RDWorks Learning Lab 95 Cutting Parameters DIY

[@ishwardave7823]

Thank you Russ for your time and passing your knowledge to all of us.

[@Elmojomo]

Hi Russ, Great video as always! FYI for anyone not wanting to jump through the hoops to add or edit descriptions to be multiple lines, you can just use [Ctrl]+[Enter] to input a multi-line note in the parameter library. Edit: this works in RDWorks V xx0.40, not certain if this is a feature they added recently or if it's been there all along.

[@baccus61]

Spot on. I've never liked the 'percentage' settings for speed and power. Great videos so keep 'em coming.

[@sawmilldan]

Russ, I use wood golf tees with my honeycomb table, they drop in the holes and are nonrefundable. thanks for all you do

[@tugaminhoto4969]

I have some questions if you dont mind.. 1) min.: 12:22 why you chose 67%? 2) you sell the laser test probe showed at 28:48? I am a litle confuse about paramenters, i have a 80w laser and to cut a) 3mm MDF i use 35% and 20mm/s, so 35% of 80w is only 28w, far from yours 42w b) 10mm MDF i cant cut and dont know why c) 5mm plywood i use 35% and 30mm/s d) 10mm plywood i use 35% and 7mm/s why this hapen. thanks for you help.

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Eduado 1) This video explains how a laser tube works in principle. It will also explain how there is a maximum current that will be applicable to your tube. If you exceed that current you will dramatically shorten the life of your tube. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHeYgGBnia1rmJI A second video about how to check your tube's performance with a power meter is kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIvYkqeZaMp8nbc After seeing the shape of the power output you will see that %power does not mean % of tube power. ie for a 100 watt tube 50%power is not 50 watts and 100% power is not 100 watts. A 100 watt power supply may be capable of supplying 30mA but you should not run a 100 watt tube at more than 25mA . The % power is used to control the mA passing through the tube ie 30mA =100% and 15mA=50%. That is why the graph will show a linear relationship between drive current and %power. For my 60 watt tube I have established that 67% is the max number that I can use because that reaches the 22mA current for my 60 watt tube. Do you have an ammeter fitted to your machine?. If not then it is essential that you fit one. Without it you have no idea if you are damaging your tube (although with the figures you are using you are not) However, you need to know what the maximum% power you can safely use because THAT is what you should be using most of the time for CUTTING.Draw a 25mm test square and cut it at whatever your maximum power is ( my guess is it will be about 65%) Start cutting your test square at low speed and keep increasing it until your test square does not drop out. Reduce the speed a little and that is your ideal cutting parameter.. That parameter cannot be predicted because it will depend on so many factors like focal length and and how efficient you air assist is to name but two.. Go to ebay and search for Ammeter 30mA There will be lots there for less than $5 Best wishes Russ

[@meade916]

I know this is an older video...but if you happen to see this, would it be possible for a new fan of yours to get a copy of that sheet? I am new to the laser world and i really need a good form to keep track of the many different materials i cut (speeds, power etc). Can i email ya? I got a couple other questions too if you don't mind. Thanks a lot in advance!

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi No Problem. Just attach your email to a new comment. I get auto copied to my gmail and will answer. I also delete your comment to remove your email from public view. Best wishes Russ

[@C4pn.K1rk]

Lovely video! Very helpful... My anxiety almost killed me though looking at the glass tube sticking out the side of that rear machine... I just know in my shop it would be hit within about 10 minutes of being setup...

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Zack Please don't stress over my Lightblade tube. I had to remove the cover for about a day while shooting a training video for Thinklaser about how to change a laser tube. There is also no natural walking in that area because the Purex filter unit is in the way and for 99.99% of it's life the cover has been on. So, now you stop taking those chiill pills. Thanks for you concern though, Best wishes Russ

[@sergeb4352]

Thank you for your incredible work...

[@derrickstewart5554]

Hello Mr. Russ. Is there a particular company you would suggest in using when purchasing lenses?

