| Fab Lab
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| 3D Printing
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2D Cutting
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Misc
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Cutting Tips
Do Not Cut
- Lexan
- Anything with PVC
- Vinyl Stickers
- Don't even try to cut metal, it will not work.
The laser was not properly focused previously, so new values must be found for all materials
These settings will work properly if, and only if, you have refocused for the current piece of material. It is very important that you refocus for every new piece of material.
Engraving Tips
- LaserCut will take any image, but will reduce it to monochrome unintelligently.
- Reduce your image to monochrome using Gimp and dithering effects to emulate grayscale.
Plywood
1/4"
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Engrave Power
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Result
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| 25
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90
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85
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cuts through well, but close. Lower speed 5 if you want a 100% successful cut.
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| 300
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20
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15
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very nice engrave, no burn marks
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| 10
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35
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30
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clean cut, very little burn
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Cardboard
Corrugated cardboard (Rendezvous boxes)
Cut
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Other flags
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Results
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| 75
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10
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8
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Nothing
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| 75
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15
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12
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Nice engraved line, corners very slightly darker
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| 75
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20
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16
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Top layer cut only, corners slightly more. Tiny pinhole at one corner through the back layer
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| 75
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25
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22
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Top layer cut, bottom layer corners only
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Engrave
| Speed
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Power
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Scan gap
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Other flags
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Results
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| 300
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31
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0.03
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Bidir/Blow
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Top layer gone, bottom layer blackened
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| 600
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31
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"
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"
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Burns through top layer; 50% halftone only darkens
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| 1000
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31
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"
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"
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Top layer becomes like netting. 50% halftone is not much darker than 0% areas.
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Probably a lower power is needed. Burning through the top layer isn't good - any unburned portions are not held on by much. Corrugated cardboard probably is not the best material for rastering.
Cereal Boxes
Cut
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Type of cereal
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Result
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| 100
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40
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40
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Kellogg's Cinnabon
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Sharp cut, no charring.
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Engrave
| Speed
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Power
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Scan gap
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Other flags
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Type of cereal
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Results
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| 500
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31
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0.03
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Bidir/Blow
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Kellogg's Cinnabon
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Great for small details (e.g. text), but burns through for large regions.
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| 500
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25
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"
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"
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Kellogg's Cinnabon
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Maybe cuts too thin; contrast with 50% halftone areas is not good.
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| 500
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20
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"
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"
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Kellogg's Cinnabon
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Darkens well but still leaves plenty of material. Good contrast with 50% halftone.
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Engraved cereal-box cardboard benefits from being blown off after cutting.
Pro tip: Engrave first, then cut. Wobbly cardboard doesn't raster well.
Acrylic
1/10"
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Engrave Power
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Result
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| 25
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70
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65
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Cuts Through
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| 300
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25
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Engraves about 1/16 of an inch, leaves 'shadows' on the plastic.
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0.340"
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Engrave Power
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Result
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| 3
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100
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95
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Cuts Through
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| 5
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100
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95
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Deep gash, does not cut through.
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Linoleum Blocks
Make very, very certain that you have real Linoleum and not some knockoff made from PVC or the like.
Speedball Linoleum Block (3mm thick Linoleum)
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Engrave Power
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Result
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| 500
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60
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0.56 mm of cut
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| 500
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80
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0.84 mm of cut
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| 300
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80
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1.18 mm of cut
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| 200
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80
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1.64 mm of cut
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| 150
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100
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2.35 mm to 3 mm of cut
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Old Values
The laser was not focused properly before, so the below values are slightly skewed to be more power & slower than they need to be/
ABS
MakerBot
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Result
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| 75
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20
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16
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very light burn
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| 75
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30
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26
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good etch/engrave
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Corian
Creates a lot of fine gritty dust. Probably not a good idea to extensively cut.
1/4"
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Engrave Power
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Result
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| 2
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100
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90
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-
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Barely cuts through (It was a circle, probably was mostly using Corner Power
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Foam Core, Black Polystyrene
1/4"
| Speed
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Power
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Corner Power
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Engrave Power
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Result
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| 30
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55
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45
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cuts through
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