I have a project that has a detail that jerks when the laser moves too quickly and it causes the rest of the design to shift. I’ve separated out that bit in the file so I can slow just that part down and still score quickly for the rest, but is there any way other than trial/error to match the look of the score? So if my original score was at 500/20, and I want it to slow down to 100 for one part, is there any math formula to make the two look the same? I tried proportional with 100/4 and it was way too dark and it burned.
I really don’t want to score the whole design slowly, since it’s already 30 minutes at 500, I just want to slow down the one part.
I don’t know of any simple formula to quickly determine what would look the same. I suggest running a couple of tests at the slower speed on some scraps until you have dialed it in. Don’t slow the speed from 500 to 100. Try a smaller change in the speed increment until you stop the shifting, then adjust the power to get the right look.
Thanks, yeah I just had to go with trial and error. Turns out 200/3 looks pretty close to 500/30, but I haven’t tested to see if that scales and I could do 200/8 to match 500/80.
Did I spend more time figuring out the correct settings than I saved by keeping the speed high for most of the design? I needed to do the thing 3 times, so I’m already at 90 minutes- Now I am tempted to see how much time it would take with the whole job at 200/3, and if the 20-30 minutes I spent figuring this out was worth it…lol!
Yeah and I just realized I was kinda rushing too. What I meant by “suck it up” is that for me, a consistent end result is my top priority. I’d rather set up a longer single job and let it run than try to match the score quality, which will be really tricky to get it perfect.
Of course that’s fine if it is a one off hobby thing but if you’re really trying to shave off time to do larger production runs I can totally see why you’d be looking to get the total job time down.
The design shifts because something is not properly tied down. I have had that problem, but did not understand that at the time, and slowed the cut. Having perspective on the time taken is something some folks have a problem with. Engraving that takes more than four hours or 3Dprinting that can take days, and from that perspective 90 minutes is quite quick.
I needed to do the thing 3 times, so I’m already at 90 minutes- Now I am tempted to see how much time it would take with the whole job at 200/3, and if the 20-30 minutes I spent figuring this out was worth it…lol!