Newbie- Laser engraving, burns acrylic (plexiglass)
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:15 am
Howdy,
I've had the SD110 for about 5 months and it's been damn cold in the shed, so I've not been out there as much as I wanted to. I do have a heater so I've braved many days to take a shot at engraving on plexiglass.
I've searched these many posts, for information about tips and hints to be successful in getting a reasonable engraved name in 1/8" thick plexiglass but haven't found the information that solves my dilemma.
I have the SD110 with the 2W Next Wave laser module and created jobs using VCarve desktop 11.09. I don't have the laser software add-on yet, I'm working with Nextwave to get the trial version first.
I've used tips learned in posts but haven't found the sweet spot to etch the plexiglass without burning either the top layer or the sacraficial board underneath. I've attached an image of the burn. The image is text that was turned into a tool path using the "Quick engrave" tool. I've adjusted the RPM from 400 to 800 (laser power out where 1000RPM is max). At 400 RPM which I presume is 40% laser power, the top of the plexiglass is burned unevenly ( some letters don't even burn/etch the top of the plexi) and the sacraficial board underneath is also burnt.
Here are the settings:
Quick engrave
tool chosen: Engraving (15 degree)
tool settings: Pass depth .01, Stepover .001, spindle speed(laser power) 800, feed rate 15 mm/sec,
Text Fill chosen with Hatch at 22.5 degrees, cross hatch selected.
Depth / pressure .001
My Machine SD110 is in the machine area
PP is Next Wave Laser (inch)(.tap) Am I not moving the laser fast enough (feed rate)? Would the laser software add-on help with this? Am I expecting too much from the 2W laser module?
I was hoping for a deeper cleaner cut, but it looks like the laser is just going through the plexiglass. Using alcohol on the burn areas lightens the carbon burn a little but it doesn't go away.
I tried putting some painters tape on the top side of the plexiglass, in hopes it would just burn through the tape and etch the plexi, but it just made a mess of the tape.
I'm sure this is something simple that I've over looked.
I'm attempting to capture my results (both good and bad) in an excel sheet so I can keep track of the variables.
Thanks for your time in reading this far.
Constructive tips, hints and suggestions are very welcome.
Cheers
FB
I've had the SD110 for about 5 months and it's been damn cold in the shed, so I've not been out there as much as I wanted to. I do have a heater so I've braved many days to take a shot at engraving on plexiglass.
I've searched these many posts, for information about tips and hints to be successful in getting a reasonable engraved name in 1/8" thick plexiglass but haven't found the information that solves my dilemma.
I have the SD110 with the 2W Next Wave laser module and created jobs using VCarve desktop 11.09. I don't have the laser software add-on yet, I'm working with Nextwave to get the trial version first.
I've used tips learned in posts but haven't found the sweet spot to etch the plexiglass without burning either the top layer or the sacraficial board underneath. I've attached an image of the burn. The image is text that was turned into a tool path using the "Quick engrave" tool. I've adjusted the RPM from 400 to 800 (laser power out where 1000RPM is max). At 400 RPM which I presume is 40% laser power, the top of the plexiglass is burned unevenly ( some letters don't even burn/etch the top of the plexi) and the sacraficial board underneath is also burnt.
Here are the settings:
Quick engrave
tool chosen: Engraving (15 degree)
tool settings: Pass depth .01, Stepover .001, spindle speed(laser power) 800, feed rate 15 mm/sec,
Text Fill chosen with Hatch at 22.5 degrees, cross hatch selected.
Depth / pressure .001
My Machine SD110 is in the machine area
PP is Next Wave Laser (inch)(.tap) Am I not moving the laser fast enough (feed rate)? Would the laser software add-on help with this? Am I expecting too much from the 2W laser module?
I was hoping for a deeper cleaner cut, but it looks like the laser is just going through the plexiglass. Using alcohol on the burn areas lightens the carbon burn a little but it doesn't go away.
I tried putting some painters tape on the top side of the plexiglass, in hopes it would just burn through the tape and etch the plexi, but it just made a mess of the tape.
I'm sure this is something simple that I've over looked.
I'm attempting to capture my results (both good and bad) in an excel sheet so I can keep track of the variables.
Thanks for your time in reading this far.
Constructive tips, hints and suggestions are very welcome.
Cheers
FB