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Derrick If you are in a hurry because you have wrecked a lens then you can try Amazon. They will be more expensive than buying them from China but look forCloudray on Amazon as they are my trusted company. If you go to their Chinese website you will be able to buy lenses cheaper but they will be 3 weeks away. The postage will be free. If your machine is less than 80 watts then you can buy the cheaper PVD lens type and I have found these to cut between 20 and 30% better than the more expensive CVD type. Over 80 watts then you will be wise to buy the CVD type. Note , the lens is the most vulnerable part of your machine so always carry a spare. www.cloudraylaser.com/collections/co2-laser-optics Best wishes Russ

[@derrickstewart5554]

@@SarbarMultimedia Thank you for responding Mr. Russ. Would you recommend having a different nozzle assembly for each lens as i seen in your video you had a 4" assembly and a 1.5 and so on.

[@SarbarMultimedia]

@@derrickstewart5554 Hi Derrick I have lots of lenses, lots of different nozzles and because I continually "play" with my machine and swap lenses, sometimes tens of times per hour, I do not fear finding the correct focal point. There are many that I know who feel more comfortable with fixing a lens, a nozzle and tube together as a unit and having a specific focal distance for that assembly. I can understand that approach for people who are less sure about the technology. It really depend on the balance between your confidence and your budget. I cannot spend your money for you/ Best wishes Russ

[@carrighetti]

Hi. Have you studied about the frequency change of the laser, to work on different materials? Does that help to get better and deeper cuts? Thanks for the videos are a great help. Greetings from Uruguay.

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi I have played with the frequency settings but found no obvious changes. Upon further research I'm sure that those setting have no effect if you have a glass tube. RDWorks is a piece of universal software that can be used in many different machine types. One of the tube types that can be controlled by RDWorks is the RF tube which works with different principles to the glass tube. 'I'm sure that frequency feature only works if you have specified an RF tube in the vendor settings. Best regards Russ

[@reneematthews44]

Hi Russ, I hear you are the KZbin laser cutter guru. I am hoping you can help me. I currently have the 50 W Laser Engraver/Cutter very similar to what you have. This belonged to my friend. She recently bought a Glowforge and I bought this from her for $100.00 USD. It needs a new laser tube. I have read that you should also replace the power source at the same time. My first question is, I was considering just buying a new 40 W CO2 laser engraver cutter instead of fixing this one. What are your thoughts about that? I haven't used the 50W and am waiting to purchase the 40w until I do the research. I will be using either machine for crafting. Can you please give me some insight?

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Renee My first advice is to forget the 40 watt machine option. You have a so called 50 watt machine bought for $100. In it's current state, that machine is is already a ten times better machine than any new K40 machine you will buy. The list of reasons not to buy a K40 will offend a lot of current K40 owners. Yes the K40 works and with a limited budget is a step into laser engraving world. People do perform miracles with half of nothing but you have so many more possibilities with your $100 machine........maybe. The big question is does it have a RUIDA controller board? There are many machines like my China blue machine that have "old school" analog controllers just like the K40 in which case my advice may be different. Take a look at this and identify the controller you have. The leypad layout will be the quickest identifier. lasergods.com/controller-dsp-identification/#Jinan_JinQiang_Laser_CNC_Equipment_Co_Ltd_POWERCUT_4311 Let me know what you find and I will advise further.. Best wishes Russ

[@MrEzz00]

hi Russ I have bee watching quite a few of your videoes and being an engineer myself I am transfixed to your channel loving your in depth explanations of your findings.i have just purchased what appears to be the same as your Chinese blue machine ,I saw an earlier video of the what meter you had produced and that you had them for sale.i was wondering if you was still selling them as I am most interested in buying one thankyou regards Eric

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Eric Take a look at your you tube messages Russ

[@HalbritterWolfgang]

Very helpful, thanks for the tutorials all

[@VladOnEarth]

Russ, may I ask. What is your opinion about upgrading tube to higher wattage. For example I am going to receive my machine with “50W” refurbished tube. Should i consider going 60-70 of real watts. And if yes, what kind of benefit do i get from more power? Given the fact that application of such machine is limited anyways. To be honest, my crappy K40 machine had enough power to cut anything you can fit inside of it. And I actually had problem with not being able to lower power sufficiently for some engravings. So what is the real benefit for more power tube and won’t it actually be worse for lower power jobs?

