cutting 6mm MDF

[Graham Taylor]

Not sure if I like it - 3mm was ok but I have just cuit some 6mm and although the machine ate it up no problems it did produce a load of smoke and there were a couple of flare ups which had me a bit twitchy but the went out straight away.

I was using the following settings: Power=90, Speed=0.5, PPI/Hz=1000, Air Assist=On

As I said, it cut it no worries (didnt go all the way through with Power=80) but do these settings seem about right to the more (not hard) experienced out there?

P.S. not sure I could stand the stress cutting anything thicker :eek:

[Rich Harman]

At 80W I would cut 1/4 MDF at about 12mm/sec using a 2.5" lens - about one inch every two seconds.

[Mike Lassiter]

135 watts total for me with 2 cartridges. I cut 6mm (.217") at 100% power, 3.8% speed, and 250 PPI. Material database settings from ULS used 300 PPI, but I have reduced that to 250 and it helps give a better cut edge quality to me. It's cutting fully and smoothly and is a nice dark brown color, with no charring. @ 300 PPI the edge was darker, almost black.
I don't know what that translates to in inches per second. Why don't you use 100% power and speed it up slightly?

I am using a 3" lens and air assist. NO flare-ups! I can cut slightly faster with my 2" lens, but the kerf is so tight the parts don't separate easily. The 3" lens gives a wider kerf and I can lift the sheet up and the cut out parts remain on the cutting table.

[Dave Sheldrake]

What sort of MDF Graham? make sure it's Medite, the usual stuff can flare and burn for fun :(

[Keith Colson]

My 60 watt machine cuts 9mm mdf well, 6mm with 80 watts should be a breeze. If your machine is not well focused it will flare up. I also turn the PPI down to 200 for mdf as it cuts better for me.

[Graham Taylor]

What sort of MDF Graham? make sure it's Medite, the usual stuff can flare and burn for fun :(

its rs laser mdf from Hobarts

i will do some more testing with lower PPI settings and varying the speed and power

[John Bion]

Graham, I have never had a flare up on mdf, are you sure that the air flow is sufficient/working (not wanting to question a Trotec of course :) ). I do not have the luxury of turning PPF down, but still cuts perfectly every time without flare-ups.
Kind Regards, John

[Graham Taylor]

Hi John,

I am venting directly to the outside using an extraction fan spec'd by and bought from Tritec when we got the machine. The smoke is being sucked out from the machine bed ok and air assist is turned on.

I have emailed the support guys to see what they suggest - maybe I am using the wrong settings.

I am still not 100% sure how the PPI, speed and power relationships affect the different materials so I am going to call the support guys later for a chat.