Hi All
Just looking for some information on the 3020, the spec says it has a max cutting depth of 4mm but I was wondering if anyone has had any success cutting deeper.
In particular I'm looking at 3020 owners experience cutting perspex, for example idealy I would like on occasion to cut 5mm acrylic in a single pass and if possible 3mm MDF and 4mm laser ply in a single pass.
Also how do you get around the issue of not being able to do an engrave and cut at the same time.?
Your help is much apreciated.
Regards
Peter
3020 information required.
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Pedro_Hernandez
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3020 information required.
HPC1290 User HPC 3020 Owner
Re: 3020 information required.
Hi Peter,
I cut 3mm laser ply in one pass at just over half power with a speed setting of 10 so 4mm should not be a problem.
I cut and engrave at the same time - not sure what the problem is. Newlydraw that comes with the 3020 is a bit basic but it will allow you to do this without too much of a problem....
As I said in the PM - I have not got round to plastic yet but sure someone will help out
Regards
Dave
I cut 3mm laser ply in one pass at just over half power with a speed setting of 10 so 4mm should not be a problem.
I cut and engrave at the same time - not sure what the problem is. Newlydraw that comes with the 3020 is a bit basic but it will allow you to do this without too much of a problem....
As I said in the PM - I have not got round to plastic yet but sure someone will help out
Regards
Dave
Using two LS3060's and an ex 3020 user
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Re: 3020 information required.
Hiya Pete,
The issue with thicker materials isn't so much having enough power it's more about having sufficient power to work at an acceptable speed. Another consideration is Kerf angle, as the material gets thicker lower powered beams diverge (spread) and you end up with a tapered cut from top to bottom. Higher power lasers tend to hold their beam pattern allowing thicker materials to be cut square and fast.
Acrylic of similar thickness to plywood requires about 5 to 10% more power for any given speed. Clear acrylic cuts better than colours and some of the acrylic filter grades can be a bit of a pain (they are designed to filter out IR radiation so filter the very thing we use to cut with).
A 35watt CO2 laser will in theory cut 20mm acrylic, BUT it's going to take ages and give a very tapered cut. Chris tends to advertise based on honest useable figures and not flights of fancy like some laser machine suppliers. One well known UK laser supplier I spoke to before HPC tried to tell me their 40 watt machine would cut 50mm acrylic reliably....sure it will but the time involved and the poor quality of cut makes it more of a joke than a selling point..
Dave N above has a 3020 and is a great source of info for that model as well
best wishes
Dave
The issue with thicker materials isn't so much having enough power it's more about having sufficient power to work at an acceptable speed. Another consideration is Kerf angle, as the material gets thicker lower powered beams diverge (spread) and you end up with a tapered cut from top to bottom. Higher power lasers tend to hold their beam pattern allowing thicker materials to be cut square and fast.
Acrylic of similar thickness to plywood requires about 5 to 10% more power for any given speed. Clear acrylic cuts better than colours and some of the acrylic filter grades can be a bit of a pain (they are designed to filter out IR radiation so filter the very thing we use to cut with).
A 35watt CO2 laser will in theory cut 20mm acrylic, BUT it's going to take ages and give a very tapered cut. Chris tends to advertise based on honest useable figures and not flights of fancy like some laser machine suppliers. One well known UK laser supplier I spoke to before HPC tried to tell me their 40 watt machine would cut 50mm acrylic reliably....sure it will but the time involved and the poor quality of cut makes it more of a joke than a selling point..
Dave N above has a 3020 and is a great source of info for that model as well
best wishes
Dave
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Dave@OpticalPower.co.uk
Dave@OpticalPower.co.uk
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Pedro_Hernandez
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Re: 3020 information required.
Thanks Dave
Yeah I'm all too familiar with kerf issues, its not a problem for the application I want it for though.
"Daven" Dave has given me some great advice already, and I'm very gratefull to him, however he hasn't done much with perspex yet so he's not sure about if it will cut 5mm in a single pass.
!'m guessing it probably would, I never had problem cutting 5mm perspex with an Epilog 30 watt machine and I guess it wouldn't be massive inconvenience if I had to do two passes anyway !.
Cheers
Peter
Yeah I'm all too familiar with kerf issues, its not a problem for the application I want it for though.
"Daven" Dave has given me some great advice already, and I'm very gratefull to him, however he hasn't done much with perspex yet so he's not sure about if it will cut 5mm in a single pass.
!'m guessing it probably would, I never had problem cutting 5mm perspex with an Epilog 30 watt machine and I guess it wouldn't be massive inconvenience if I had to do two passes anyway !.
Cheers
Peter
HPC1290 User HPC 3020 Owner
Re: 3020 information required.
Happy to test it for you if you can send me a small bit of perspex to play with!
Dave
Dave
Using two LS3060's and an ex 3020 user
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Re: 3020 information required.
I have some 5mm cast acrylic in A4 Dave, I'll drop you a bit over with your discount card and latest hard copy price list
best wishes
Dave
best wishes
Dave
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Dave@OpticalPower.co.uk
Dave@OpticalPower.co.uk
Re: 3020 information required.
Cool, thanks Dave
Using two LS3060's and an ex 3020 user
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
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Pedro_Hernandez
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Re: 3020 information required.
Cheers DaveDaven wrote:
I cut and engrave at the same time - not sure what the problem is. Newlydraw that comes with the 3020 is a bit basic but it will allow you to do this without too much of a problem....
I guess you just alter the engrave speed to ensure you get the right depth etch, as the power will be whatever its set for the cut on the pot.
However I often do jobs with a light cut and an engrave and full profile cut at the same time on the 1290 @ work, I'm sure there will be a work around.
Regards
Peter
HPC1290 User HPC 3020 Owner
Re: 3020 information required.
Yep - ND lets you set the speed of cutting and etching
You could also pause the job, turn the pot. up or down (it seems to do the scans first then cut) then continue. Not too much of a problem unless the parts are small which won't give you much time.
You could get away with not pausing, just be quick turning the knob before it cuts. Just been doing some wood keyrings so had to copy the cut lines and stack them so it scanned once and cut twice
Unless of course someone knows a better way?
Best
Dave
You could also pause the job, turn the pot. up or down (it seems to do the scans first then cut) then continue. Not too much of a problem unless the parts are small which won't give you much time.
You could get away with not pausing, just be quick turning the knob before it cuts. Just been doing some wood keyrings so had to copy the cut lines and stack them so it scanned once and cut twice
Unless of course someone knows a better way?
Best
Dave
Using two LS3060's and an ex 3020 user
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
Please note I am not employed by HPC, any advice or recomendations I give are based on my own experience and are not necessarily the same as HPC's. First point of contact on any hardware issues should be with HPC
-
Pedro_Hernandez
- Posts: 184
- Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:54 pm
- Location: Hertfordshire
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Re: 3020 information required.
Cool, I'm sure it will do what I want it to do,
3020 fund halfway there !, I know I've got 1290 @ work to play with but I realy want a laser of my own so I can do my own thing !
Peter
3020 fund halfway there !, I know I've got 1290 @ work to play with but I realy want a laser of my own so I can do my own thing !
Peter
HPC1290 User HPC 3020 Owner
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