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Vlad You are perfectly correct about power. I warn people all the time about being careful about what they wish for when they think about upgrading to 100 watts or more. You need power for cutting only. The more power you have the longer focal length lenses become usable and cutting thicker materials faster is the only benefit. If you want to engrave then you need precision control of low power. The power characteristic of most big tubes is a bit of a dog leg graph where for example you may get 100 watts at 70% power setting but get 60 or 70 watts by the time you call for 30%power. This very steep initial power rise is very poor for engraving. 60 watts is the best compromise tube for general use. If you wish to specialize in engraving on pre-cut shapes, then 40 watts is perfect. The K40s (and most other machines) are supplied with a 2" focal length lens. For such a low power machine this seems like too big a focal length. For engraving and cutting with such low power you would really benefit from the scalpel precision of a 1.5" lens. The controller in the K40 is very limiting because you can only work with one power at a time as it's not programmably controllable. Move up to a machine with a digital controller and you get the option to use something called SPECIAL MODE. This uses the PWM clock pulse to chop the power into high frequency pulses. You can then select mark/space ratios of 50 to 99% for your power output. This allows a bit more control of low power for bigger tubes and super precision for the low power ones. Best wishes Russ

[@VladOnEarth]

SarbarMultimedia thanks! This is one of the reason i upgraded to 50W machine - i did not realize that k40 doesnt have pwm control for laser. Truck with my new “50W” machine is coming in couple hours. Excited to give that a run! Another advantage of this larger machine is variable Z axis, which i think is a must have for any machine of this type. And the final advantage is it not being constructed of pure garbage 😄 unlike K40.

[@VladOnEarth]

SarbarMultimedia received my laser machine last hour. Unless they offer me like 60-70% refund, this garbage will go back to where it belongs. In order to make this thing properly work it has to be broken down entirely and reassembled from the scratch with some components entirely replaced in it... 🤦🏻‍♂️ Fraud is in Chinese blood, ridiculous.

[@SarbarMultimedia]

I call it Fleabay for a very good reason....buyer beware. Is it really that bad? and you have not run it yet? Wow Let me know what happens Best wishes Russ

[@VladOnEarth]

SarbarMultimedia haven’t run it yet, and yes, I am familiar with that quality and what to expect. But Chinese surprise me everytime... lol

[@darkosariclukendic7064]

Hello. can you tell me what is the parameters of the air assist pump on this machine? (Power, capacity and max pressure)

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Darko The machine was supplied with www.hailea.com/e-hailea/product3/ACO-328.htm This is a 70l/min pump with a max pressure of about 4 psi.. It is also the pump I run on my Lightblade machine with no issues. I experimented with a slightly higher pressure pump on my China Blue machine and used the www.hailea.com/e-hailea/product3/ACO-009E.htm This has double the capacity of 140 l/min which is totally unnecessary, and can work up to 5psi. If used efficiently then the ACO-308 is perfect. Best wishes Russ

[@VladOnEarth]

Ok, i found out what is causing the ripple problem. It’s actually vibration on belt. That is caused basically by very poor assembly and construction of this laser. There is no single cause, everything is casing it to some extent. Basically a size effect of junk product. I quickly designed some additional parts in CAD and printing them at this moment. If they help stabilize, I will share the solution :)

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi The fundamental problem is that toothed belt technology has been hijacked for an application it was never designed for. The clue is in the name (timing belt). It was designed to losslessly and quietly transmit power in ONE direction and replace the cam belt timing chain in engines. Conventional cnc drive systems work with rack and pinion or sometimes ball leadscrews. Both are hideously expensive and heavy when compared to a timing belt system. Thus timing belts are a 95% alternative for our lightweight machines. With a constant stream of power from our laser. any variation in the head velocity results in variation in cut depth. This is what you are seeing with this curtain effect. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3evomRqq75lsLM This video explains how this velocity variation arises. The other link I sent you shows how I turned the belt over and am using it as a flexible rack and pinion drive to completely overcome the problem. Best wishes Russ

