chinese laser settings

[Levi Chanowitz]

I just got a 60 watt chinese laser engraver. I am learning how to use it.
Is there anyone that can send me their laser settings to save me all the testing time.
What I need to know is what power and speed I should use for different materials. Perhaps you know how I can convert the tables that are available for the US machines so that I can use it, somhow our settings are different

[Wil Lambert]

Can you tell us what model/ brand you have. Maybe someone else has the sam brand and can help you.

Wil

[Rodne Gold]

Bad news , you gonna have to experiment as there are not directly translatable tables.
Even more bad news is that the glass tubes fluctuate in power over time so you will need to adjust settings periodically.
The ideal strategy in lasering is to cut cycle times while maintaining quality. So my suggestion is to always start at 100% speed and vary power till it gets to 100% , whereupon you start reducing speed. Obviously if 100% speed is too fast and the engraving quality sucks , use a lesser speed.

We generally start raster engraving testing at 50% power 100% speed , we then do a binary search for the best levels , ie 25 % power and 100 speed and then 100/100 and then bounce midway from what seems to be the best.
You need a test file , some solid filled objects , a grid ,various text, a greyscale image etc.
What you also need to do is establish a benchmark power test. Take exactly 3mm perspex and get a setting where it JUST cuts thru at all corners of the table. This is your benchmark. Then every week repeat the test , if it takes less speed to cut in a few weeks , you have lost power and have to apply a correction factor to setting used on other stuff , either upping power or dropping speed - if you were cutting at 50 speed and it now drops to 40 speed , then you need to incrase power by 1.25x or drop speed to 80% of what it was.
Write EVERYTHING down and only EVER change one parameter at a time (unless you want to lose your way)

[Levi Chanowitz]

Thank you for a thorough answer. I am looking for and easier way to figure this out.
Does anyone have a table that they use. Even if it is for another machine, it will at least give me some idea of which materials take longer.

Also, when I cut out 1/16" silver plastic from PDU, The edges get charred?
What is the best way to cut out badges with rounded edges?

[Richard Rumancik]

Levi, pay heed to what Rodne says. He is speaking from a lot of experience. You can start off with a table of data from ULS or Epilog or whatever but it will not likely do you much good, other than a crude comparison of materials. ie if on a ULS machine, Material A needs twice the power as Material B, you will likely see the same relationship on your machine. Beyond that it won't help much. I honestly did not make much use of the values I was given by GCC but did what Rodne suggested - experiment. That is really the only accurate way. Cut some samples, mark on it what worked, keep a log of lens, speed, power, ppi, dpi, and and special focusing. After a while you will be able to make educated guesses as to what the settings should be. Sometimes not. I know you are anxious to get going and make things but unfortunately there are no easy shortcuts.