Laser Cutter/Parameters
Warning
These settings were determined over time for the old Laser Cutter. This page is kept for reference/guidance. The new Silvertail A0 Laser Cutter has it's own parameters list in progress. The new cutter is more powerful - do not use these settings from here without some thought and careful adjustment!
Background
Thick Material
Do not try to cut anything thicker than the thickest width listed for that material on this page.
Corner Power
When the path goes round curves, or a straight line passes close to previous line (TBC), the laser will slow down. As a consequence, the Corner Power needs to be lower to compensate. Typically about 80% of the Power setting.
Lowest power
Setting the power below 10 or 11 means that the laser will not activate.
Tried but DIY parameters
Laser rubber has been used (mainly for stamps) it works well but you'll need to experiment for engraving/cutting. Check out Laser_Cutter/Parameters#GradeEngrave, which is useful for rubber stamps.
Parameters
Cutting
Acrylic - Perspex
| Thickness (mm) | Speed (mm/sec) | Power (%) | Corner power (%) | Examples / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6 | 100 | ||
| 4 | 3.5 | 100 | 21 | |
| 5 | 3 | 100 | ||
| 10 | 1 (not enough?) | 100 |
PLY
| Thickness (mm) | Speed (mm/sec) | Power (%) | Corner power (%) | Examples / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .5 | 25 | 80 | This seemed to work really well with not much burn on the edges for the super thin ply. | |
| 1.5 | 8 | 100 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 100 | ||
| 5 | 2 | 100 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 100 |
MDF
| Thickness (mm) | Speed (mm/sec) | Power (%) | Corner power (%) | Examples / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 | 100 | 20 | |
| 4 | 4 | 100 |
Misc
| Material | Thickness (mm) | Speed (mm/sec) | Power (%) | Corner power (%) | Examples / Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic - Palglas | 3 | 6 | 100 | 21 | Cubauble | |
| Corrugated Cardboard | 3 | 12 | 100 | |||
| Hardboard | 3 | 3 | 100 | |||
| Paper | 60 | 15 | ||||
| Card | 35 | 40 | ||||
| Mountboard | 12 | 100 | ||||
| Engraving Laminate | 15 | 80 | ||||
| Funky Foam | 25 | 25 | ||||
| Curian | 1 | 100 | Four passes required | |||
| Laser Rubber | 6 | 100 | 25 | |||
| Suede | 1 | 25 | 100 | 25 | ||
| Suede/Leather (line engraving) | >1 | 150 | 10 | 10 | ||
| Leather | 3 | 4 | 100 | 100 (needs more testing) | ||
| Full grain leather | 3 | 9 | 85 | 85 | Burn free result! Helps to put tape over leather. | |
| LD45 Plastazote | 12 | 25 | 100 | 20 | ||
| Unknown clear thermoplastic | 4 | 10 | 10 - 15 | 10 | These box lids melt easily but can be cut with multiple passes at low power. | |
| Polypropylene sheet | 500micron (0,5mm) | 14 | 40 | 17 | ||
| Polypropylene sheet - scoring | 500micron (0,5mm) | 60 | 60 | 15 | This will produce a score. useful if you want just to mark a point or fold. | |
| Polyester "paper" - NeverTear | 300micron (0.3mm) | 40 | 60 | 40 | Never tear is a polyester sheet that can be laser printed like normal paper. | |
| Polyester "paper" - NeverTear - Scoring | 300micron (0.3mm) | 100 | 15 | 40 | This will produce a score. useful if you want just to mark a point or fold. |
Engraving
| Material | Speed (mm/sec) | Power (%) | Corner power (%) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic - Perspex | 200 | 21 | ||
| Birch PLY | 200 | 17 | ||
| MDF | 200 | 25 | ||
| Corrugated Cardboard | 200 | 20 | ||
| Hardboard | 200 | 20 | ||
| Paper | 200 | 15 | ||
| Card | 300 | 20 | ||
| Mountboard | 200 | 20 | ||
| Engraving Laminate | 200 | 21 | ||
| Curian | 3 | 100 | ||
| Laser Rubber | 200 | 70 | ||
| Anodized aluminium (dyed black) | 450 | 90 | ? | LHS logo on black phone |
| Anodized aluminium (Macbook Pro) (Vector - in "cut" mode) | 100 | 100 | 80 | Russ's Macbook Pro |
| Suede | 250 | 15 | 80 | |
| LD45 Plastazote | 200 | 10 | 10 | At 10% engraves 2-3mm deep. Laser doesn't seem to come on at all at 5% or engrave at speeds >200 mm/s so may not be possible to engrave less deeply than this. |
GradeEngrave
Grade Engrave will cause an area inside a engraved area to have raised edges. It is intended for easier rubber stamp making but can be applied to any real use. See the Nottinghack wiki for more details.
| Material | Speed (mm/sec) | Power (%) | Corner power (%) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dette's 2.3mm Laserable Rubber Sheets | 200 | 70 | Two passes might work better :) |
