Im new to the forum, from what I see this is a good place for advice. I consider my self to be a newbee with the laser, had it about a year and a half, have gotten pretty good but have alot to learn. GCC Laser pro spirit 40W.
Her is what i need advice with.
Had a new possible customer ask me to cut 1/2" cast acrylic, clear, he is looking to sub out the pieces as he now cuts them on a cnc but has to polish the edges clear after. He is hoping a laser will cut them clean and clear. Talking with him, if i can do it it would be 100 pieces per order, 6-10 orders per year. 2" x4 1/2" funny shaped pieces. It would be good for me.
Spent yesterday working on the settings, laser cuts through just fine, trying to get it tuned in.
So far the best settings I found is .1 speed, 30 power, 1000ppi, and i moved the table up .070" into the piece.
I have the lens that comes with it, 2"
With this I am getting a pretty good result however, and this is hard to explain so bear with me. Watching the laser cut ther is a "wave effect" as the beam cuts. the bottom of the cut lags behind the top of the cut. I assume this is due to the thickness of the acrylic. I can speed up but the lag gets worse which causes the corners to not cut well.
I would like to speed up to keep cost reasonable. Can I?? Different lens, focus closer??? Any other opinions or advice would be very appreciated.
Thanks Chad,