Anyone have any recommended power/number of passes/speed settings for cutting 1/4 plywood in the thunder machines?
75 power, 25 speed, 1-3 passes depending on exact type of plywood would be my starting point.
My general approach for 5mm tri-ply:
- Power : 70%
- Speed : ≤10mm/s - want to say I went with 7 last time
The times I’ve tried multiple passes produced more char and seemingly more kerf.
Actual ¼" plywood (5-ply?) may not be cooperative with the above or fare better with @Hardsuit’s multi-pass approach; so long as your workpiece doesn’t move¹ between runs it’s possible to run the job again without issue.
Âą both in the X-Y and Z plane; material flex is definitely an issue with tri-ply to the point I seqeuence the cuts so that key cuts - generally corners - are performed last
Looks like a 3 ply? I have cut on an Epilog Fusion 24 that my library has in its creator labs and got a lot more charring on the plywood edges than I originally expected. The basswood I cut was cleaner but in both cases, I did the cuts with a single pass.
I’m currently cutting pieces for outdoor signs that will be painted, so I have few to no inside cuts. Just a lot of smaller parts. Just haven’t cut enough with the Thunder to have a feel for the best settings yet. I did a test though and it didn’t seem as fine-grained on detailed work as the fusion printers.
My last couple of projects:
- Version 1, pre-cleanup
- Version 2, post-cleanup - brushed off then a brief application of something like 330 grit sandpaper.
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@ESmith those settings worked pretty well - thanks! I got clean cuts at 70% power and 10mm/s speed (single pass) for some 24x24 sanded birch plywood sheets from Lowe’s.
I have found this lightburn test pattern generator very helpful.
https://www.o2creative.co.nz/laser/lightburn_advanced_generator.php
I keep a materials library on my thumbdrive
When you find settings you like you can add them to your library.
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Which laser did you use for that?
I used the Thunder (don’t have Epilog laser training yet). I cut sanded plywood for the bigger pieces and basswood sheets I got at craft stores for the smaller pieces. I haven’t dialed in the engraving settings on the Thunder ones yet for my needs but cutting is great.
I posted some end results in the October showcase post but here are some of the cuts with the Thunder lasers.
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Big Thunder or donner
Donner - Big Thunder still had a “down” sign on it last few times I was there.
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Thanks, just wanted to know if the settings were based on the 100 or 130!
I ran the tests (gradient and the eye image) on Donner tonight to see how fine controlled I could get it. I was surprised - seems like that laser just can’t get quite as fine as the Epilog can.
I ran a stair step with max 80% and max 40% and still dug in way too much. The max 80 test burned through 1/4” sanded plywood. The only way to get fine enough detail was at the lowest end and even then it was lacking.
The last 2 photos I cut earlier today on my library’s Epilog for comparison. The wood was thinner but the detail difference is night and day. I guess I’ll have to wait to find someone for Epilog training before I waste any more wood.
If I’m not 100% sure cuz I haven’t checked today, but as a heads up the lens on Donner is quite dirty right now, and there’s also some weird alignment issues going on.
If you would like, Blitzen is almost back up and running, and I would recommend testing on that. (And there are some hidden settings that really need to be calibrated)
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I’ll check it next time I’m in. I didn’t want to touch it with the sign still on it but I saw that (assuming you) were doing some butterfly test cuts so I knew it was close. I’ll let you know what I find.
The one time I was serious about engraving was with the Epilog Zing. Otherwise on the Thunder my engraving needs are all about lettering or some pretty basic vector graphics - is it legibile?