What is typical engraving speed?

[bdring]

I am building my own laser engraver/cutter. What is the maximum speed (ipm) I should plan for when engraving. I have seen some videos and they appear to move pretty fast. I plan to use a 35W laser initially then upgrade to a more powerful one.

Currently I am running at 2000ipm with an acceleration of 300.

See my buildlog here....

http://www.buildlog.net/cnc_laser/index.html

[zax15uk]

You have plenty of speed.

Well it depends on material, but I typically run at around 10-12 cm/s for engraving (~280IPM) wood or Acrylic at 10W.

Vector cutting is slower.

Zax.

[bdring]

Thanks Zax,

What is the typical stepover to the next pass? I know it probably has a lot to do with focus, material, etc. I am just wondering what a typical value might be.

[zax15uk]

You are correct, step over does vary based on material but 0.1mm is a good target. The spot size on my laser is 0.1 to 0.2mm depending on focus.

Zax.

[bdring]

So if I do my calculations right, it would take 30-40seconds to engrave a 1" x 1" area at 280 ipm and 0.1mm stepover.

[zax15uk]

Probably a little longer, when accounting for the over travel and decel/accel at the ends of each line.

You could go faster, I'd say 2X that speed if needed by increasing the laser power, it all depends how deep you want the result.

Zax.