Cutting line size issue

Hi All,

I’m new to using laser cutting. I have been 3D printing for some years so ok with using Tec.

I have a Atomstack A5 30W and using LightBurn 0.9.24.

I’m trying to make some paint masks for a 1/5 scale radio controlled model aircraft using Aslan 85k film. The problem I’m having is the horizontal cuts are wider than the vertical cuts, (see picture) I’m not sure if its the cheep laser cutter I have or the LightBurn settings.

Any help would be much appreciated.

That is a diode laser. The beam from a higher watt diode laser is usually rectangular.

This is true, but with a properly focused diode laser this should not be noticeable to the naked eye on a cut of that size. Have you focused the laser to your work piece?

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Its a Fixed focus laser you adjust the hight of the laser head using a 2mm sheet to set the hight off the item to be worked on.
It says in the doc the laser 0.3x0.5 focus point as this is a rectangle could this be the issue?

I will (always) do a ramp test to find the exact focal point. Diode laser`s efficiency is quite sensitive regarding the optimal focus point. And it is correct that your focal point is not round. at my 5.5W diode the w / h ratio is approx. 3: 2, but I have also seen 4: 2 - 6: 2 which is not uncommon with the larger laser diodes.

This is what I am seeing as well, but the “higher watt” is not the case. This is true with all diode-based lasers.

image

Figure 1: The structure of a laser diode causes the elliptical beam shape typically associated with laser diodes.

https://www.edmundoptics.com/knowledge-center/application-notes/lasers/fundamentals-of-lasers/

And another…

image

Laser Diode Fundamentals: Beam Properties

Whether a diode laser is a traditional monolithic design or utilizes an external cavity configuration, the laser light must still propagate through the diode’s PN-junction via a ridge waveguide. As a result, the beam profile of edge emitting diodes is unique when compared to all laser sources because of the asymmetric geometry of this optical cavity. This issue often leads to confusion about how to properly integrate open beam laser diodes into your system, so to help this blog aims to elaborate on the information provided in our Lasers 101 section by explaining the physical principles. We will start by briefly reviewing PN-junctions, and then we will explore the role of the ridge waveguide. Finally, we will conclude with an overview of common optical tricks for dealing with asymmetric laser beams.

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