Settings for cutting card

[RichardG (Richard)]

Hi, very new to this, just got an Ortur Master 20W and have downloaded Lightburn (version 0.9.14) used on a macbook with OS 10.13.6.

Trying to cut 2mm card and having great difficulty in achieving this and wondered whether I am entering correct settings. Have tried many different combinations of settings for power and speed but the best I have got is about half way through the card (see pic)

Any help/advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[LightBurn (Oz)]

With a diode laser you’re going to have to go really slowly, or add air assist, and probably both. Air assist is injecting air into the cut, using something like an inflation needle for a basketball and an air pump. If you do that, the cutting effectiveness will go up considerably.

The power of air assist

I added air assist to my 3.5w diode laser with the hope that it would cut perhaps 2mm wood. I initially borrowed a fellow forum members 3d printer skills to obtain an adapter to fit the laser but this delivered the airflow a little too high and it was so noisy due to the diameter of the inlet. So I needed to change the noise issue and so I used a metal drinking straw which I feel directs the air better and increases the psi(?) as it’s a smaller outlet (5mm instead of 10mm). The noise is now g…

[RichardG (Richard)]

Many thanks, will try this.