Could the laser be used to cut a design on a hardened gourd?
Physically, sure. I mean, Iāll let some of the folks more involved in the laser committee speak up, but I can tell you one important problem: irregular contours.
Unless youāve found a very cylindrical gourd (possible, just uncommon), then getting a design to not come out extremely distorted across your surface is going to be very tricky.
Iām pretty sure itās possible to do it with some fancy software work and a good 3D scan of the gourd, but that definitely falls into the category of things that I know are possible without really knowing all of the intermediate tools to make it happen.
I think itās physically possible. I doubt youād really like the results.
This brings up an interesting question though. Is there a way to control the Z-axis of the lasers via the g-code that the laser software sends across?
unfortunately, that is all hidden from you. losing focus is the hardest part of this. It can be done in overlapping small sections but involves constantly adjusting the tilt of the fixture. good luck.
Organically speaking, itās not a problem, so long as thereās no funky coating on the gourd. Your success will depend on the shape of the gourd. Long cylindrical shapes will be easier to laser than a ābanjo-shapedā gourd. Be mindful that if itās really dry, it could pose a possible fire hazard, just like any other dry organic material.
Soak the gourd, like you do for leather? (Yeah, doesnāt solve irregular problemsā¦)
I donāt think it would warrant wetting. Just some close observation during cutting.
Agreed: probably no drier than plywood/other wood which has acclimated to the shop.
As a guess on power settings, Iād treat as thin (1/8" plywood) as a starting point.
You might be able to work around the non-cylindrical nature by dividing your drawing into bands, printing them one at a time, and repeatedly resetting the Z access between prints.youād still run the risk of the head whacking the gourd on itās way back āhomeā, so there is a limit of perhaps 3/8" that you could adjust on the down sloped end.
Using the ācoarseā focus head (do we still have these?) has a deeper depth of cut and would be more forgiving of height differences.