Silvertail A0 Laser Cutter/Cutting Parameters
From London Hackspace Wiki
Cutting
Acrylic (Perspex)
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| 2
|
50
|
100
|
80
|
| 3
|
30
|
100
|
80
|
| 4
|
20
|
100
|
80
|
| 5
|
15
|
100
|
80
|
| 6
|
10
|
100
|
80
|
| 10
|
5
|
100
|
80
|
Plywood
Birch
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
Examples / Notes
|
| 2
|
60
|
100
|
80
|
|
| 3
|
50
|
100
|
80
|
|
| 6
|
10
|
100
|
80
|
|
| 9
|
8
|
100
|
80
|
Test supervised by Russ, 28/01/2016, sample from "thenaturalworkshop" on eBay.
Press-out cut, just barely penetrates, quite smokey. Borderline.
|
Poplar/LitePly
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
Examples / Notes
|
| 3
|
60
|
100
|
80
|
|
| 9
|
20
|
100
|
80
|
Test supervised by Henry, 7/1/2016, sample from "thenaturalworkshop" on eBay.
|
MDF
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| 3
|
40
|
100
|
80
|
| 4
|
32
|
100
|
80
|
| 6
|
15
|
100
|
80
|
| 8
|
10
|
100
|
80
|
Foam board
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner power (%)
|
Examples / Notes
|
| 5
|
50
|
25
|
23
|
6 passes* for a clean cut with minimal foam shrinkage
|
| 5
|
80
|
25
|
23
|
for a 50% score cut
|
| 5
|
80
|
20
|
18
|
for burning line markers/text into the paper coating
|
(*) this needs to be retested since we are not supposed to make multiple passes over the same path
Card
Cardstock
| Weight (gsm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| 170
|
150
|
30
|
25
|
| 300
|
100
|
35
|
28
|
Corrugated Cardboard
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| 7
|
100
|
100
|
80
|
Acetate Sheets
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| 0.1
|
100
|
17
|
17
|
Polar Fleece
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| 2
|
100
|
35
|
30?
|
Polypropylene Sheet
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| 0.8
|
80
|
100
|
80
|
Veg Tan Leather
| Thickness (mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
Notes
|
| 2.8-3.2
|
15
|
60
|
50
|
Full Cut
|
| 2.8-3.2
|
100
|
25
|
25
|
Partial cut for embossing
|
Etching
Vary power/speed for different depths
| Material
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
| Anodized Aluminium
|
1000
|
35
|
| Acrylic
|
800
|
40
|
| Glass
|
800
|
55
|
| Polar Fleece
|
300
|
15
|
Outlining
| Material
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| Acrylic
|
100
|
30
|
30
|
| Anodized Aluminium
|
100
|
30
|
30
|
| Ply (light)
|
100
|
20
|
15
|
| Ply (dark)
|
100
|
40
|
35
|
| 6mm MDF
|
100
|
40
|
35
|
| 6mm Acrylic
|
100
|
40
|
35
|
| Polar Fleece
|
130
|
15
|
15
|
Other Materials
We start to see issues with the machine when trying to cut with speed higher than 100. To cut thin stencil material it's better to use engrave instead cutting mode.
| Material
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| Correx 4mm
|
30
|
100
|
80
|
| engrave coloured mount board 2mm
|
200
|
30
|
|
| Acetate
|
|
|
|
| Polypropylene - 5micron (.5mm)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| Cutting
|
70
|
70
|
20
|
| scoring (for folds)
|
100
|
30
|
20
|
| engraving
|
800
|
40
|
|
| Mylar (125 micron)
|
Speed (mm/sec)
|
Power (%)
|
Corner Power (%)
|
| Cutting
|
100
|
25
|
20
|
| Engraving holes
|
600
|
80
|
|
(For very fine engraving, e.g. PCB stencils, it's best to set the engraving scan gap to 0.08 or lower)
Kerf
The kerf of 3mm acrylic at normal cutting speeds (35) is between 0.15 - 0.2mm.
