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Rob Datri
09-11-2012, 8:56 PM
Heya folks!

I've been absorbing information here for a little while and am very grateful to everyone who has shared with the community! I have a quick question that I haven't been able to figure out on my own.

I use an Epilog 30 watt Zing laser and am trying to make some measurement gauges. I used corel draw to make a 1 inch circle and when I checked the vector cut circle it was a little loose on a 1 inch drill bit. I started thinking the "blank" cut out is probably precisely 1 inch but the hole left by the cut is twice the size of the width of the laser's cutting beam.

Is that correct? By trial and error a .994 inch sized circle seems to cut an exact 1 inch hole. So is the laser .003 inches wide?

I've been looking online and in the manual to verify this but haven't had much luck. Was hoping the people here could confirm or deny what I tried to figure out already.

Thanks!

Rob

Lee DeRaud
09-11-2012, 9:50 PM
0.005" is a good ballpark figure for the laser "kerf" on most machines. Of course it matters where you measure it, as the walls of the cut are not exactly vertical, converging or diverging depending on exactly where the beam is focused.

Richard Rumancik
09-11-2012, 10:51 PM
Rob, you are on the right track. Keep in mind that using the drill bit as a "go"- gage will measure the smallest end of the circle - which will be the bottom of the material (furthest from lens). At the top, the kerf will be wider. In general many people use .003" kerf for 1.5" focal length lens and .005" kerf for 2" focal length lens as a guide.

You might also want to buy a set of feeler gages (they are not expensive) and cut straight lines in the material. Then you can measure the kerf width directly.

Rob Datri
09-12-2012, 10:18 AM
Thank you guys so much for the information and great tip on the feeler gauge, why guess right?

off to go burn some more stuff ....