and 925 silver are much more reflective than other metals. As a result, much of the laser energy bounces off, and less is absorbed.
Gold and silver conduct heat much more easily than steel, so the heat is spread rather than be localized so the material can vaporize and cut. In other words, gold and silver melts more easily and so it is harder to get a clean cut. For this reason, it is also harder to engrave silver and gold than stainless steel.
The xTool technical specialists and sales executives all thought it could, too.
However, I went to xTool’s US headquarters and brought 22ga sheets of 925 silver and gold filled. After trying for over an hour and testing different settings at maximum power of the F2 Ultra, including 200+ passes, they still couldn’t do it. They also tested with and without marking spray to reduce reflection, but it made no difference. Even at maximum power and over 200 passes, with over 14 minutes of cutting, I couldn’t feel it making any markings on the other side of the 22ga sterling sheet.
It is definitive: the F2 Ultra cannot cut precious metals. The xTool staff assumed the machine could cut precious metals. They were unaware it couldn’t, since they had never tested it.
To cut precious metal sheets precisely, a laser engraver must have a laser head that shoots gas. The gas helps blow away debris during the cutting process. However, most importantly, to cool the metal and prevent all the heat from simply spreading.
- xTool Laser Engravers
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