[@VladOnEarth]

SarbarMultimedia this can’t be true, as I have built a number of 3D printers. My last build is quite a large CoreXY machine. I have never had problems with belts, and on my last machine i am using 5mm belt which is over 2.5m long. And I have zero vibration or precision problems on it. Horizontal precision is easily under 100 microns with GT2 belt. Never had a single problem with such systems. Moreover my former laser machine did not have any of these problems at all. I did a lot of negative engraving on it and it was smooth and uniform always. It’s not about the belt, I am 100% sure, it’s about them building this machine on junkyard from the components that they can find there and with a mindset of junk person. I opened this thing up today and was speechless by how bad it is assembled and how much parts don’t fit each other and what solution they chose to fix that. In fact my last $350 machine was a way better build. First of all, at least in my machine, X belt positioning is a sad joke, it is absolutely crooked, and in fact it rubs the X rail most of the time. Idler pulley used on the right side looks like it went through the world war 1 and 2, both. These are not just used components, these are junk components, that should not be reusable already. I am gonna make this seller struggle for what they do to customers by selling such junk as “new”, it’s neither new nor it can be called “laser engraver machine”. It qualifies as refurbished diy engraver kit in best scenario. This has to be broken down entirely and rebuilt from scratch in order for it to be a proper laser machine, that will also involve quite an investment into proper components and in the end of a day you would think that it was easier to build your own machine yourself than to deal with such vulgar garbage... 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@VladOnEarth]

SarbarMultimedia the belt in my machine is the cheapest garbage belt one can find in china, it is synthetic rubber belt with steel core. This alone can contribute to good amount of vibration and hence those waves. This has to be replaced with Aramid/Kevlar core natural rubber belt. I diagnosed everything today and i see belt occasionally “jumping”/“jerking”, but can’t figure out what is causing it still, since there is so much stuff that is wrong there, hard to isolate the main issue. Tomorrow i am lowering the X stepper by 3mm, this is a first step. Its improperly setup in this machine, so the pulley creates upward pressure on belt. Right side idler pulley is another sad joke, that will be hard to fix, so i shove off a bit to lower it slightly.

[@VladOnEarth]

SarbarMultimedia i have also designed and 3d printed belt mounts for both sides, now at least belt is not crooked and is parallel to the rest of assembly. My belt was mounted by ONE SCREW which was drilled through the belt and the nut on the other side. You can imagine how that looked and worked.

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Draw a small square say 25mm and set it to scan at 0.1 increment. Set the power to 1% so no cutting occurs. Run the program and look very carefully at the belt as it runs in and out of the drive pulley. As it runs in you will see it climbing and as it exits it falls. This is the rubber teeth engaging part way up the tooth flank and locking there until two or three teeth in, where there is enough lateral tension to fully engage the tooth. Depending how bad your system is, if you drive to a fixed coordinate on the keypad from one direction and do a pulse burn on a piece of wood or card and then do the same thing from the opposite direction you may find 0,1mm or even 0.2mm difference caused by this effect.

[@Peeseebeeb]

Hello Russ, I am in much need of your advice on a couple of points. My Chinese laser appears to be the same one as you have. I am considering upgrading the dubious 50W rating to a 75W/90W RECI tube together with a new power supply quoted at £603 with free delivery (ebay item 173365599796) I find that I can save around £25 by buying the same tube separately (19 kV trigger/24 mA running) by buying the power supply from another source (35 kV/28 mA) (ebay item 153026905903). Is this feasible? Secondly, do you connect the milliAmp meter in line with the low voltage side of the tube? And finally, in one of your videos concerning mirror lapping, you show your mirrors as being mounted on small bolts at the rear. What is the purpose of that and how did you do it?

