Laser recommendations that are 100% Lightburn compatible

[myklhn (Michael)]

Most of what I do is cut using my laser. Also, each individual laser head that has multiple diodes will be different; some will be rectangular in shape, some will be more of a rounded square, and yet others are somewhere in between (I was lucky and my 30W setting has a kerf of about 0.18mm x 0.18mm, so I have one of the rounded square). The more diodes there are, the more likely the resulting beam will be larger. Anything past a single diode runs the risk of getting a rectangular output.

BTW, a 10W should be able to handle 3mm or less cutting, although it will be a bit slower than a higher powered laser and may take more than one pass. I did an experiment with my 30W using both 10W and 30W settings for some cut tests. A 30W laser is NOT 3 times as fast as a 10W. The larger beam effective diameter distributes the power over a larger area and that cuts down on effective cutting power. I found the 30W setting was just a litlte under 2 times as fast as the 10W setting.

[MikeyH (Mike Hembrey)]

@myklhn

A 30W laser is NOT 3 times as fast as a 10W. The larger beam effective diameter distributes the power over a larger area and that cuts down on effective cutting power. I found the 30W setting was just a litlte under 2 times as fast as the 10W setting.

I was going to do a write-up on this, but you pretty much covered it. I have 10, 20, and 40 watts as options over the three machines. I call my 10w machine the Scalpel and the 40w one the Chainsaw.

[jkwilborn (Jack Wilborn)]

@myklhn

single diode runs the risk of getting a rectangular output

I don’t know of any diodes, single or multiple, that have a round output… It’s essentially like the emitter shape, square or rectangular.

Some of these specify a 0.05x0.08mm beam size… you can use kerf, but it changes with each type of material… Most co2 have a spot size of around 0.20mm or larger. Kerf is usually somewhat larger.