Hi, all. New to laser etching, and new to the forum. Have an xtools D1Pro 20w.
I am in the process of creating a sign for someone and I ran a test on an old piece of 1/4" birch I had lying about the shop. The results were awesome. Nice, dark, uniform fills. Lines were nice and dark. Looks like it was printed with a laser printer, only brown. I went to the local big box store and got a piece of 1/4" birch and etched it. Wow, it looks absolutely horrible. My original test piece had darkened with age so I’m wondering if that contributed to the quality of the etching. Similarly, when I tried etching red oak, the darker areas etched much better than the lighter areas. The new piece of birch I purchased is much more bright than the old piece, of course, and it just didn’t etch as well. Just a thought.
Now, I realize that “baltic” birch is not an actual species, but is there really that much of a difference between baltic birch and the stuff you can get at the big box stores?
I also noticed that if the grain was running perpendicular to the laser head, the result was not as good as when the grain was running parallel to it.
I’m also new to this, but I’m constantly reading the forum, learning things and seeing amazing results.
The first thing I draw in conclusion about your result is the difference between new and old wood, especially what I have read in this forum, that not all materials are the same, even if it is the same material but from different purchases.
Everything influences, the amount of moisture it has, the beta, the hardness, ambient temperature, etc., etc. will influence the wood.
I myself have noticed in the few things that I have made the difference that there is from one piece of wood to another.
Recommendation as I understand it and correct me if I am confused, for each new purchase of material, first carry out a first test so as not to get unwanted surprises in the results.
Excuse me, I don’t understand much English, text translated by translator.
I will also add something to this theme.
I work a lot with plywood and have a fair amount of experience with this type of wood.
For construction tasks I use something called B/BB, it is the “second best” quality of balic birch. Baltic birch plywood does not have to come from the Baltics, but if they want to call themselves BB then they must (here) comply with the “DIN EN 636” standard which qualifies the different types. As subcategories there are e.g. aero BB, interior and exterior…
As the most important mark for laser-suitable plywood, it must be interior. A bright glue is used here, which is not suitable for external use. “Craftsman” plywood used in the construction industry is typically exterior, i.e. for outdoor use. The glue is darker and typically a multi-component glue which becomes very glaze-like hard. This type is not suitable for laser machines for hobby use. (If you have a powerful CO2 laser, it can also cut through this material, here we are talking about industrial machines.)
Typically you can see a lousy cutting edge with this plywood and hotspots with pockets of knots and glue.
For my lamps I use 0.8mm, 3-layer aeroplywood from Finland, it’s the best money can buy, B/BB for the rest. I don’t want to deal with bad material or spend oceans of time finishing the laser cut parts.
p.s. there are also variations in A/BB and B/BB, but not at all to the extent of standard plywood.
p.s. 2. - engraving is also different on exterior BB because the surface is covered with glue during the production of outdoor plywood. It will be dried off later in the process, but a more or less layer will always be on this type of wood.