HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT LASER SETTINGS FOR YOUR MATERIAL

[@Naomi-Wu]

Solid basics! Subscribed!

[@MakerExperiment]

Naomi 'SexyCyborg' Wu thank you!

[@lioneljules9607]

Hi Trevor, thanks for the video. I guess engraving acrylic or acrylic mirrors will be the same except mirror needs to be dark side up? Thanks again

[@MakerExperiment]

That’s how I would recommend engraving mirror acrylic.

[@lioneljules9607]

Many thanks again

[@alangough8416]

My machine arrives Saturday and Ill be using one for the first time ever on Sunday. I'm completely new to this so I think this will be a huge help A.G. UK

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

LOL, so I'm not the only one watching this while waiting for mine to arrive. Hopefully it'll be here today or tomorrow. I hope yours worked out well for you.

[@matthewmorgan5155]

Thanks man I’m need to lasers and this was super helpful!

[@MakerExperiment]

Matthew Morgan I’m glad it was helpful!

[@thataussiehandmadeplace331]

Loved this video! Thanks so much for doing this. Bought my laser - no idea about settings and I’m relying on the generosity of experts on KZbin - fabulous stuff!

[@MakerExperiment]

I’m glad it was helpful.

[@GQCustomz]

Hey - Any ideas on what settings for mylar 4 mil thickness? Trying to create airbrush stencils.

[@MakerExperiment]

If you look on my channel I made a video about making stencils. It may help you.

[@jessicawark3022]

Thank you!! It's helped me have this file in a PDF to use it easily on my Muse 3D.

[@MakerExperiment]

I’m glad I could help.

[@BrewingViking]

The raster file doesn't work. Do you have a new link?

[@thedeveland]

Just what I needed! Thanks!

[@MakerExperiment]

I’m glad I could help.

[@RestorationAustralia]

Very helpful, thanks for sharing.😊

[@MakerExperiment]

I’m glad I could help.

[@armandpowell5868]

NIce video kind of reminds me of Photography and understanding Darkroom processing of Black and White photos.

[@MakerExperiment]

armand powell never thought of it like that.

[@Catalysis1144]

What kind of masking film do you use?

[@MakerExperiment]

Harasi it’s usually just a masking tape type masking. You can also use transfer tape.

[@EthanCarterDesigns]

Super cool process for figuring it out! Saving for when I get a laser...someday!

[@MakerExperiment]

Ethan Carter you know I’ll help you if you do get one.

[@rickmilton]

Great video! What kind of leather do you use and where is the best place to buy?

[@MakerExperiment]

Use vegetable tan leather if you’re using it on a laser. I get mine from District Leather Supply. I have an affiliate link for it here. I think it saves you 10% on your first order. districtleathersupply.com/makerexperiment

[@mariajohnston2147]

So I download file and what next? I have a Neje master2 20W do I load it into laserGRBL or lightburn?

[@MakerExperiment]

Maria Johnston you’d load it into lightburn I believe. I don’t have that laser or software so I’m not familiar with your setup.

[@Skoose]

when I import the vector svg into my Beam Studio the word "Power" overlaps the power numbers. Any suggestions?

[@badbear50]

i have a 5watt twotrees totem s engraver i need the power and speed and distance from the head . i wish to engrave plastis, to cut wood and engrave wood, and power and settings to cut and engrave metal lighters please help i am new at this

[@MakerExperiment]

With that machine I’m not sure. You’ll have to run your own tests with speeds and powers to try and figure it out. The distance from the head should be a standard focal length based on your lens and dialed in for your machine.

[@DavZell]

I realize this is an older video, but I was wondering why the last row of your cutting grid, which says 100, did not cut through while the line below the grid, which also says 100, did. Maybe I missed the explanation.

[@MakerExperiment]

Because on the first grid I do a speed range of 10-100 by 10s. That didn’t cut through so the last row is speed of 1-10 by 1s.

[@DavZell]

@@MakerExperiment Thanks!

[@MakerExperiment]

@@DavZell you’re welcome.

[@cliffordtyree2456]

Greetings and thank you for the video. I have constructed the matrix but not sure how to assign speeds and power. Thanks for your help.

[@MakerExperiment]

Clifford Tyree you have to assign the speeds and powers to each color. It’s a little different depending on the machine you’re using and the software it works with.

