How to Fix Jagged Sawtooth Edge on Wood?

[Kitarra Holcomb]

I'm brand new to laser engraving, so far I love it but I've been butting my head against this issue for days so I think it's time to get some expert advice...

The book suggests 30/80/500 which I think is probably a good pace and gives it a nice, even (non-charred) color but it's terribly jagged. I've experimented with various settings, even going very high with the frequency but I just can't seem to get smooth cuts. 15/80/2803 was smoother (but still not optimal) and started to get burnt.

I'm using 1/8" finished birch plywood. My final pieces will be 1/8" alder but the birch is cheaper to experiment with until I get a better handle on the settings.

Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks so much!

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[Scott Shepherd]

Hi Kitarra, you can't cut at high speeds, only engrave. You need to be in the 10% range in cutting. I don't remember the speeds that the Epilog's start getting shaky, but I know 30 speed is too much for vector cutting. Try 10% or less and adjust your power down some to compensate for slowing the speed down.

[Bert Kemp]

I agree with Scott, I don't know Epilog either but slower speed MOREpower might help, I cut at 12mmps speed 65% Pwr. 1/8 birch

[Kitarra Holcomb]

Wow thanks so much for the fast replies!

I think I was getting tunnel vision on the frequency for some reason. Adjusting the speed made a HUGE improvement even at 500 frequency. I loved the smoothness of 5 speed but even at 10% power it was burning but not cutting all the way through.

10/40/500 was a little rough but still a vast improvement - it was definitely charring but 35 power just wasn't fully penetrating.

Hopefully someday I'll find the magic setting triangle. I have to admit overall I'm not impressed with the company I chose, but the machine was a better fit for my needs hands down. The manual goes into GREAT depth about installing the print driver (which seems redundant considering how universally simple the process is...) but it vaguely mentions the settings. Personally I would have benefited more from hearing the company's perspective on how the settings are interpreted and will interact with each other, but maybe that's just me.

Thanks for your help!

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[Bert Kemp]

just reread my post I meant to say more power at slower speeds and yes each machine is different so you have to tweak for yours, but you'll find it you sound persistent:) let us know how it goes.

[Glen Monaghan]

1/8 inch baltic birch should cut well on a 50 W at 20 speed or higher, assuming 100% power and 500 Hz. No idea why you say 30 speed is too much for vector cutting unless you specifically mean cutting something like plywood; I have cut some softer/more easily cut substrates at 60 speed with no problems (although I did notice some ringing on a small bit of vector engraving I recently did on baltic birch when I tried to run it at 70% speed).

[Scott Shepherd]

1/8 inch baltic birch should cut well on a 50 W at 20 speed or higher, assuming 100% power and 500 Hz. No idea why you say 30 speed is too much for vector cutting unless you specifically mean cutting something like plywood; I have cut some softer/more easily cut substrates at 60 speed with no problems (although I did notice some ringing on a small bit of vector engraving I recently did on baltic birch when I tried to run it at 70% speed).

That's interesting Glenn. I did say I wasn't sure what the numbers were on an Epilog, but on Universal's and Trotec's, the top speeds are there for sure. On the Universal, it's probably 10% or so, and on the Trotec, it's about 3% speed. Those aren't exact, but above those speeds and quality drops. No way you could ever vector smooth curves at 20% on a Trotec or 30% on a Universal.

A quick look at Epilog's site shows them using vector speeds of 30% on the Fusion, so I stand corrected, thanks for clearing that up.

[Michael Hunter]

I think that the confusion arises because the Epilog driver has separate speed ranges for rastering and vectoring.

100% vector speed seems to be a bit less than half the speed of rastering at 100%.

[Gary Hair]

That's how it is/was on my GCC, 80 ips raster and 40 ips vector. Not sure about the Trotec, haven't really looked into the specs that closely - too busy working to care...


I think that the confusion arises because the Epilog driver has separate speed ranges for rastering and vectoring.

100% vector speed seems to be a bit less than half the speed of rastering at 100%.

[Kev Williams]

I think that the confusion arises because the Epilog driver has separate speed ranges for rastering and vectoring.

100% vector speed seems to be a bit less than half the speed of rastering at 100%.
Probably much less than 50%- my NH rep tells me Gravo's highest vector speed is no more than 27% of highest raster speed...

[David Somers]

Kitarra,

Have you ever done a cut test on your machine? You can find some good examples of it earlier in the forum with a search. Basically it is a test pattern in which you cut one power and speed for a bit, then another power and speed for a bit, bracketing through all the choices on your machine. You might do a test pattern on each of the common materials you work with so you see what settings work best on each. It chews up some materials, but it ultimately saves you materials and time because you can find the right combination for your machine for a given material. Do the same thing for engraving as well.

Dave

[Jay Selway]

I have the same laser as you.

Run your vector cut at 10 speed, 100 power, 500 frequency. It will cut perfectly in 1 pass (maybe two if the wood has some variances).