Just got this A5 M50 Pro after watching dozens of videos of it cutting 3mm or thicker plywood right out of the box. I am using LightBurn and one pass at 100mm/min 100% laser doesn’t even burn deep enough to feel the cut with a sharp object. Thinking it was something with LightBurn, I loaded the included dog cut file from Atomstack on the TF card and tried it from the offline controller. Same result. The marking on the dogs body are cut more deeply than the outline that should have cut clear through. I am wondering if my laser is defective.
Make a square in LightBurn with the cut settings that you used. Then go to “Save gcode” in Laser window and save the code with a .txt extension and upload the file here. Will review to see if there’s something going on there.
It is sometimes hard to figure out what setting conflicts are causing unexpected results with laser power output. I had this problem with my A5 M50 40W machine, and at one point would get “burning” bright laser output when in framing mode, but barely engraving output when trying to cut at slow speed and (what I thought was) 100% output.
Part of my problem was that I was using two computers (and therefore two different instances of LightBurn) to set up my projects. The other problem turned out to be that I had inconsistent values set for $30 and the LaserMax settings in both instances of Lightburn. When I finally got that sorted out, the program cuts and engraves marvelously.
Also, if you have made setting changes, and especially if you have made them to both the machine and LB, reboot them both before you again try cutting/engraving with the new settings.
The gcode looks fine so the laser is getting the proper commands.
So if you’re not getting the cutting performance you expect it’s likely an issue downstream from LightBurn: controller, laser module, power supply…
I’d suggest checking for the basics. Is this a brand new laser or did it used to work as expected?
Check the lens to see if it’s dirty or damaged. Clean if necessary.
Are you setting the focus properly
Confirm that you’re able to modulate power of the laser using the Fire button in Move window. Does increasing/decreasing power level there make the light brighter/dimmer?
If you don’t have an issue with the above then check that the power supply is providing required voltage. You could also check voltage of PWM out of controller to make sure it’s generating the correct signal for the laser module. Also confirm that the connectors for the laser module are well seated and undamaged.
It is a new machine. I will check those things when I get back to the shop.
Physically, everything seems to be fine and I am using the included clear spacer for laser focus.
Oddly, the “fire” button does not appear as it did with my previous little rinky dink laser, nor does the laser light during framing?? Any idea why? LightBurn did not fin anything when it searched. I added a grbl manually just as I had with my old one.
Update. This seems crazy but as I continued to work with the laser it seemed to get more and more effective. Almost like it was breaking in. I also determined the plywood I was initially testing with seems to be burn resistant. It isn’t fire rated wood, but it really resists being cut. However, even that wood is now cutting for the most part. This makes no sense to me but all I have done was continue to run the laser??
Anyways, thank you for your input! I did find the “fire laser” option. It seems the primary fault with LightBurn is that the software has a terrible time adapting we to different screen sizes and resolutions. It is always difficult to make buttons and text a useful size on my laptop, and then when I connect to an external monitor it is completely whacked and I have to re-adjust everything again. Hopefully that will improve over time. Many of the little toggles in the software are always small regardless of icon and font sizing.
setup a material test in Lightburn - Laser Tools
counts 5, power 20 min 100 max, speed 20 min 100 max,
that will cut @ 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 for speed and power
make it fairly wide so you can slip a feeler gauge into the cut and measure the cut depth
I now do this for any sheet I’m cutting because all materials are different, then I can then maximise my speed at reduced power level.
I am having a similar problem on my A5 M50.
Not sure if I am using the wrong wood.
My engravings of photos & text engravings come out decent enough, but I need to have the speed at 1500 mm/min or less. My A5 M50 defaults to 6000 mm/min & 20% power.
I am sure the wood needs to be soft.
I only purchase my current wood samples at HomeDepot/Lowes.
I have some 1/4’ MDF. Even 10 passes cannot cut more than the width of a hair with a setting of 50 mm & 100% power.
I purchased some “D2 White” plywood and cuts are even worse than on the MDF
I set the height of my laser using the clear acrylic sent with the unit.
I am able to cut wood if it is very porous (soft), but not normal 1/4" plywood.
I don’t even know any store selling wood that is 3mm or less thick.
A couple of tips… first, check the lens to see if it is dirty. That can make a huge difference in both engraving performance. If it is dirty, carefully use some isopropyl alcohol (or even rubbing alcohol) and a lint-free swab to clean the lens.
Next… are you using air-assist. That, too will improve cutting performance.
Finally… to find 3mm (~1/8") plywood, do a search on Amazon for “Laser Plywood” and you will find several options. Or do a web search and find other options.
1/4" plywood is probably close to the limit of your laser’s ability to cut, especially without air-assist.
I have an Atomstack A5 M50 Pro that I got last Christmas. I purchased some plywood at a Menards lumber / home store. It measures 3.8 mm thick and I can cut it with my Atomstack Laser. I used air assist and settings of 90mm minute and 100% power, and 3 passes. It worked well.
