New 60W Chinese Laser Cutter. How thick should it be able to cut?

[BrendonV]

Hi all,

I went out on a limb and purchased a 700*500mm 60W CO2 chinese laser cutter.
Was well packaged and easy to get up and running only took about an hour.

Once the machine was setup i thought i would embark on setting the lens focus etc. I placed a piece of mdf down and set the focal distance using the orange spacer provided with the machine. I fired a pulse and it burns a fine dot approx 0.5mm. My first question is.. does this mean my mirrors etc are well aligned?

My second question is i have tried vutting through some 5mm MDF and even at 90% 1mm/sec i cant cut through. Only way i can really get through is by doing multiple passes. Should i be able to get through cleanly in one pass with a 60W laser?

Thank you for any input you might have.

Similar Threads:

• Buying a chinese laser cutter
• Newbie- Chinese laser engraver cutter
• Chinese laser cutter issue
• Laser cutter-- for G10 .093" thick
• HELP - clueless about a chinese LASER cutter

[cinematic2]

Hi all,
Should i be able to get through cleanly in one pass with a 60W laser?

No.

1. Your 60W laser is only SO CALLED 60W. It is at least 50W or less.
2. For 5mm mdf 1 pass clear cut you should use REAL 80W laser.

[fixtureman1]

You should check each mirror for alignment. Then do a slope test to see if your focal tool is accurate. On mine the tool was off by about 5mm from the best cut.

[Bigbird48]

yes you should be able to cut 5mm mdf with one pass with a 60 watt maybe 50 watt laser. I had a 40 watt which was really 30 watts maybe and it cut 1/4 inch plywood 1 pass. 5 mm is a littl over 1/8 inch and you should have no trouble cutting it. You must get your mirror aligned and then get the correct focus point and you'll have no troubl

[Bigbird48]

were did you get this mis info? you don't need 80 watts to cut 5mm MDF or plywood

No.

1. Your 60W laser is only SO CALLED 60W. It is at least 50W or less.
2. For 5mm mdf 1 pass clear cut you should use REAL 80W laser.

[derek3]

check each mirror for alignment，if there is no problem ,then it is OK for 60w laser tube cutting 5mm MDF

[derek3]

and you may pay attertion to the current-controll,the bigger of the current,the quicker of the cutting speed.For 60w laser tube,the best speed is 8mm/s for cutting 5mm MDF

[cncmachine85]

i agree with this point , it shold use 80w laser to cut 5mm MDF , 60w is usually cut 4mm . i sell this type machine ,that is our test .

[fixtureman1]

I can cut 1/4 mdf with my 60 watt at 90% power and 6 mm a second in 1 pass.

[ELaser]

I can cut 1/4 mdf with my 60 watt at 90% power and 6 mm a second in 1 pass.

I just checked my settings and with a 4" lens (which makes for lower power density) I cut 6mm MDF @ 12 mm/sec and 70/75 watts

Drop that power by 25% for a 2.5" lens.

*GOTTA* have good air assist, *any* scorching on the top side you don't have enough air.

I'd be leery of running a tube at 90% power, I personally would cut back to 75% power and see what speed you get and be happy with that.

-------------------------------------------

I had this discussion with someone recently, on a given material I could choose either 15 mm/sec at 45 watts or 7 mm/sec at 30 watts....

Assuming a 1,000 mm cut, that means 1000/15 = 67 secs at 45 watts or 1000/7 = 143 secs at 30 watts.

1 watt = 1 joule / sec so the faster cut is 67 secs x 45 joules = 3,015 joules, and the slower cut is 143 x 30 = 4,290 joules, given that both settings are in the region of below 30% nominal power for my tube and the chiller keeps tube temp within a degree of 18 Celsius either way I'm not cooking anything, but one setting cuts the job time in half, the other settings cuts the tube load to 2/3rds of the other setting, which is great for tube gas life.

20 chargeable hours of laser time buys a new tube though, so it all makes an interesting swings and roundabouts thing.

I end up choosing the slower option where needed where I am looking for a perfect edge, eg acrylic, the faster option where job time and cost count and an ever so slightly less than perfect edge is required, and never run anything at over 75% NOMINAL (not peak) tube power.

