[Harley D]

I am looking for a suitable laser head that will cut through 1/2" plywood ( Italian Polar and Baltic Birch )

What amount of power do you recommend and are there any brands of laser heads I should consider/avoid?

Yes, I know I will have charred edges, that's of no concern. I also have compressed air, a means of removing smoke and CO2 if necessary.

[zax15uk]

100W would be marginal and depends on the epoxy (glue) and other resins in the wood, so I would suggest 120W+ (this is based on Chinese glass tube CO2 lasers).

If you are considering a higher end machine, with something like the Synrad RF excited metal tube laser you would be ok with 80W+.

You can usually trade speed for cut depth, or use multi-pass but as you already know this isn't ideal on wood and will result in very charred edges.

If you are going to be doing mainly 1/2" and above, a 400W+ system would be recommended.

Zax.

[Rodney Gold]

When I was at shenui laser in China , I saw they had dual laser systems for cutting and manufacturing thick die board , there are 2 x 150w glass tubed lasers , one firing at the top and the other at the bottom of the boards , these would be ideal for cutting 1/2" plywood imo.

[Harley D]

100W would be marginal and depends on the epoxy (glue) and other resins in the wood, so I would suggest 120W+.

That's what I was thinking would be minimum - even 135W. Can you recommend a brand and what are those Chinese CO2 glass lasers like?

When I was at shenui laser in China ,

What is their quality, reputation etc like?

[Rodney Gold]

Excellent machines , excellent service , excellent tech support.
Read my threads...
Chinese lasers - they're here !!!!!!
and
Despatches from China
on further reflection I think the dual up and down firing lasers might not be ideal for cutting , they were lasering die board, dunno what would happen to the cut piece....

[Harley D]

Excellent machines , excellent service , excellent tech support.
Read my threads...
Chinese lasers - they're here !!!!!!
and
Despatches from China
on further reflection I think the dual up and down firing lasers might not be ideal for cutting , they were lasering die board, dunno what would happen to the cut piece....

Thanks Rodney - this is the sort of info I am after.

I am going up to China to buy some machinery for the company I work for so I just might visit these guys and see what they have to offer.

Cheers

[davr]

Just as a point of reference, I just got a 80W CO2 laser, I can cut 1/2" solid pine no problem, but I can barely cut the 1/4" plywood I got at the same speed. I think it's because it's "Exterior" plywood, if you look at the edge, you can see black layers of glue. I'm looking for some other types with less glue / coatings, under the theory that they'll cut better.