[Haywoodja]

I purchased a 50w chinese laser scans great haven't tried engraving yet my issue is in cutting i have tried several setting (min max power focus height speed) yet barely making an 1/16th to 1/8 inch cut depth took 3 passes to get threw 1/4 inch plywood. have tried several different types of wood as well (pine particle board mdf. im not an engineer or rocket scientist but i did manage to make sure the laser was aligned properly.. any help thought would be greatly appreciated

[Louis_Cannell]

Cutting ply and MDF it is usually specific Laser PLY and MDF that people tend to use with lower powered Co2, a lot of the cheaper lasers sold as higher rating than they are most quote max when realistically they do not reach those levels i.e. 40w is often 30-35w. Also the tubes appear to lose power if sitting around in warehouses or on boats for any amount of time those sold despatched from uk for instance. I brought a cheap 40w £350 that maxed out at 18w on a laser power meter from seller on eBay, I got a full refund as the tube lasted 2 hours before dying, also a free machine as seller failed to collect in specified time given by eBay after my claim. so I will replace tube soon and use. Cheap machines tend to be so for a reason and sellers often claim far better performance than they are actually capable of.

[TehPepper]

What power and speed settings were you using? Around 70% is a safe max power for these machines as shipped but I would recommend you get an ammeter to make sure the tube is not being over driven.

Mine gets though 1/8th in plywood at 18mm/s and 16mA of tube current. Even when I was over driving it was only about 22mm/s to cut 1/8th ply cleanly.

[Haywoodja]

What power and speed settings were you using? Around 70% is a safe max power for these machines as shipped but I would recommend you get an ammeter to make sure the tube is not being over driven.

Mine gets though 1/8th in plywood at 18mm/s and 16mA of tube current. Even when I was over driving it was only about 22mm/s to cut 1/8th ply cleanly.

I dropped it all the way down to 3mm/s and kicked it up to 90% power (yes I know bad) but every thing I studied prior to buying said 50w would easily cut 1/4 inch which is what prompted me to spend the extra grand.. I'll try 1/8th inch next time I head down to the hardware store

[fixtureman1]

Have you aligned the mirrors and is your focus set correctly