Laserscript user forum

Thanks Dave,

Only a little bit out with an 80w then

What would be suitable for 9mm? That would probably be thick enough.

Cheers,

Matt

Hard call Matt,

A 1 watt diode laser will cut 20mm MDF BUT it's time and quality that's the problem. If you were going to cut the very occasional sheet of 9mm then a 40 watt will do it but at around 1mm - 3mm per second feed rate, if you wanted to cut a fair bit of it then a 180 watt tube will cut 9mm at around 10mm - 12mm per second.
Edge finish on 9mm isn't great (it's very black with a lot of loose carbon deposits), on my 180 I tend to look at 6mm MDF as a real limit if I want to make stuff in any kind of sensible times.

For hobby or fun use then time isn't so important and 12mm MDF IS possible just at silly kinds of slow.

If you do want to cut a lot of thicker material then one of HPC's routers will be a better choice, they can cut thick material to 25mm MDF at pretty good speeds.

On my own Laser machines I rarely if ever cut anything over 6mm unless I have to , then I have a limit of 9mm before speeds start getting un-economical.

It all comes down to just how fast you need a job done really

cheers

Dave

Thanks again Dave,

I will have a look at the routers for that kind of work, it makes sense.

I am cutting 4mm MDF on the 3020 at 35%/9mms and it seems to be the right speed/quality. I diy'd a chiller involving a filter and swapping freezer blocks every 2 hours and it keeps it < 15 degrees. Can't believe how much difference it makes!

Cheers,

Matt

Have you used the 3030 router from HPC? Might get one of those I think.

Can't say I have Matt, if they are up to the usual HPC quality they will be great machines though. I may have to look at getting one to play with, I have a Chinese generic junk heap router but that hasn't even been unboxed yet.

The biggest benefit over a laser is you have 3 axis to work with, Lasers are great but the lack of 3rd axis control causes limitations on what they can do. 2d nothing beats a laser for speed and ease of use, for 3d Routers are the way to go

cheers

Dave

Hi Dave,

Is the Chinese junk one you have one of those they are selling on ebay for £400ish? May be interested if you don't think you will use it?

Thanks

Matt

Hi Matt,

Cost £900 I think, I'll get round to trying it out eventually

cheers

Dave

Ah, the 'luxury' one

Hi Guys,

Just harping back to the original topic of this post, I'll tell you my conclusions. After MUCH consideration and your helpful advice my figuring was this:

* For bulk cutting you need 60 watts - so a 3050 or smaller is out of the question.
* Plan for the job you have now, and the jobs you're planning, not some other jobs that you might have in the future. For me, this means smaller bed sizes are fine.
* Don't make all your decisions at once. Take it step-by step if you can, and find out more as you go along.
* It's a cold time of year now. Don't buy a chiller RIGHT NOW - get a big water reservoir and monitor temperature.
* Pushing more air through the system sounds appealing, but let's see how it goes, and whether I need to.
* Flexibility is nice! Moving to different premises within a few months may be on the cards - particularly if I get robust sales early next year - so ease of re-siting is a consideration.

What this has all boiled down to is that I've ordered a 3060 with a 60watt tube upgrade and a beefier power supply fitted by HPC. I'll then look at buying a second laser to optimise production speed after I've been in production for a few weeks. Whether that one's another 3060 or a bigger model is to be seen. I'll tell you how I get on.

All the best,

James

JamesW wrote:* It's a cold time of year now. Don't buy a chiller RIGHT NOW - get a big water reservoir and monitor temperature.

Definitely monitor the temp - buy an aquarium thermometer - it is surprising how quick it can warm up! Also depending on where you site the machine the water pump will also warm the water. My machines are temporarily in an unheated room so I leave the pumps on to avoid air bubbles and freezing. We had frost a couple of nights ago and the 25l of water was 11 degrees in the morning - without the pump I reckon it would be 3-4 degrees colder. After about 2 hours laser time the temp had risen to around 14 degrees so the chiller kicked in.

Without a chiller it is quite hard and time consuming to get the temperature back down (the more water the more time to reduce the heat).

Cheers

Dave