Proofgrade 1/4 inch (Thick) acrylic settings

[nickstock]

Quick question for the Glowverse…cutting 1/4 inch proofgrade acrylic usually gives a slant to the cut due to the kerf/focus of the laser. I’ve read that several passes at lower power/higher speed ameliorates this problem somewhat (need to try it…)…but I’m curious as to why this isn’t a setting enabled by default for the proofgrade materials? Am I missing something obvious here?

Cheers,

Nick

[Jules]

Yep.

Default settings are set for safety considerations for beginner users, not appearance of the kerf profile. (If you get to be advanced enough using the machine to understand kerf, you’re advanced enough to set up your own manual settings.)

[nickstock]

Thanks for the swift response Jules! I will do some test runs then on some 1/4 inch and try some multiple pass profiles…any pointers? (no point re-inventing the wheel…

Nick

[Jules]

I’d give them to you if I had them, but I have not actually done a lot of work with thick acrylic…but I know @mpipes has done a ton of work with some very thick stuff for his trike. Hang on…link to his post…

Manual 3D Engrave Settings - ProofGrade Thick Clear Acrylic

295 Speed 80% Power Map Grays to Power Min Power 0 340 LPI Focus Height 0.356" (defocused 0.120" over factory PG setting) 2 Passes I have to re-visit the depth map file because both eyes should have been completely clear and the stitching over the mouth should be clear as well but that detail is so tiny it just got washed out in the laser process. Think I might try this again without defocusing at all so those details dont get burned out. I included a photo looking into the edge of the a…

[ivan1]

I’m happy to see that you’re getting some excellent advice on this topic from @Jules ! Since your machine is operating as expected, this question is outside our team’s scope. I’ve moved it to the Beyond the Manual so the discussion can continue there.

[nickstock]

Hi folks, I’ve been ‘experimenting’ with different speeds/powers for getting a smoother cut on the 1/4 acrylic. Here’s what I’ve found to be pretty good so far. Speed 125, Power 85, 2 pass, Focus height set at 1/4 inch…see picture…can you guess which is the proof grade setting?

Cheers,

Nick

[Jules]

Nice result! I’m going to go ahead and tag this with “Settings” so folks can find it when they are working 1/4" acrylic.

[kittski]

Nicely done! My go to for .25 acrylic is 175/full 2 passes.

[nickstock]

I will have to try that!! Thanks!

[nickstock]

Thanks Jules!

[Xabbess]

I really appreciate this info. I use a lot of acrylic and in fact just this evening was cutting 1/4". I am definitely going to try both combos of settings posted on here. Thank you!