Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

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chapklc
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Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by chapklc »

I am seeking to cutout a laser cut file on 1/8" baltic birch using the laser.
I can engrave without any difficulty. What I can't seem to do is cut through the 1/8" wood.
I am using the g2 lens and I have tried various power, speed, and number of passes, and the most I can get is 1/4 through the wood.
Does anyone else make these type of cuts? Please advise. thanks.

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adze_cnc
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by adze_cnc »

chapklc wrote:
Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:08 am
using the laser
What laser would that be?

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Tex_Lawrence
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by Tex_Lawrence »

Are you using a baltic birch plywood?

I use a 7 watt JTECH laser. It will eventually burn through, but it isn’t all that easy. I’ve burned pockets through 0.1” plywood. It usually takes 8 passes at a slow pace. Lots of smoke.
Tex — Crooked Wood Products
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wilkigr
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by wilkigr »

Although this is not a Vectric solution, make sure that your laser is perfectly focused. The include gauge is not accurate enough. I suggest using the "ramp method" recommended by the LAHobbyGuy.

Also, allowing Z to lower between passes will help.

chapklc
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by chapklc »

I don't see a way on vectric laser module to set z step depth... Or is this something I have to do manually?

chapklc
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by chapklc »

adze_cnc wrote:
Sat Sep 03, 2022 1:28 am
chapklc wrote:
Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:08 am
using the laser
What laser would that be?
I'm using the Sienci Labs 6w laser on the side of my CNC router.

chapklc
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by chapklc »

Tex_Lawrence wrote:
Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:18 pm
Are you using a baltic birch plywood?

I use a 7 watt JTECH laser. It will eventually burn through, but it isn’t all that easy. I’ve burned pockets through 0.1” plywood. It usually takes 8 passes at a slow pace. Lots of smoke.
Yes, using baltic birch. I did 100 passes with 100% power at a rate of .25 in/sec and finally got through, but the burn path was so wide that on a larger project, a regular bit is going to be better.
But I have intricate cut-through detail I need to accomplish and even using the 1/16" fem will break the wood. :::sigh:::
I hear about people doing laser cutting all the time. I guess I thought it would be able to handle 1/8" baltic birch.
I did order some 1/16" baltic birch, maybe that would make a difference.
The other thing I considered was that it is the software, the vectric module. Like I mentioned somewhere, I don't see a way to indicate how much to laser per pass depth. I took a look at other laser software... and gracious... another software to have to learn.

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Tex_Lawrence
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by Tex_Lawrence »

chapklc wrote:
Sat Sep 03, 2022 6:39 pm
… I hear about people doing laser cutting all the time. I guess I thought it would be able to handle 1/8" baltic birch.
Laser “cutting” is generally done with a desktop machine using a 30watt and up non-diode laser. Think of your laser as a precision engraver. You’ll be more satisfied using it that way.
Tex — Crooked Wood Products
Now there's a man with an open mind – you can feel the breeze from here.

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adze_cnc
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Re: Laser Cutout with Aspire (current) & Laser Module

Post by adze_cnc »

Many of these laser modules come with Light Burn or some other such software. Have you tried cutting through your 1/8” (more like 3mm) BB ply with that software?

If those dedicated software packages have a difficult time so will the laser module here. If they don’t have a difficult time what’s the difference between the two?

You also might want to look at a few minutes of this video (link starts at 5:49)

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