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  #1  
Old 09-01-2020, 09:37 PM
dholvrsn dholvrsn is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2005
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Default laser cutter questions?

I'm looking for tips and settings for cutting 3/16" and 1/4" balsa, and 1/8" and thinner basswood and plywood on a 40watt laser cutter in general and a Full Spectrum FSL Muse 2D Vision in particular. Thanks!
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  #2  
Old 09-02-2020, 02:46 AM
DavidQ DavidQ is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Washougal Washington
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I have experience with one of the 40W Full Spectrum lasers from a few years back. I went through lots of materials and made records of what settings worked best for me. Rather than post my complete list, I'll make some pointers that I settled on.

Mine said to never exceed 15mA. So, I set the dial to 10mA and left it at that.

I could tweak the cutting speed and the cutting power. I decided to never play with both at the same time. So, I either maxed the speed, and dropped the power, or I maxed the power, and dropped the speed. My experimenting was to start with max speed and power. If it didn't cut through, I slowed the speed. If it cut too hot, I lowered the power.

With that in mind, some of the settings I found for various materials:
Material %Speed %Power
1/16 balsa 100 50
3/32 balsa 100 50
1/8 balsa 100 80
1/4 balsa 100 100 (or even 80 100)
1/2 balsa I had to cut so slow that there was severe charring, so I didn't like that.
1/16 basswood 80 100
3/32 basswood 70 100
1/8 basswood 45 100

thin plywood Totally experimented with each brand I bought. The glues interfere with the cutting, so I didn't find a single number for a given thickness.

Keep in mind that wood density varies, as does humidity, and these affect how well the materials cut. Also, a short focal length lens makes a cleaner cut, but only for thin materials. I found a 2 to 2 1/2" focal length worked best for the range of materials I was using.
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  #3  
Old 09-02-2020, 04:11 PM
olDave olDave is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 174
Default please excuse me for cutting in (bad pun)

but it sounds like you guys are way more expert at laser cutters than I am (I don't have anything, still shopping around)
Can anyone recommend a system for cutting on cardboard (low power centering rings) at sizes up to 4x4 inches? I don't need an industrial monster that cuts metal, or 1 foot sheets, just a hobby size that is moderately affordable. Any suggestions?
Thanks ahead of time,
Dave
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  #4  
Old 09-02-2020, 07:21 PM
DavidQ DavidQ is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Washougal Washington
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Hi olDave,
Mostly old DavidQ here.

For a simple project with small print area, I'd recommend a 40W laser, or maybe even a 30W, if those fit your price better. My feeling is to avoid going much smaller than that, since once you taste laser cutting, you'll want to cut more.

I've been keeping my eye on the eBay Chinese lasers as a backup laser. They can be pretty low cost, in fact, the lowest that I've seen recently. With those, my research says to avoid ones shipped directly from China - tariffs and customs screws up the deal. Get ones that are already stateside, and ship from a stateside warehouse. eBay shows several 40W lasers at around $400. That's a fraction of what I paid for my first 40W laser several years ago.

For home cutting one thing to remember is that they produce smoke. My first solution was to build a vent that fit into one of my windows, and let the laser's fan blow it outside. Now, I've built in ductwork to vent the laser into an unused chimney. The other big issue is cooling, but I use a 5 gallon bucket of water as a thermal reservoir, and that works for almost all of my projects unless I'm cutting for an hour or more. So, a small laser should be pretty practical for home hobby use.
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  #5  
Old 09-03-2020, 08:53 PM
olDave olDave is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 174
Default Thank you for all that info

$400-ish is not too bad. I might even be able to sneak that past the wife.

I have another qstn:

Are there any particular brands that you would recommend for? (or against?)
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  #6  
Old 09-03-2020, 10:17 PM
DavidQ DavidQ is offline
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I can't help with brand recommendations, as I have limited experience with the different lasers.

There are plenty of websites where people discuss the different laser models, however.
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