Laser Settings

Fab Lab
3D Printing	2D Cutting	Misc
Ultimaker 2 Ender3v2	Big laser cutter Laser Cutter Vinyl Express Vinyl Cutter	Design Resources Materials Resources 2D Printing

	Pages to do with the Laser Cutter:
	Big laser cutter Laser Class Laser Cutter Resources Laser Exhaust System Laser Service Log Laser Settings Laser TODO Laser Troubleshooting Laser Usage Procedure Small Laser Cutter Space Computers/laserchicken

Cutting Tips

• http://atxhackerspace.org/wiki/Laser_Cutter_Materials
  • This list of materials is very comprehensive!! But please note that this is not specifically for our lasers' powers, so thickness of materials may differ.
• http://www.aip.aiitechnology.com/PDFs/IDT/Laser_Tech_Tips.pdf

Power settings and tips from other hackerspaces

• http://wiki.nycresistor.com/wiki/Laser_Power
• https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Lasercutter
• http://www.ladyada.net/wiki/laserinfo/settings

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.
  • This is the dialog box you're looking for: http://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-image-convert-indexed.html
• metals can be marked with cermark: http://www.laserbits.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=356_487

Engraving Vector images

If you have a vector image you want to engrave and you get an error about polylines check the following:

• Make sure you don't have any overlapping lines
• Make sure you Unite lines (Tools->Unite lines)

If Unite lines does automagically fix the problem then run the data check: Tools->Data Check. Once for overlapping and once for "Check closed" Areas that are red are causing the problem. Fix those and it should engrave.

Complicated engraving jobs can cause the engraver to not know what parts should be cut out and what parts should be left. This is usually rectified by dividing up your vector by layers with the same engraving setting.

Do Not Cut

• Lexan
• Anything with PVC
• Vinyl Stickers
• Don't even try to cut metal, it will not work.
• PETG

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.

Laptops

MacBook Aluminum Case

Cut

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Notes
100	60	40	Doesn't actually cut. This works for etching if you're doing a vector design

Engrave

Speed	Power	Scan gap	Other flags	Results
500	30			This works well for etching a well defined binary design (QR Code).
500	60			This works well for etching a bitmap design that has been dithered.

Hardwood

3/8" Poplar

Image Key	Speed	Power	Corner Power
1	10	100	95
2	10	95	90
3	10	90	85
4	8	100	95
5	8	95	90
6	8	90	85
7	6	100	95
8	6	95	90
9	6	90	85
-	5	100	95

1/4" Cedar, Walnut, Maple

Speed	Power	Corner Power
10	95	90

1/4" Zebra Wood

Speed	Power	Corner Power
7	95	90

Plywood

1/4" Birch

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
25	90	85		cuts through well, but close. Lower speed 5 if you want a 100% successful cut.
300	20	15		very nice engrave, no burn marks
10	35	30		clean cut, very little burn
15	100	85		lowes cheap plywood. Mostly cut trough, some spots required a second pass.

5mm MR birch

Cheap home depot 5mm birch underlayment plywood with moisture resistant(i.e. white non-reflective) glue.

100% power, 85% corner power, speed as marked in image. There was NO marking on the back for the cuts that did not make it through. Cutting a box with tabs required 8% speed to reliably cut through.

1/4" Oak

Image Key	Speed	Power	Corner Power
1	25	100	95
2	25	95	90
3	25	90	85
4	20	100	95
5	20	95	90
6	20	90	85
7	15	100	95
8	15	95	90
9	15	90	85
10	10	100	95

Masonite

Cut

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Other flags	Results
70	25	22		Nice cut about halfway through
15	50	45		Cuts all the way through but just barely
15	60	55		Cuts all the way through but a bit smokey on the outside edges

Paper

110 lb Card Stock

Cut

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Other flags	Results
100	25	20		Cut Through, burned the corners a bit
150	25	20		Barely cut through, nice clean edges. Corners still burnt
175	25	10		Think perforated tear lines, corners STILL scorched.
145	25	14		-
135	35	25		Cuts two sheets at the same time.

Engrave

Speed	Power	Scan gap	Other flags	Results

Yogi Bear Printer Paper

Cut

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Other flags	Results
200	20	12		Cut Through, burned the corners a bit
200	15	10		Barely cut through, perforated edges on the long cuts, corner power was perfect

Engrave

Speed	Power	Scan gap	Other flags	Results

Yupo (synthetic paper - polypropylene)

Cut

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Results
200	96	30	Cuts well.

Cardboard

Corrugated cardboard (Rendezvous boxes)

Cut

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Other flags	Results
75	10	8		Nothing
75	15	12		Nice engraved line, corners very slightly darker
75	20	16		Top layer cut only, corners slightly more. Tiny pinhole at one corner through the back layer
75	25	22		Top layer cut, bottom layer corners only
70	25	22		Top layer cut, bottom layer not cut
30	35	30		Worked well, cut all the way through.

Engrave

Speed	Power	Scan gap	Other flags	Results
300	31	0.03	Bidir/Blow	Top layer gone, bottom layer blackened
600	31	"	"	Burns through top layer; 50% halftone only darkens
1000	31	"	"	Top layer becomes like netting. 50% halftone is not much darker than 0% areas.

