Best Power/Speed settings for plywood and acrylic

Laser
#1

I’m a new DMS member, and I just completed the online laser training for the Thunder machines (which is wonderful, thank you.) I did have a few questions about best power and speed for the materials I hope to use. Are there some general power/speed guidelines I can locate? I understand the settings might need to be adjusted, but since I don’t know where to start, I worry I might set the power/speed very incorrectly on my first try.

I have yet to purchase my materials, but the materials I hope to cut are likely 1/16" or 1/32" plywood for jewelry/Christmas ornaments, and similarly thick acrylic.

Thank you.

#2

Those are incredibly thin, I’m not sure where you would even find 1/32 plywood. I cut mostly 5mm underlayment (plywood) at about 17s 80p, same with 3mm acrylic.

#3

Might be a dollhouse or model train level of plywood…

#4

Yeah, at 1/32” you’re better off buying a sheet of hardwood veneer to cut. Check out Rockler, Wood World, or Woodcraft of Dallas; they might have a better idea about supply.

I’d 2nd Hanna’s settings, particularly for acrylic. If you go for the veneer rather than ply, you’ll probably want to speed up a bit, and drop your power 10-15units, as regular wood is much easier to cut than ply because of the lack of resin/glue.

#5

Thanks everyone. I’m very much a newbie, and the wood thickness I mention I saw suggested elsewhere. I guess a follow-up question would be what would be the ideal wood/thickness for laser cut earrings? I don’t want them to be too heavy to wear, but I’d like them to be sturdy because I plan to dye sub a design on them as well. Thanks again. :slight_smile:

#6

Google Lightburn test generator

This is one that I’ve used.

https://o2creative.co.nz/laser/

1 Like
#7

Most laser cut jewelry I’ve seen, has been cut from veneered plywood, usually in 1/8” or 3/16”. As long as you are planning to dye sub a design afterward, you can use the cheapest sanded plywood you can find, any of them should take well to dye sub.
Even though it will be tempting, I would avoid using balsa or basswood for these. Even though it is “solid wood“ it is also very brittle in the direction of the grain, especially once you have cut the design into it.

#8

Great! Thank you. I’ve just bookmarked the link.

#9

Perfect, thank you so much for the advice. Cheap plywood sounds perfect. I suppose a brittle wood won’t work well in the heat press for dye sub.

#10

Being unfamiliar with laser, I’d assume that the issue with balsa or basswood would be its durability. If the wearer is knocking the items around, they could break.

1 Like
#11

^this exactly

1 Like