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Peter For Ebay read FleaBay.......buyer beware!!!! Would you expect to buy a genuine Rolex watch for half price?? Reci are the Rolex of laser tubes. In my opinion they are overrated and overpriced BUT because they have a notional high reputation and high value, they are a prime target fort "Chines copies". You can find Reci tubes advertised at great prices and described as "genuine Reci" or "Reci sourced". Both may be true but both may be unwarrantable QA failures from Reci. I'm saying this because I have seen the same deceit happening elsewhere in the Chinese tube market. Reci themselves recognize that there is this "alternative" market for their tubes and so they have tried to defeat the fakers with a Q code label that is attached to warranted Reci tubes. Scan this Q code with your smart phone and it will auto connect to the Reci website and tell you the serial number and date of manufacture of your tube . Do NOT buy a Reci tube unless it has the Q code. I am not aware of fake Reci power supplies, only units from other manufacturers that claim to run Reci tubes. The power supply in this advert is just such an alternative and comes from www.jnhyec.com/en/productxx.asp?signid=122&proid=186 The Reci tube advertised is not displaying any labels (why?). This is a Reci W1 tube www.recilaser.com/en/index.php?m=&c=Index&a=show&catid=7&id=65 As you can see, it claims to have a peak power output of 100watts at 29mA. If this is a genuine A grade Reci tube, why would you undersell it as 90 watt peak? Maybe this is the reason it failed QA? My first 50 watt tube in the machine was in fact a 40 watt tube outputting 30 watts Basically it was junk. I bought a "genuine 50watt OEM replacement tube" from Coletech and that was only slightly better junk. This package you are assessing is from Coletech but is being sold via a third party (probably a private Chinese seller on commission) to distance Coletech from any bad feedback or claims. I can only leave you to spend your money where you think best but wish to make you aware of the risks. If you were to buy this package with a genuine A grade Reci tube here is what you would expect to pay direct from a reliable source es.aliexpress.com/store/product/1-PCS-80W-Reci-co2-laser-tube-80w-1-PCS-DY10-Reci-Laser-Power-Supply/321243_32756879991.html?spm=a219c.12010612.0.0.22157106srBq3c This is £812 PLUS 20%VAT when it lands in the UK However, Reci tubes are not quite what they seem. If you read the section 2 operating conditions it says 100 watts output (peak) at 29mA. But this is only a test current, you cannot run at this current or you will invalidate the warranty. They recommend that the max you should ever use is 27mA which means you will get a guaranteed 80 watts output. Read on to the bit that says that if you want reasonable life from your tube then limit the current to 25mA. In reality that means you will get 70watts output. Personally I think that is a VERY sneaky way of selling you a 70 watt tube. What now? Well, I would forget Reci and look at something like an 80 watt EFR tube plus suitable power supply from a reliable source (Mactron Tech in China). Email them for a tube and power supply combo quote and I guess it will be about £600 with shipment PLUS 20% vat You could also check what a Yongli tube and power supply would cost. Both will be genuine 80 watt outputs (not 70watts) but without the reputation price premium Also ask for a quote on their MTS-70 tube and power supply That is what they sent me. Still running perfectly 2 years on. www.co2-lasers.com/co2-laser-tube/27-co2-laser-tube.html#.WybWLFUzphE As you are in the UK I would also check on the price of a 60 watt EFR tube and power supply and also an 80 watt EFR tube and power supply from [e-mail] A trustworthy UK company that will be easier to deal with and will be able to match or better the Chinese prices but will still be plus 20%vat unless you have VAT registered business Why do I all of a sudden mention 60 watts? (and 70 watts above). All the 80 watt tubes will be 80mm diameter and if you check the tube mounting arrangements you will struggle to fit a fat tube into our machine. Ammeter connection? Yes. see kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnW9nqiuppp1e68 Mirrors kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnnEmKykgZmtp9U kzbin.info/www/bejne/e33IooNpqa2fppI Hope some of this helps Best wishes Russ

[@petercharleswest]

Help - we need your settup parameters, but cannot get into the private messaging. peter west

