According to pin 8… “Positively” 
The SHX fonts are one laser beam wide. That is the deal with them. Pulling up he focus back can reach a wider beam, but it will change the energy transfer (needs more power for same result)
Thanks for the tips. I’m pretty close to being happy with the latest result so tweaking the settings as you say may push me over the finish line. I have been using Rust-Oleum 2X satin and the smell is pretty bad but nowhere as bad as the acrylic. I am building a charcoal filter box to eliminate the fumes out of the machine so I am hoping to be able to use whatever paint or coating works best. I have a great paint setup and guns as I paint cars. I am planning on painting full or half sheets before cutting them into strips to fit my machine. Someday I will buy a bigger machine to take full sheets but I just don’t have the space. I have a 4X8 CNC machine that I may convert but that’s a headache that I don’t need right now.
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Thank you again. I still need to work with the focus (De-Focus) but I am very close to being happy with the look of the text. This certainly has been a great learning experience and I can’t thank everyone enough for their help. I had seen a “dithering” setting somewhere, perhaps it was Artcam? That would be the answer to the worlds problems if it was in Lightburn. 
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Hi Chris, it’s great that there is progress in your project.
Just for your information, SHX is made to be a “single line font”, that is, they are not intended and cannot be used with fill function. (you can’t fill a line)
My suggestion would be to find a better SHX font and defocus even more, with a little more (customized) power ;-
Important, try to reduce your airflow to an absolute minimum, just enough to keep the lens clean.
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I would stick with your current method. Your engraving already looks great.
Adding defocus would make things less defined. I definitely had the best results when I had most crisp edges as possible. The small text is just hard to get defined. It takes as much luck as it does practice.
I for one would not recommend single line fonts for this purpose. In fact I usually use bold text to allow a little bit more fill. Choosing a font that has good crisp edges and not too too much detail is also a great idea. I think you’re already well on your way to good results.
I’ve also had good results using a 60 degree V bit on the CNC machine. That results in some really nice crisp text. It also picks up the light really well with the V profile
…not sure what you mean here,
Everything I do with my laser is done exclusively with LightBurn. For example. the little test for engraving, small square in array set to fill with the parameters I specifically want to test, like line spacing, defocus, speed, and power settings. I could have used LB internal material test but in this case a little homemade setup was more functional/faster for me.
PS, that my values matched your machine is pure luck and very rare. I have a 60W OMT CO2 Laser.
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I have a different approach to this. I will test until I find the ideal solution - and I know it exists 
Chrise’s fine project deserves a perfect result.
Definitely. I would always hope we get the best results possible. Its always extremely satisfying to see a good project get better.
I have quite a bit of practice in with backlit signs and face plates etc. I do know from experience that not all acrylic is created equal too. So your results may vary.
Looking forward to see how this one turns out.
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Thank you for the vote of confidence. I was wondering about the airflow affecting the texture of the acrylic. However, on the flip side I wonder if the air is blowing the ash out of the mix as the paint burns off. I wish there was a way to inject a fog into the airflow system to visually see the flow rate. I have just ordered a flow meter, solenoid and pressure regulator to replace the cheap compressor and needle valve attached to the laser head. I will use a “real” compressor to feed it. This should make it easier to adjust and have repeatable/documentable results. I understand that I can turn the laser head tube over to get the nozzle farther away from the substrate. I may try this to get the lens farther from the smoke and reduce the airflow around the paint and acrylic. I also have a compressed air cooler that I can put in line which can possibly reduce the melting but I am not sure if that will just negate the burning process overall. This sure has been a learning process!
I will search for better fonts, test them and post the results as time permits. Thank you again. Chris.
Ah, My machine is a 60W Boss LS so we are pretty much on the same page. 
