Settings Question - Lasercut settings vs Laser settings

[Adam Less]

I have my new Weike 6040 laser (and thanks to those who gave advise on how to get it into my basement.... I'll provide an update and full review of the process and laser at a later date).

Quick question though.

The laser requires use of LaserCut 5.3, which frankly I find very easy to use. I'm a 25 year veteran of Illustrator and spent years using CorelDraw as well, LaserCut seems super simple. Inside LaserCut, however, when you chose your settings for cuts and engraving, you can set any cut line and give it a power and speed, obviously. But you can do the same thing at the laser control panel. Not sure how that works.

So lets say I have a simple circle and a square, and I want to cut the circle, so I set the colour for that cut line in LaserCut to a power of 100 and a speed of 10. When I download that file to the laser, on the control panel, should the laser settings be at 100/100 power and 100/100 speed? My guess was that you set the laser to max for both speed and power and then adjust it from within the file in LaserCut, no?

And since we're on the subject, I've seen a number of sites (Rabbit Laser for example) which offer some preliminary power/speed recommendations (like 100 power, 10 speed for cutting 1/4 acrylic, or 100 speed, 80 power for engraving acrylic). Are these the same forms of measurement as the settings in LaserCut? In other words, are they the numbers I use, or are the speed and power measurements inside the program a different type of calculation. Not sure if I'm making sense, but hopefully I am. To clarify, what I mean is, when I see online a setting for speed for example of 300, is that 30o somethings per second where the settings for speed in the software are measured as percentages?

Ideally, please only answer if you actually use LaserCut. I know on here there are a lot of US laser users (and I know that means I'll start getting lots of "you shouldn't have bought a Chinese laser" comments, lol) but I want to be sure the info I'm getting is accurate, so ideally if you've used LaserCut, you might know. Thanks.

[Scott Marquez]

I use Lasercut 5.3.
I design in another program and save as DXF, I then import and set up my cut and engrave speeds in Lasercut.
My machine came set up at 100% and I just left it there, I just consider that as my ceiling. You can use Rabbit lasers information as a starting point but make sure you pay attention to the tube wattage which referenced to in their chart. I also have a few more blank pages that I add information to as I learn more. You could make a simple file with about 10 boxes then cut each one at different speeds and power to find the sweet spot for that material.
Your engrave speed will be much faster than your cut speed, 300 is a good starting point.
All this would be done after you ensure that you have good mirror alignment and are in proper focus.
Enjoy, Scott

[Adam Less]

I use Lasercut 5.3.
I design in another program and save as DXF, I then import and set up my cut and engrave speeds in Lasercut.
My machine came set up at 100% and I just left it there, I just consider that as my ceiling. You can use Rabbit lasers information as a starting point but make sure you pay attention to the tube wattage which referenced to in their chart. I also have a few more blank pages that I add information to as I learn more. You could make a simple file with about 10 boxes then cut each one at different speeds and power to find the sweet spot for that material.
Your engrave speed will be much faster than your cut speed, 300 is a good starting point.
All this would be done after you ensure that you have good mirror alignment and are in proper focus.
Enjoy, Scott

Awesome, thanks Scott!

I did check my alignment and everything seems in line. I did the tape on the mirrors thing, fired a test on the first mirror by the laser and the hole was in the middle of the mirror/tape. I then moved the next mirror up close to the 1st, fired a shot and it was close to centre. moved the mirror all the way down the track, fired another shot and the hole remained in the same place. I fired my final shot to the fourth mirror (by the laser head, and again it was close to centre of the mirror. I did a test cut and everything seemed pretty good, so I'll keep going and experiment.

I have a 60W machine and noticed that the suggested power/speed for 1/4" acrylic was 100% power/7 speed. I tried that and got about halfway through. I guess I should do a second pass, no? How is that done though, do I just duplicate the layer in the settings in the file so it sees two versions of the same cut?

[Scott Marquez]

You could try going slower, maybe 4-5.
If you want to cut it twice, increase the "times" to two. This is located in the dialog box in the upper right corner, you may not have noticed yet but there are more options beside color and power settings, in the bottom of the box is a slider that will expose the other options.
After you make your updates click download, when the dialog box comes up, hit "Del All" then select "download current".
Scott

[Adam Less]

You could try going slower, maybe 4-5.
If you want to cut it twice, increase the "times" to two. This is located in the dialog box in the upper right corner, you may not have noticed yet but there are more options beside color and power settings, in the bottom of the box is a slider that will expose the other options.
After you make your updates click download, when the dialog box comes up, hit "Del All" then select "download current".
Scott

Never even saw those options hidden there! lol. Ok, I think I have it figured out. Man, without this forum, many of us would be lost I'm sure!

Thanks again Scott.

