Hi peeps - I am very new to this, however I am tring to cut a wooden button. I am happy with engrave settings, but when I cut 3mm holes in the centre (for the cotton etc…) it only cuts the first one out but not the second, even though I have duplicated the settings? It only traces the second hole if you like. Also when I cut the button out, it does the same as described (of the second hole). I am just a bit confused as the settings I have for the first hole I have duplicated for the second hole and the actual cut out of the button! Any ideas to ease my head haha!!
How many passes are you making to cut that out? Also, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be at 100% power with your laser.
According to your screenshot there is no second hole and it doesn’t appear to even mark the outside which you seem to want to cut out, please show us the number of passes you are attempting.
I am not sure in terms of passes, can this be adjusted? Each element has a setting, as I say the second small hole and the outer cut is set. The laser appears to do these on the overall job but does not cut for some reason. Apologies as I say, I am new and learning step by step.
Should I reduce the 100% on cut too? I know it is all of a combination lock to get it just right.
Please upload your lightburn file so others can take a look at all the settings. Number of passes is easy to set. Just double click on the layer and adjust the number of passes.
CO2 lasers should never be run at 100%, you should be running it at 70% or less, your tube life will be very short at 100%. There’s more settings on your controller that you need to set and not just the ones in lightburn to adjust to accomplish that.
Sorry, I saw that up top. I am not sure what’s wrong here. You have the engrave set to high speed low power and it’s engraving fine, but your line settings should be cutting it out just fine.
EDIT: Just for giggles, have the “line” use the same settings as you used for “fill” but set the number of passes to 2. Try that please. If it cuts out just fine, then it would appear that something is wired incorrectly or being output incorrectly.
Assuming you are cutting 3mm birch ply ; The first cut is way too much power and going way too slow for a 50W laser. Try this at say 15mm/s @ 60% power.
The second and 3rd cut min power is set way too low. To start with have them set the same as the max until such time as you gain experience, it’ll not be long.
Good news! I set the 3 cuts at what you suggested 15mm/s @60%. It came. I didn’t alter the passes.
Interesting, I need to keep learning the low power versus the cut. I have saved these setting for now as the master, then just play about with the settings and save a new version if I feel they are better.
My recommendation on the learning is to learn your machines capability. Start by researching ‘Power Scales’. Whenever you start with a new material, do a power scale for it. This upfront time will save you hours of frustration trying to sort a suitable speed/power. Believe me, I have the t-shirt
Cheers David, thanks for the advice. In terms of research, what do you recommend searching for for this. Just on the Lightburn forums, or outer networks etc?
You are using a Ruida control system that uses a ‘Start Speed’ when cutting. When set at or below this setting (default is 10%), the control system will not be able to fire the laser. This helps manage the power flow to prevent over-burning in the corners. When cutting, set both min and max the same.