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	Power	Corner Power	Type of cereal	Result
100	40	40	Kellogg's Cinnabon	Sharp cut, no charring.

Engrave

Speed	Power	Scan gap	Other flags	Type of cereal	Results
500	31	0.03	Bidir/Blow	Kellogg's Cinnabon	Great for small details (e.g. text), but burns through for large regions.
500	25	"	"	Kellogg's Cinnabon	Maybe cuts too thin; contrast with 50% halftone areas is not good.
500	20	"	"	Kellogg's Cinnabon	Darkens well but still leaves plenty of material. Good contrast with 50% halftone.

Engraved cereal-box cardboard benefits from being blown off after cutting.

Pro tip: Engrave first, then cut. Wobbly cardboard doesn't raster well.

Acrylic

Printer Transparency

Cut

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Other flags	Results
200	15	10		Perforated edges, small details are melty
150	25	20		Barely cut through, nice clean edges. Corners still burnt

Engrave

Speed	Power	Scan gap	Other flags	Results

.08"

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
25	100	80		Cuts Through, but doesn't cut bottom protective film (horray)
100	100	30		Engraves 3/4 of the way through, leaves 'shadows' on the plastic. Leave the film on both sides to avoid.

1/10"

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
25	70	65		Cuts Through
300			25	Engraves about 1/16 of an inch, leaves 'shadows' on the plastic.

0.340"

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
3	100	95		Cuts Through
5	100	95		Deep gash, does not cut through.

3mm

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
19	80	75		(Almost) Cuts Through
10	99	95		Definitely Cuts Through
35	65	35		Makes a good etch/engrave - doesn't cut through

6mm

This was sold as 1/4", is actually 0.240 inches and almost dead on 6 mm.

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
5	100	95		(Almost) Cuts Through

1/2"

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
4	90	90		(Almost) Cuts Through
4	95	92		Definitely Cuts Through

Black acrylic heats up and there is a slight melting/warp at the exit edge. Not sure how to prevent this.

To prevent warping AND guarantee a clean cut on clear 1/2" acrylic, I set it to 10 speed, 99 power, 98 corner power, and did 6 passes (you can set number of times cut by scrolling the layer view to the right). Cuts were clean through and there was no warping of the material. This is especially effective on large designs as there is cooling time in between passes.

Polypropylene

0.062" Polypropylene sheet

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Other flags	Results
12	100	85		Does not cut all the way through. Damn close, but not all the way there.
11	100	85		Barely cuts through most of the time, edges a little rough and melty
10	100	85		Cuts all the way edges better but still a little melty
9	100	85		Cuts all the way through pretty cleanly (DB)

Polyamide (Kapton)

0.002" Kapton sheet - PCB Stencil

After doing a bunch of experimentation making PCB stencils, I found some interesting results:

• You can export directly from Eagle and import into the EasyCut software using the HPGL output setting in Eagle CAM with a .PLT extension.
• In Eagle, 0mil / 25% / 20mil shink settings for the Cream under DRC Mask shrinks things nicely.
• Borders do better on cut.
• You can cut larger parts.
• Most SMD pads need to be done on engrave. If you try to do them on cut, you'll mess up / melt the edges by the time you get a decent cut.
• Finer pitch parts need more power. Failure to use more power will result in failure to completely carve out the part
• Finer pitch parts benefit from slightly more speed to avoid melting stuff up. Tricky balance.
• The settings noted in this table worked fairly well. TQFP-100 parts are still VERY hard to do without having the cuts "bleed" together

Speed	Cut Power	Corner Power	Engrave power	Engrave step	Results
200	100	55			Cuts all the way through, decent corners. Good for outline
90			60	2mil	Good for vertical TQFP100
90			54	2mil	Good for horizontal TQFP100
90			44	2mil	Good for misc 0402ish SMT
90			38	2mil	Good for larger SMT, figure 0603 and larger

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	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
500			60	0.56 mm of cut
500			80	0.84 mm of cut
300			80	1.18 mm of cut
200			80	1.64 mm of cut
150			100	2.35 mm to 3 mm of cut

Leather

Moistening the leather with a sponge prior to cutting will lessen scorch marks. Running a through-cut as a separate job (so the leather can be re-moistened) is also suggested.

2-3 oz

Settings for a cut through with minimal charring are 50 Speed / 75 Power / 0 Corner Power

(Note: All engraving was done at 500 speed.)

5-6 oz

(Note: All engraving was done at 500 speed.)

Fabric

Cotton blend with thick interfacing

Speed	Power	Corner Power	Engrave Power	Result
80	30	25		Clean cut

Tabbed Boxes

When using the tabbed box maker inkscape extension, how tight the pieces will fit together depends on how much allowance for material removed by the laser is given.

plywood

material	kerf	clearance	comment
Home depot 5mm MR underlayment plywood	0.005 In	0.003 In	Snug, but not super tight fit. Sides hold together, but break apart if dropped.
	.02 In	0.0 In	Super tight fit, hard to put together, requires a screwdriver to pry apart