[Bill Carruthers]

I have my new Weike 6040 laser (and thanks to those who gave advise on how to get it into my basement.... I'll provide an update and full review of the process and laser at a later date).

Quick question though.

The laser requires use of LaserCut 5.3, which frankly I find very easy to use. I'm a 25 year veteran of Illustrator and spent years using CorelDraw as well, LaserCut seems super simple. Inside LaserCut, however, when you chose your settings for cuts and engraving, you can set any cut line and give it a power and speed, obviously. But you can do the same thing at the laser control panel. Not sure how that works.

So lets say I have a simple circle and a square, and I want to cut the circle, so I set the colour for that cut line in LaserCut to a power of 100 and a speed of 10. When I download that file to the laser, on the control panel, should the laser settings be at 100/100 power and 100/100 speed? My guess was that you set the laser to max for both speed and power and then adjust it from within the file in LaserCut, no?

And since we're on the subject, I've seen a number of sites (Rabbit Laser for example) which offer some preliminary power/speed recommendations (like 100 power, 10 speed for cutting 1/4 acrylic, or 100 speed, 80 power for engraving acrylic). Are these the same forms of measurement as the settings in LaserCut? In other words, are they the numbers I use, or are the speed and power measurements inside the program a different type of calculation. Not sure if I'm making sense, but hopefully I am. To clarify, what I mean is, when I see online a setting for speed for example of 300, is that 30o somethings per second where the settings for speed in the software are measured as percentages?

Ideally, please only answer if you actually use LaserCut. I know on here there are a lot of US laser users (and I know that means I'll start getting lots of "you shouldn't have bought a Chinese laser" comments, lol) but I want to be sure the info I'm getting is accurate, so ideally if you've used LaserCut, you might know. Thanks.

Hi Adam - I use RDCam which is a very close variation of Lasercut and I think works just about identically. I find that the control panel settings are over ridden by whatever settings you send from the program on the computer. The control panel power settings only effect the output if you are actually running something from the control panel i.e. - pulsing a dot for alignment/focus measuring etc.
Your post also reads/sounds like you may be mixing the US speed measurements with the Chinese? The Chinese ,and Lasercut use mm per second as a speed measurement whereas the "mainstream" lasers usually give a speed as a percentage of the lasers maximum speed so for instance a Trotec setting of 20 speed would be nowhere near 20mm/sec on a Chinese laser.
Also useful to remember is that if you are doing a repetitive cut or engraving on a series of items you can just hit the "Start" button on the control panel to run exactly the same file again. Also works for doing a second pass to cut something.
Cheers

[Bert Kemp]

My Rabbit is set up 100/100 but I never run the power from lasercut over 90% as many people have said not to. Actually I have never run power over 70% yet as that's all I've ever needed to cut 1/4 wood or Acrylic.

[Klaus Madsen]

My Rabbit is set up 100/100 but I never run the power from lasercut over 90% as many people have said not to. Actually I have never run power over 70% yet as that's all I've ever needed to cut 1/4 wood or Acrylic.

Sorry but what is the idea never running at 100% power? Is it just to spare the Tube or are other things?

I mean people, want bigger and bigger lasers, but if you don't use the power....?

[Scott Marquez]

Sorry but what is the idea never running at 100% power? Is it just to spare the Tube or are other things?

I mean people, want bigger and bigger lasers, but if you don't use the power....?
Great question and I used to think the same thing before I did some research.
Take for example a vehicle with a stock stereo system, pop in your favorite song and then turn the volume to 100%. The music will be Loud, but I'm guessing that it became distorted and sounded like crap past 80%.
The similar thing can happen with Chinese lasers. My machine gives me nearly "advertised" output power at 80%, and throwing more amperage at it doesn't give much more gain but I am aware that it is reducing the life of the tube.
Hopefully this help you understand why most people will run their machines at 70-80% max. Testing a machine with a power meter is the best way to create a power curve for your machine. Now that I recently found the power curve for my machine I could make a correction on the machine but at this point I don't run over 80%.
YMWV
Scott

[Kev Williams]

The reason for not using 100% is because there's a safe operating mA maximum for glass tubes, which is debatable but typically 25 to 28mA (My personal max is 27). But many controllers at 100% power will feed the tube much higher amounts. My Triumph's 100% is actually 70%, this gives me a dead-on 27mA reading on my meter. You CAN go over these amounts, but tube life suffers, supposedly dramatically. I have no idea what my max output really is, I'm assuming well over 32mA but I don't need to find out! ;)

As for speed settings-- I don't use LaserCut, my machine came with PHCad, which, from screenshots I've seen, is pretty close. There is a parameter setting whereas I can choose the software to apply speed and power settings, or the control panel. My control panel is always defaulted at 6% power and 95mm/sec speed, which is my test fire and slew speed defaults. (I use 95 speed because it takes only a couple of button pushes to get 5 speed, for slow coordinate locating). But I use the software for actual run conditions. When the job starts, the computer's settings appear on the panel. I can also change speed and power on the fly with the panel if need be...