I had first went the CNC route but the characters are pretty small and the centers of the O’s and B’s etc. would tend to flake off no matter what speed I ran. The acrylic would also build up goo on the cutter and mis-shape the letters as well. I understand that there is some kind of cutter that is used for shaping gold that could be an option but I’d rather make the panel 100% in one setup on the laser. I think I am on the right path and with a bit more experimenting it will be okay.
I haven’t taken into account that you blow the paint residue away, that of course requires some air. But otherwise applies to acrylic, as little air as possible when cutting to avoid the acrylic welding together again (when cutting). Acrylic does not burn, it evaporates when cutting and also partially when engraving. It is a little different for engraving, here it should look like engraving on slate, with white dust around the engraving.
With all (?) other materials you can hardly get enough dry compressed air for good cutting results.
I don’t know the nozzle system from your laser (a picture would help) but I don’t have the option to lower or raise the nozzle from the material, without changing my focus, but there are other lenses with shorter or longer focal points that make it possible.
Regarding the similarities of our machines, I think that your Boss machine has a real 60 watt tube, where mine is only nominally 60Watt and equals approx. 55 watts in reality which is still very fine for my work.
Being an electronics guy, I am curious. What does your project do?
Its for old tube equipment. It reduces the line voltage to 105 or 110V from the nowadays 120V. It also ramps up the voltage when switched on so as not to shock the transformers, filaments and power supply caps. It is done linearly so as not to distort the outputted sine wave which could stress the power transformer in the device(s) connected. It also can sleep and sense a load which will switch on the power of a second or third connected device. There are both ramped and instant 100% on outlets on the back. Either can sense a load and turn on or off the other. Tons of work went into the design and it works very well. A prototype has been running daily in my shop running a tube amplifier for well over a year.
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That is so cool! Too bad they quit making most tubes. They give amps a sound quality that transistors cannot duplicate. And that ramp up gives tube filaments an extended life for sure.
I did an Amateur Radio meeting demo with Lightburn recently. Told them about making front panels and laser cut boxes for projects. A $15 plastic box can be made for under $3 using Baltic plywood. You can cut out the holes and put on the labels all in one operation. They ate it up!
Thanks for sharing your project.
kv0oom
Yep, I’m a huge tube audio guy. I also run some vintage Ham equipment. Some amps are worth thousands so protecting them is important. I live 25 minutes from the ARRL. (: Great that you did a presentation on Lightburn. Even better that they liked it! Great that you are involved. Chris. KC1KWX
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Nice, I worked as a repair tech for a music store for many years. We serviced lots of vintage tube amplifiers. Lots of restorations and power supply upgrades. Bias adjustments and tube matching etc. I still have all my tube servicing gear. Big ol load bank and variac… tube tester. Nice old B&K analog scope.
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Nice, It is interesting that laser guys and tube amps seem to somehow come together. I have about 35 amplifiers so I am definitely sick. 
I am designing a new age tube amp line with a screen to monitor all voltages and current in the output section. It will definitely have a cool factor too with virtual VU meters and much more. The amps controller will watch for anything going astray and keep it in check. If the issue is too big and may cause damage the amp will shut itself down. I recently bought out two bankrupt electronic manufacturing companies and in the deals I even got a few transformer winders. I’m hitting the ground running and need to build out a space for the endeavor so that I can get the assembly line set up but it seems that I keep coming back here so that I can finish the first case design instead. In my world everything needs a cool factor. I used to be an engineer for the auto industry and developed some of the cool electronics used in cars. After seeing my ideas being patented and being sold for millions I decided to go out on my own. Here I am. I have another electronics business that is keeping me afloat while getting the new venture going. Its been two years in the making but I’m very close to launching. Three designs are complete except for the case styles. Again, here I am. Like they say. If you build it they will come. I sure hope so.
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Very cool. Good quality output transformers are dreadfully expensive, cough! “hammond”
All of us audio nerds I have some kind of sickness… I like to build speakers so I may have multiple shelves full of components. also may have several sets of prototype speakers. I am retired from live audio engineering and dabble in hifi now.