Personally I wouldn't bother with anything other than a fresh Reci tube, and at that a good one, e.g. peak power is at least 125% of nominal power.

I (given a choice) prefer hardwood plywood to MDF in any given gauge, takes less power, it smokes less and you get less crap on the blade table blades or honeycomb if doing small parts, just think it is a better material, unless there is a specific reason for choosing MDF over ply.

YMMV etc

[cinematic2]

We use 80W (glass) for 5-6mm DRY plywood to have clean cut with sensible speed.
Wouldn`t even try with such 50W because of slow speed and black edges.
Same quality you can reach with 50W RF.

[Bigbird48]

It may be slow but hey its what he has for a machine ya know. You have to use what you have. My 40 would cut 6.3 mm Baltic birch 1 pass. yes it was slow and had chard edges. The tube was rated 40watts peak which I figure is 30 watts or less running. So telling him NO it won't is wrong it will.
A better solution if he has time would be to cut 2 4mm and glue them. I agree with Elaser that hardwood is a much better choice then MDF. I use Baltic Birch, Cherry, Walnut, and Alder and they all cut easy.

We use 80W (glass) for 5-6mm DRY plywood to have clean cut with sensible speed.
Wouldn`t even try with such 50W because of slow speed and black edges.
Same quality you can reach with 50W RF.

[BrendonV]

Hi all thanks for the feedback. I have taken it all on board and tried many things to rectify the issues. From my research basically I have come to the conclusion that the tube is just not running anywhere near 60w. I have the mirrors perfectly aligned and can't even cut through 3mm ply at 90% power 5mm/sec. I have been speaking with Marco from light object and given the dimensions of the tube its estimated its about a 40 watt tube. I have just ordered a new 80w reci tube and new power supply so hopefully that will get things back on track.

Will let you know when I have the new tube the outcome

[rbstern]

Brendon, you're on the right track. I have the same/similar machine to yours and getting good cutting performance was a problem with the original tube. Marco patiently guided me through the issues and I am now running the 45w/50w tube he sells, and it's cutting through any of the wood or ply products I need cut at 65% power, with excellent consistency.

[3spin3t3]

Hi all I spend all day with the alligments of the mirrors but I can't cut a mdf of 3mm I already try the following parameters

Min 30% Max 85% Speed 20
Min 30% Max 90% Speed 10
Min 30% Max 100% Speed 2

This machine only engraves.??
Thanks for the Help.

[Bigbird48]

you haven't told us anything start a new thread what machine what wattage

Hi all I spend all day with the alligments of the mirrors but I can't cut a mdf of 3mm I already try the following parameters

Min 30% Max 85% Speed 20
Min 30% Max 90% Speed 10
Min 30% Max 100% Speed 2

This machine only engraves.??
Thanks for the Help.

[Bigbird48]

Brendon, Im curious how long is your tube, if its 700mm which Im guessing it is then your looking at about 25 to 28 watts if its 1010mm then its 40 watts.An 80 watt tube will be 1225 mm and 80 mm in Dia. just so you know what you have and what youy should be getting

Hi all thanks for the feedback. I have taken it all on board and tried many things to rectify the issues. From my research basically I have come to the conclusion that the tube is just not running anywhere near 60w. I have the mirrors perfectly aligned and can't even cut through 3mm ply at 90% power 5mm/sec. I have been speaking with Marco from light object and given the dimensions of the tube its estimated its about a 40 watt tube. I have just ordered a new 80w reci tube and new power supply so hopefully that will get things back on track.

Will let you know when I have the new tube the outcome

[3spin3t3]

you haven't told us anything start a new thread what machine what wattage

Thanks I open a new thread

[Ace8421]

Hi all thanks for the feedback. I have taken it all on board and tried many things to rectify the issues. From my research basically I have come to the conclusion that the tube is just not running anywhere near 60w. I have the mirrors perfectly aligned and can't even cut through 3mm ply at 90% power 5mm/sec. I have been speaking with Marco from light object and given the dimensions of the tube its estimated its about a 40 watt tube. I have just ordered a new 80w reci tube and new power supply so hopefully that will get things back on track.

Will let you know when I have the new tube the outcome

hi BrendonV, how did this all turn out in the end as i have been looking at buying a 60w-80w laser cutter

Ace8421