When I first got this machine this parameter caused me much grief for a few hours, as no matter what I thought I was sending to the laser, I was burning clear thru my Rowmark! -- The parameter was set to use the panel and not the software ;)

[Jerome Stanek]

The reason for not using 100% is because there's a safe operating mA maximum for glass tubes, which is debatable but typically 25 to 28mA (My personal max is 27). But many controllers at 100% power will feed the tube much higher amounts. My Triumph's 100% is actually 70%, this gives me a dead-on 27mA reading on my meter. You CAN go over these amounts, but tube life suffers, supposedly dramatically. I have no idea what my max output really is, I'm assuming well over 32mA but I don't need to find out! ;)

As for speed settings-- I don't use LaserCut, my machine came with PHCad, which, from screenshots I've seen, is pretty close. There is a parameter setting whereas I can choose the software to apply speed and power settings, or the control panel. My control panel is always defaulted at 6% power and 95mm/sec speed, which is my test fire and slew speed defaults. (I use 95 speed because it takes only a couple of button pushes to get 5 speed, for slow coordinate locating). But I use the software for actual run conditions. When the job starts, the computer's settings appear on the panel. I can also change speed and power on the fly with the panel if need be...

When I first got this machine this parameter caused me much grief for a few hours, as no matter what I thought I was sending to the laser, I was burning clear thru my Rowmark! -- The parameter was set to use the panel and not the software ;)

Why not adjust your power supply to only go to 27MA and that way you can;t over power it and 100 will be 100

[Kev Williams]

Why not adjust my power supply? No need, after 2-1/2 years I know the machine and what power & speed settings do what! ;)

Also, Scott brought up stereo's above as an anology- Your stereo (laser) may have a wattage rating of say 100 watts (per channel stereo), but any decent stereo (laser) should have a several watt 'cushion' necessary to cover peaks-- My 500w Carver amps routinely hit 700 watt peaks at "100%" volume. Likewise, even though I will limit my cutting - read "always on" - power to 27mA, I DO run the machine at more than 70% when rastering, like when doing wood. Since rastering involves mostly on/off pulsing, and glass tubes are slow to fire in the first place, running the machine at 80% helps when doing deep cuts in wood (for example) at high speeds. The extra power available will help with the peaks.
:)

[Klaus Madsen]

Why not adjust your power supply to only go to 27MA and that way you can;t over power it and 100 will be 100

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, then there is no way you can over power the machine.
So how do you do that? Of course, it will be different from machine to machine, but just to get an overall idea?

[Jerome Stanek]

there should be a pot on the power supply

[Chris Neal]

There is a parameter setting whereas I can choose the software to apply speed and power settings, or the control panel.

Hmmm... maybe there's a setting like that in Lasercut. Over the last few days I've been unboxing and setting up my G.Weike LG6040. A few times I've gotten stuck while trying to figure out some issue. The first was the most obvious: "No power OMG... oh the emergency switch is activated, whew." Then there was "Everything works except laser isn't firing". It took an evening of reading for me to realize a cable was needed between the chiller and the machine, otherwise no laser. Thankfully RadioShack is 1/2 mile from my shop, and they had the 4-pin DIN plug I needed.

Now I'm stuck trying to figure out why the Laser Power option is greyed out in my LaserCut software, and the power/speed settings that I specify for layers in Lasercut get ignored by the machine. So maybe that's just a setting in the software: control panel vs software.

<edited to add> Ok, I think I caused this issue by misunderstanding the control panel on my machine. When I first started up the machine, I adjusted the control panel from "Power 100/100" to "Power 50/100". According to the system manual, if the control panel's Power is set to anything other than 100/100 then the panel overrides software settings.

[Kev Williams]

Here's how this is done with my machine and software--
Below is a screenshot of the Users Parameters menu that changes the power options. This menu is accessed by the "Parameters" button towards the lower right. There are other parameters to access, this is the one for my software and machine. Note I've highlighted the "control panel power" item, and the drop down menu gives a choice of "Power 1" or "Power 2"....
342134

How this works with my machine is, on the machine's control panel, I can choose Power1 or Power2.
This pic shows my power panel is set for Power1, which is also what's selected in the software. What this means is, whatever I send to the machine from the software will override what's on the screen at the moment. (which are my current 'jog' and 'fire laser' settings)
342135

In this pic I've changed the setting to Power2. In this setting, when I send a job to the machine, the machine will ignore any settings in the software, and will run the settings on the control panel...
342136

I can flip-flop these results by simply changing the 'Power1' in the parameters to 'Power2'.

Hope this might help! :)