[@AQUASCAN1]

I tried this chart on black polished granite tile and I can’t tell which speed & power would be the best. I want to engrave pictures on black granite and this chart will not tell me the best setting without seeing what the picture would look like using each square. How can I make a chart that would work? Thanks in advance. Robert

[@MakerExperiment]

Do you mean you can’t use the file to engrave because it uses material you don’t have to spare or you can’t get the grid to work?

[@AQUASCAN1]

You would almost need to look at the picture that you are engraving at every power & speed combination to tell which one give the best results.

[@MakerExperiment]

@@AQUASCAN1 yeah, that’s a hard one to figure out without just trying.

[@TheTrophyStore]

@@AQUASCAN1 , HI Robert, the image should be black and white changing the contrast is how you get the the image to display as it will on the granite, make a dark a back background in you software and put the image on top of the background, the image may need to be made negitave to see the engraved look. remove the back ground and print the image low DPI (the negitave image) In my experience engraving on black acrylic the engraving goes lighter than the black acrylic. i would set the laser to low power and high speed print a small image , then change the laser to low power and medium speed print the same image, then low power low speed same image. then repeat with medium and high power. my guess is medium power and high speed and maybe put rub n buff silver or gold on the lasered surface. hope that helps. Roy

[@BloxiYouTuber]

Great video thanks for sharing

[@MakerExperiment]

Thanks for watching!

[@luisgregory7609]

How do you work off speed % instead of mm/second?

[@austinstroot9910]

Epilog uses speed percentage, not mm/sec

[@billdurant]

Awesome, thanks. I use to create training materials for our companies lasers. We use dwell time and power. I guess dwell is speed?

[@MakerExperiment]

It should be similar.

[@tschmath]

Do you have to reset the settings for each box, or is there a program that does that automatically?

[@MakerExperiment]

At the time I did this it was manually. I don’t know if a program exists or not.

[@daveinmontana77]

Hello Trevor... did you post the link to that file to download? I don't see it on this page. Thanks...

[@MakerExperiment]

Dave Bakke it’s in the video description.

[@firstdayonline]

Thank you!

[@MakerExperiment]

You’re welcome.

[@donnabrown2962]

Found this video after hours of setup experimenting, trying to find the right settings for thin cardstock(painters mat board). I'm just learning. Each of the presets did not do well at all due to Sample Club use 120W, I'm 50W Epilog Edge. Cut line was thick and did not burn thru. Epilog preset for Mat Board for 50w did not work either. Did not cut thru and left a wide beam path. Trying to figure out a correct to get a thin cutline. Must have done 20 dif settings. TY for posting! I downloaded your templates. Maybe this will help! Also, if you put a mask on, I suppose you have to account for that also in the settings?

[@MakerExperiment]

Yes, you will.

[@Catalysis1144]

Very good method. Thanks for sharing

[@MakerExperiment]

Harasi you’re welcome.

[@derricksilver7999]

I know this an older video but are these in inches?

[@MakerExperiment]

They are in percentages.

[@shelleystarling2920]

Have you done the raster testing on a mirror? Do you have the engraving test available to purchase?

[@MakerExperiment]

I have not done it on a mirror. What do you mean by an engraving test for purchase? Do you mean a sample engraved swatch?

[@oscartakahashi8230]

Solid Video, do you know where to sort MDF in Las Vegas Area? I've been looking everywhere. Thank You!

[@MakerExperiment]

Try Peterman Lumber.

[@oscartakahashi8230]

@@MakerExperiment Thanks So Much! Do you also have a source for acrylic sheets? Those fluorescent ones look pretty sweet for some projects.

[@MakerExperiment]

@@oscartakahashi8230 check eplastics

[@GregsGarage]

Doing a bit of binge watching! Great stuff again Trevor. I need to sort out how to make the grid file. I think Light Burn wants a layer for each setting... I need to work out the g-code side of laser-ing. I bet it would be easier to edit that type of file than it would be to create 100 layers in LB. Thanks again.

[@MakerExperiment]

Greg's Garage the download file should help a lot. Best of luck!

[@GregsGarage]

@@MakerExperiment Got it/them. I'll dedicate a night to creating a solid test file this week. Seems like a smart thing to do right out of the gate with a new laser. Thanks again!

[@MakerExperiment]

Greg's Garage you’re welcome

[@michaelbrindle7154]

Great info man!

[@MakerExperiment]

Michael Brindle thanks Mike!

[@paraglidingprospector]

Subbed! Cool laser bro!