[@SarbarMultimedia]

You Tube is just about to cease the private messaging service so maybe it's now stopped. Send me you email as a comment and I'll immediately delete it once I catch your email address. Tell me more about what you are after Best wishes Russ

[@bialy100k]

Regards "parameters" I have doubt related to laser physics, and to be more specific - to tear and wear of the tube. I was asking about it few people, but had no answers. Say : I go to cut light "laser grade" 3mm plywood with this parameters: Speed=75mm/s P_max=64% P_min=54% Speed=40mm/s P_max=44% P_min=34% Both are in range of normal, long use tube parameters. And both create indistinguishable effect (in practice, not theoretically). Same nice cut, no char, same light brown sides. Putting machine mechanics itself on side (I know acceleration is not good thing for rails) - which one is better and lead to lower tear and wear of tube? Is there bigger degradation of gases in higher temperature (created by higher energy plasma), or time is more critical? Any idea, links or particular knowledge?

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Your speeds may look astonishing to most people but they don't realize that you have a 100 watt tube. The obvious answer to your question is 44%/34% but why? The tube contains a basic mix of 10% nitrogen, 10% carbon dioxide and 80 % helium (there may be traces of other gasses as well) The carbon dioxide is to be imagined as a "lazy" gas In its gaseous state nitrogen (and all the other gasses) are non-conductors.The nitrogen can be easily excited by putting 25,000 volts up its bottom. That will turn the nitrogen gas into an ionized state (basically just like lightening). The nitrogen can now conduct huge amounts of current if allowed to . The power supply regulates that current flow in accordance with your % power demand. If you ask for a higher % power then more current is allowed to flow though the ionized nitrogen. More current means the nitrogen gets more excited (attains a higher energy level) as it does so it generates more heat. That is where the 80% helium plays a role. It is in the mixture purely as a heat conductor to carry the heat way from the ionzed gas to the water jacket to dump it. The helium is the vital gas that stabilizes this process. The ionized nitrogen is at temperatures in the thousands of degrees (just like lightening) so any low temperature heat sink (the water jacket) is vital for the helium to perform its task. Whether the water temperature is 10C or 40 C is relatively still a very cold heat sink for the helium. You will notice I have not mentioned the CO2 yet other than to say it is "lazy" That's because this ionization and heat transfer process is completely separate from the power producing laser action which we will come onto shortly. That pink glow that you see in your tube is the ionozed nitrogen and is NOT the laser beam. Even when your tube is dead (it has run out of CO2) it will still glow pink and the current meter will still respond to your request for more power.. That is because the ammeter is not showing you power output but current flow through the nitrogen. In laser terms this whole process I have described so far is called the "pumping" action. Okay let's get the CO2 involved now. The CO2 is happy to be at a low energy state. However, being part of the mixture, as the nitrogen is stimulated to higher energies by more current flow, it randomly bumps into CO2 molecules. In doing so this collision transfers energy to the CO2 and elevates it to a relatively unstable higher energy level. It can be encouraged to part with this extra energy in the form of a photon of light by other passing photons. The CO2 then settles back to "lazy" mode.........until,another collision starts the whole cycle again. The tube manufacturer puts a maximum recommended drive current on the tube to make sure it achieves the guaranteed lifespan. This max current takes the nitrogen lto its maximum allowable energy level where the more active it is the more CO2 collisions will occur and indirectly more photons will be released by the CO2 that is now being very regularly stimulated. Problem.........If you run at more than the recommended drive current then the nitrogen gains even more energy and more and more of those CO2 collisions will have sufficient energy to split the CO2 into CO and O . Neither of these gasses will release photons. There are mechanisms in the tube that recombine some of the CO and O back to CO2 but OVER DRIVING is a destructive process. Eventually your tube will run out of CO2 and produce ZERO power even though the tube appears to be working. The point I am making here is that the current to power relationship is fine and predictable while the tube is in good condition (there is sufficient CO2 in the mix) As the CO2 depletes that relationship changes. So when you detect a loss of power you wind the %power up. Yes you may get a bit more power but unknowingly you are driving your tube to an even earlier death. Perhaps you can now see for yourself that running your tube at lower temperatures helps the helium do it job marginally better. Keeping the process cool keeps the nitrogen energy level lower. Running your tube at 44% is well below that nitrogen energy zone where destructive collisions occur, so as you anticipated I would expect the gas mixture to remain stable for longer. This is indirectly confirmed if you look carefully at the Reci tube specifications for a 100 watt (W4) tube they hedge their bets when they say "The working current: test current is 30mA. Maximum working current is 30mA. The running current must be kept below 28mA. The life span can reach 10,000 hours if the current is kept below 26mA." So the REAL maximum working current is 26mA NOT 30mA Hope this begins to make sens Best regards Russ

