Laser cutter/Materials: Difference between revisions
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The laser can do three things - cut, mono etch and grayscale etch. The settings below will be for a specific action. If you use another material of method, update this page with your findings! | The laser can do three things - cut, mono etch and grayscale etch. The settings below will be for a specific action. If you use another material of method, update this page with your findings! | ||
The values on this page have been tested, but are ''guidelines''. Always stay with the laser when it is running, and use your common sense! | The values on this page have been tested, but are '''guidelines'''. Always stay with the laser when it is running, and use your common sense! | ||
== Wood == | == Wood == | ||
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This is the plywood available by the laser cutter. | This is the plywood available by the laser cutter. | ||
==== Cutting ==== | |||
350 power, 12 mm/s gives a nice clean cut. If there are knots in the ply it may not cut all the way through, you can reduce the speed to 14mm/s to compensate for this. | |||
==== Mono Etching ==== | |||
==== Grayscale Etching ==== | |||
400 power, 200mm/s with Bottom Depth = 1 and Top Depth = 250 gives a nice image with a black depth of around 0.5mm and white depth of 0. This will require sanding afterwards. | |||
At 350 power but all the other settings the same, the black depth is around 0.35mm. This will work fine for high contrast images. | |||
=== 3mm MDF === | === 3mm MDF === | ||
Revision as of 14:02, 23 May 2012
Introduction
This page is a list of materials that can be cut or engraved on the Nottinghack laser cutter, along with information on cutting speeds and power settings. Other useful information is also provided.
This page is currently being updated as we now have the 000-999 dial for power settings. Always make sure the zero position is showing as 000, if not, adjust the below values accordingly.
The laser can do three things - cut, mono etch and grayscale etch. The settings below will be for a specific action. If you use another material of method, update this page with your findings!
The values on this page have been tested, but are guidelines. Always stay with the laser when it is running, and use your common sense!
Wood
3mm Birch Laser Ply
This is the plywood available by the laser cutter.
Cutting
350 power, 12 mm/s gives a nice clean cut. If there are knots in the ply it may not cut all the way through, you can reduce the speed to 14mm/s to compensate for this.
Mono Etching
Grayscale Etching
400 power, 200mm/s with Bottom Depth = 1 and Top Depth = 250 gives a nice image with a black depth of around 0.5mm and white depth of 0. This will require sanding afterwards.
At 350 power but all the other settings the same, the black depth is around 0.35mm. This will work fine for high contrast images.
3mm MDF
This is the MDF available by the laser cutter.
Paper and Card
Thin Cardboard
- Cutting Speed: 30 mm/s
- Laser Current: 4mA
These values were found using with 160gsm black card. Other gsm values may require changes to the speed and power.