[@MakerExperiment]

Thanks for subscribing!

[@ricklyon2635]

So how much did I spend on acrylic using the trial and error method? Thanks for all your videos. Really helpful. Now I can learn MY machine and have a permanent reference guide specific to my machine. You’re absolutely right about using cast acrylic. Much better results with it. Thanks.

[@MakerExperiment]

Glad that you found it helpful.

[@edcastanon9948]

Thank you for this. Rookie question: Is it ok/good to be even testing running at 100 power? I have a 50w blue n white Chinese laser.

[@MakerExperiment]

Ed Castanon I run mine at 100% power without any issues. The machine should be capable.

[@paulossiter]

Its ok for more expensive lasers like he has but not for Chinese ones. Stick to about 80% to be safe

[@ShockerSquad]

What software are you using? You should be able to engrave whole rows at a time while it switches between power settings.

[@MakerExperiment]

I use Adobe Illustrator. You can engrave whole rows at a time.

[@weitlingD3P]

Very useful Thanks

[@MakerExperiment]

Danish 3D Printing you’re welcome.

[@joedefranco1930]

Is this template still available? The link to your site doesn’t work!

[@MakerExperiment]

I will look into this. I may have moved it. I will check and update it.

[@MakerExperiment]

I just updated the link. Let me know if it is still an issue.

[@isaac-shapiro]

what was the weight of the leather? 6-8oz?

[@MakerExperiment]

It was for this material. Usually I use 3-4oz for most of my projects that are leather.

[@rvlifestylelivin]

ty for sharing!

[@MakerExperiment]

george elder you’re welcome.

[@n0151119]

Great video!! When you say what speed you’re using, what does speed “4” or “5” mean in in/sec or mm/sec?

[@MakerExperiment]

It’s actually a percentage on a scale from 0 to 100. My machine runs off percentages.

[@semisosa4382]

Have you ever tried silicone?

[@MakerExperiment]

Not yet.

[@kristinarodriguez3]

Thank you!!!!

[@MakerExperiment]

Kristina Rodriguez you’re welcome

[@noname1233211]

awesome. Does it get less good in details at higher speeds? I noticed lower speed is better for engraving but offcourse slow as heck. guides recommend power 100 and test differens speeds for wood, but i find speed about 15 to be perfect for the details and then adjust power instead. am i correct in my reasoning? Thanks!! engraving wood :)

[@MakerExperiment]

Usually, details in the engraving depend a lot on the DPI. Slowing it down may help, but that’s not necessarily correlated for everything. If I want more detailed engraving, I usually increase the DPI vs slowing down the speed.

[@noname1233211]

@@MakerExperiment Thank you very much. I do 500DPI but will try this matrix and see high speed results better to compare. Fantastic help.

[@noname1233211]

@@MakerExperiment Just one question, actually how do you preset so many different settings for just 10colors? In my Epilog I can only set one speed and power per color. So I would need to present 100 different colors or do each manually?

[@MakerExperiment]

Ted do one row at a time and use 10 colors at a time.

[@noname1233211]

@@MakerExperiment cheers that's what i started with now. Thank you very much once again. Super

[@Mindctrlpankak]

Dude thank you so much for posting the AI file, I was just thinking how long it was going to take me to set that up (probably at least 20-30min) and I heard you say they were in the description!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!

[@MakerExperiment]

You’re welcome.

[@Silent-G]

Running at 100 will wear out the laser quickly right?

[@MakerExperiment]

Glass tubes I would say yes. Metal and ceramic tubes that’s less of a concern.

[@MakerExperiment]

I should mention that yes it is not great to run it at 100% all the time and it will decrease the life over time. However, in order to cut through say 1/4” material on a 40 or 60 watt machine, it’s almost impossible to not run it at 100%. To not have as much of an impact on tube life it would have to be run at Max 80% but that’s not possible for most cutting projects to be honest.

[@harryragland7840]

Is that a Purdue shirt? Go Boilers!

[@MakerExperiment]

It sure is. Boiler Up!

[@MileyonDisney]

c o o l

[@FredMcIntyre]

😃👍🏻👊🏻

[@MakerExperiment]

Thanks man!

[@myronbenware8779]

That has been around for years. nothing new.

[@phototec]

Great video for me as a newbe, I can. find the website you referred to: laseryou.com, can you provide a link please. Thanks

[@MakerExperiment]

It looks like it’s been taken down since I made this video.