[@imajeenyus42]

Hi! Many thanks for the explanation of the parameter library - I knew that was there, but was too lazy to investigate it (I have all my settings in an Excel spreadsheet, and just manually enter them whenever I need to). I should try that and see if it makes life easier. A little tip about things like Wordpad for editing text files - it can sometimes be funny, because it isn't really a "plain text" editor. Way back, I've had Wordpad corrupt text files I've tried to edit because it wrote some fancy formatting as well. Now I use Notepad++ (no relation to Microsoft's Notepad) which is a totally plain text editor - notepad-plus-plus.org/. Another thing - I'm strongly convinced that the coolant temperature affects the laser output power! The cutter is in the shed and sometimes when it's bloody cold, I'm sure that it cuts much better. Contrariwise, if it's been doing a lot of cutting and has warmed up to 20°C or so, it doesn't seem as good. I was amazed at your cutting speed for the likes of 3mm MDF (24mm/s at 67%?) - on mine, which is still an 80W tube, I need 10mm/s at 100% to do that! However, that's because I still have some hard-drive-platter mirrors in the machine which, although they're very flat, aren't very reflective (about 80% each, or only 50% after three of them). I really must upgrade to gold or copper ones and speed things up - I'm just put off a bit by the risk of having to realign anything again!

[@SarbarMultimedia]

Hi Lindsay Cutting speed will be better now as when I did that test the machine was not performing at its best, 43 watts is not good it should have been 50watts plus after the lens. The hard disc platters are not very efficient as you have found out. I did some tests myself and those that I made were about 90% effeicient. OK in an emergency but not a good solution. The most cost effective mirrors are still molybdenum. They are durable and if maintained will work at 95% plus. Gold mirrors scratch very easily and I'm not sure what the Chinese use for their gold but the gold coated copper mirrors I tested recently were at 95% rather than the 99% I was expecting. I currently have a set of my super flat copper mirrors away with a guy in the USA that has promised to plate them for me with 24K gold. I await their return with great anticipation. It's great fun for me to prove a point but not a cost effective solution for the normal Joe .What is the point of trying to get that last 1 or 2% Even if I had a 100 watt tube the watts gain would not be worth the effort. Thanks for the comment Best regards Russ

[@petediaz4146]

Would you like a cup of tea 🫖?

[@jameslamb4573]

Nice video, it explains the variables well. Just a shame that RDWorks only saves one parameter at a time. It would be a life's work to record all the parameters for all the "colours" used in a good test file mixing cutting and engraving.

[@billdaniellehenke2521]

Thank you so much for taking the time to educate and help us all. I am truly indebted to you! I would not have been able to test my machine within 12 hours of receiving it without you! I would love a copy of your parameter sheets when you have a moment if they are still available. [e-mail]. I do have a question for you, when you have time. This just might have been a more recent change in the software since I recently downloaded it and this video is from 2017 (I am no where near done watching all of your very helpful videos!) but my layer parameter window looks different than yours. It was hard to read yours, but below "seal" i have "open delay", "close delay", a check box for laser through mode, and then "through power". I have been setting the through power at my max power, but I am not sure that it's right or what it's purpose is. If you have any insight I would be very grateful! Thank you again Sir!