10mm Acrylic

[Malj]

Hi guys, been working with 10mm Acrylic having different experiences dependent on the cut, straight/curve, tried s 1.0 - 100 p reasonable results, better 1.4 s - 84 p. Cutting on a curve sometimes leaves a mark, ridge like in places. Also at the start point from the top of the cut to the bottom looks out of line ( lens alignment ??) and the start and finish point leave a small ridge almost as if the cut hasn't gone right up to to the exact start point, any suggestions.

Cheers

Mal

[Spooky]

Hiya mal,

When the tube fires at the start of a cut it pulses at maximum power to get through the job as a start point, thats the reason for the start finish point burr (metal lasers are the same)

On a curve the laser is running in two directions at the same time,this generates a feed / speed error that gives what looks like a *jagged cut*,the best way to reduce this is to set "Corner power" to a different setting than normal, i can't recall wether it is half as much or twice as much as a start point.
10mm is beyond the depth of field of a 50mm lens system so the curve or taper on the edge will be hard to remove unless the laser is set up for alignment right in the very center of the mirrors and final lens.
A longer focal length lens will help but will also mean a wider kerf cut and long focal length lens can be expensive.
10mm acrylic is at the very edge of the machines ability to be honest unless you run it as two cuts and refocus the head after the first run (drop the head a little).
Two runs with a head movement between them will help a lot and will reduce the load on the tube (100% power is not a good idea) as well as reducing the amount of taper you get on the edge.

best wishes

Dave

[Malj]

Thanks very much for that info ill give it a try.

Best regards.

Mal

[endcan]

Hi Mal, Have you tried the smooth curve options in lasercut it increases the quality of the curve we also use overlap or feed in if you need good start or finish points.
Hope it helps its all playing and trial and error...

[Natalie]

Ooh cheers for the heads up, I've just been cutting some box nets @ 10mm which is the biggest we've cut yet and specifically bought for the order. I did a few test cuts and different speeds. The best one turned out to be S4 P99 with a corner power of 8. It's not great but for a tessellated box that will be glued together it's good enough.

For some reason I didn't think to go that low, but have a peice of 12mm perspex to cut next so I will try your values!

~ Natalie

[endcan]

Hi Just a quick one .... if the start/finish doesn't line up it could be the downward angle of the laser through the lens.
Generally cut a square and check all sides are parallel and square if not re adjust.
12mm will be just ok but a 4" lens would make a squarer edge... we have done it and it does...

[Natalie]

Right, this is not going so well.

My cuts aren't lining up and my 10mm cut outs are slanted as hell. Making my box nets not fit together and also a real nightmare to make sure it's water tight.

I have no idea how to 're adjust the angle of the laser'. Unless you're talking about lining up the mirrors, which yes we've tried.

Getting frustrated now.