One of the most complicated aspects to consider when laser-cutting is the delicate balance between translational speed and laser power. We want to cut as fast as possible, but are there times when it is best to slow down? The short answer is: “definitely yes”.
We are going to share with our maker community the effects that speed and power have on cut width, kerf angle and engraving depth. This will be the first edition of an ongoing series of articles, with help from Mako.
For example I’m trying to get a dark engrave on a piece of maple hardwood, without cutting too deep… the tests look great, but when I ‘full size’ the design it’s going to take 2 hrs? Would have been good if they did a graph that showed “equivalent energy deposited” based upon speed/power settings. - example, if I’m at 550 speed / 35 power, how would I adjust to go ‘faster’ with the same result?
The article had great technical info, but, needs to be translated a bit into “practical”…