Hello all, so I am making little paper sculptures. I’ve been using a 10w diode laser for this and 130lb different colored cardstock (about 0.45-0.48mm thick brand is Legion Colorplan) I am getting a small amount of charring on the sides that I’m trying to eliminate. I also have to test each color a bunch to find specific settings for each color. I’ve been doing lots of research to try and remedy this problem and I’m just sort of lost.
From what I gather diode lasers are more user friendly but because of the wavelength they struggle with white cardstock and lighter colors. I love the kerf because it’s so small on a 10w and I do lots of tiny details but I also have to make 4 passes to get a cleaner cut and that takes quite some time. I hope to eventually start a business and time will be a factor in the future. Which brings me to c02. I’ve read but never used one - apparently they are better with lighter colors and the entry level ones have higher power and the “laser head” is lighter so I could probably go faster and not have to tweak settings for each different color but also harder to manage (maybe especially for beginners like me?) although I consider myself a tinkerer and relatively fast learner.
But I’m here asking for some suggestions. Do I need a higher watt diode so I can do less passes and go quicker - but will this bring more char to my projects? Is a c02 laser better? My kerf currently is about .10mm so 0.05mm on each side. I’m currently using an Xtool s1 10w which also has issue with light burn (triangle issue).
Basically to recap I’m looking for a relatively quick cut with very little to 0 charring (items are glued after so it really mixes with any charring leaving my models with small streaks of black) and a kerf similar to what I’m currently using for detailed parts. Any suggestions or help is very much appreciated while I continue my research. I will only be using the laser for cardstock so I’m not worried about upgrading to thicker materials in the future or anything like that.
I’m really hoping to have someone who has lots of experience with just thick cardstock/paper or who uses a laser for a business that cuts cardstock, but any help is appreciated. I see lots of companies using lasers for paper and I know what I’m asking is possible I just can’t quite pin down the solution here. Thanks again.
However, one problem you will encounter with tiny shapes cut at high speeds is the inherent flex in the machine’s structure. These 1 mm and 2 mm circular holes identified the paper layer, with the 5 mm hole fitting an alignment pin in the assembly fixture:
The nominal speed for those cuts was 300 mm/s, which the laser obviously can’t reach around such tiny holes, but the 500 mm/s “idle” speed between the cuts also affects the outcome.
You’ll see wobbles in small linear shapes like those einsteins:
While the wobbles are visible if you know what you’re looking for and search for trouble, they’re not obvious at normal viewing distances. Cutting at lower speeds will reduce the wobbles, which requires a correspondingly lower laser power, so a machine intended strictly for paper cutting should have a relatively low power tube, rather than the nastiest tube you can afford.
I’d say the cuts are clean enough for artwork, but I’m not really an artist, so don’t depend on me!
So if you slowed down the speed the wobbles would subside? I currently am doing about 50mm/s and 4 passes so even 50mm/s at one pass would be an upgrade on time for me haha. What’s the kerf on your 60w c02 if you happen to know? Those are really cool pieces! I am making little models so the pieces get glued directly on the side of the paper sometimes and even a tiny amount of char can mix with the glue and smear/smudge etc …
I cut a lot of cardstock on my laser. I have a Universal Laser Systems VLS6.60 with a 1.5" lense. This laser doesn’t use Lightburn, but does a good job cutting cardstock. The 1.5" lense leaves a minimum kerf - about 0.005" beam width. It’s a very accurate laser with a RF tube verses a glass tube.
My laser cuts 32" x 18", but I primarily work with 12" x 12" colored cardstock. I do some larger pieces that are 18" x 18" before matte and frame. I get virtually no scorching on the back. You can barely see the laser beam when cutting the cardstock I use.
If I was getting started in paper cutting today, I would probably purchase a ThunderLaser Bolt. The work area is 20" x 12" and it uses a 30 watt RF tube with a 1.5" lense and Lightburn. I have only read about them, but I like that they use a 1.5" lense, and should get a decent cut on cardstock with a 30 watt.
I attached files so you can see how it visually looks in LB, and Inkscape SVG,
and with the cardstock I use. LB is limited to 29 colors, but it is good enough for a visual representation. RS494.lbrn2 (2.8 MB)
The acceleration is likely more important than the speed, so you’d want to fiddle with both. Speed is “how fast it flies” and acceleration is “how hard it takes off”: think of the difference between a minivan and a sports car. Both get you to the speed limit, but the sports car will bounce your head off the headrest in the process.
With the stock 2 inch lens, it’s a little under 0.2 mm = 8 mils in most thin materials. A 1.5 inch lens would likely make it smaller, perhaps around @RalphU’s 5 mils = 0.13 mm, but I would not expect miracles.
The key advantage of an RF laser is being able to throttle the power more-or-less linearly to zero for delicate materials. My CO₂ tube does not fire below about 8% and is emphatically not linear above that range.
The additional cost of an RF laser machine from a reputable USA-ian supplier will be worthwhile if you’re more interested in cutting paper than tinkering with machinery. A (relatively) cheap CO₂ laser made sense for me, as it’s basically a parts kit resembling a laser delivered to my doorstep for a little over three kilobucks and I could indulge my tinkering jones.
Thanks for the info! I think that laser is a bit out of my budget. I was looking at something like an omtech k40 because I don’t need a very large work area
