Newbie- Co2 Laser cutting guide or PDF for different power settings and speed

[WooDe]

Hi all, I have been browsing this site for a while, as to looking for a material guide for different settings for my 50watt Co2 laser machine. I imported a Chinese model from Strong Sign Digitech, I could not see anyone here on the forums with any of these models that the company sells, but I did notice that nearly all manufacturers use the same parts so the machines only really vary in looks etc.

The Guide I got with the machine is not very informative because of the bad grammar and lack of information needed for a person that is new to this hobby to understand and operate.

I only want to cut and engrave acrylic of different sizes. The engraving will only be small letters and lines with a font size of about 15 or more. I would like to know if anyone has experience with different speeds and power settings for say white 3mm / 5mm and clear 3mm / 5mm acrylics ?

Another note too, I seen people say the laser tubes you get with the machines from China might not be the best quality, so I am looking to order something reasonable from company that wont break the bank that sells good tubes.

Heres the site and model I purchased if anyone is interested in knowing the specs and model.

http://www.signstech.com/Product_Detail.asp?id=47

Thanks all for your help and information regarding my topic

[LaserImage]

Every machine cuts differently, even from the same manufacturer. The best thing to do is just start experimenting. Start with 100% power and 100% speed and see what you get. If it's not deep enough then decrease the speed by 5% and see what you get. Rinse, lather and repeat.
Same thing with cutting, start out at 100% power and somewhere around 20% speed and decrease by 1% speed until you get the desired cut.

Once you get it all figured out, then you have to take into consideration the color of the acrylic, the temperature, humidity, etc. It's really not too difficult but can take a bit of time. Be sure to write everything down, I used a spreadsheet. The driver for my laser has a way to save profiles that hold the info for each material I vector/raster. I use that and back up the files very regularly.

Good luck!

Gary

[WooDe]

Originally Posted by LaserImage Every machine cuts differently, even from the same manufacturer. The best thing to do is just start experimenting. Start with 100% power and 100% speed and see what you get. If it's not deep enough then decrease the speed by 5% and see what you get. Rinse, lather and repeat. Same thing with cutting, start out at 100% power and somewhere around 20% speed and decrease by 1% speed until you get the desired cut. Once you get it all figured out, then you have to take into consideration the color of the acrylic, the temperature, humidity, etc. It's really not too difficult but can take a bit of time. Be sure to write everything down, I used a spreadsheet. The driver for my laser has a way to save profiles that hold the info for each material I vector/raster. I use that and back up the files very regularly. Good luck! Gary

Hi Gary,

This was the answer I was thinking I was going to get alright. I will do as you state and then il take note of everything. As in regards my software saving profiles, I havent a clue if it does or not, but I will check it out.

Once again thank you very much for your time in replying to my topic!

regards

[DaveDoesIT]

Originally Posted by WooDe Another note too, I seen people say the laser tubes you get with the machines from China might not be the best quality, so I am looking to order something reasonable from company that wont break the bank that sells good tubes.

I used these people about 6 years back. Very good back then, probably still are as they are still in business it seems.

http://www.parallax-tech.com/

Dave

[Huahahahahaha]

i use chinesse laser machine, i used Rabbit laser 60 watt, and so far it's fine.
i could cut acrylic until 10mm with one pass.
also could marking on metal.

[bisjoe]

Originally Posted by WooDe Hi Gary, This was the answer I was thinking I was going to get alright. I will do as you state and then il take note of everything. As in regards my software saving profiles, I havent a clue if it does or not, but I will check it out. Once again thank you very much for your time in replying to my topic! regards

Just for a starting point, with 6mm acrylic on my 45 watt I cut at speed 8 power 100%, engrave at speed 100 power 50.

[WooDe]

Originally Posted by bisjoe Just for a starting point, with 6mm acrylic on my 45 watt I cut at speed 8 power 100%, engrave at speed 100 power 50.

Thanks for the input bisjoe, I have found some good settings for turn power and cut power and also engraving power for 2 types of Acrylic clear and white.

The only problem I am having now is when I cut a piece and then I paint it, I then need to engrave the thing. There is no ruler on the sides so realigning the piece so that it is in the right position for engraving is rather difficult I havent managed to get it right so far and I am running out of materials trying.

Anyone have any tips how you do it ?

regards

[LaserImage]

Originally Posted by WooDe Thanks for the input bisjoe, I have found some good settings for turn power and cut power and also engraving power for 2 types of Acrylic clear and white. The only problem I am having now is when I cut a piece and then I paint it, I then need to engrave the thing. There is no ruler on the sides so realigning the piece so that it is in the right position for engraving is rather difficult I havent managed to get it right so far and I am running out of materials trying. Anyone have any tips how you do it ? regards

There are a lot of different ways of doing that depending on the specific situation. I would consider painting, engraving then cutting the piece. If you are cutting "Part b" out of "part A", then I would fasten part A to the table, cut out b, paint then place b back into A and engrave.

Gary

[bisjoe]

The easiest solution is to cut a piece of sacrificial inexpensive material such as mdf or even card stock as a jig. Cut it with the same file used for your parts.

Tape it to the table in the exact same position the acrylic stock was in when you cut it. After painting insert the parts into the "holes" where they were when cut and everything should be in the right place.

Painting ahead of time, as LaserImage suggests works too, you can apply transfer tape to the face after engraving and then paint the edges. For cut letters I like to use black, paint before cutting, and then leave the edges black for a nice two-tone effect.