Laser Settings 150W
Rabbit has a guide for materials here: www.rabbitlaserusa.com/manuals/speedsfeeds_RL.pdf
Note: The following is a left over from the old 150W laser. Do not assume these are correct for the 80W laser. We will be updating this as we go, so stay tuned.
The minimum power level to still produce laser output is roughly 12-15.
Paul re-calculated those for 150w, change if you find in appropriate (keep in mind these are with a clean lens, dirty lens = more power, so clean the lens first before changing these)
Here are some examples using the rotary attachment on a glass bottle. Scan gap was set to 0.055 for all of these (level recommended by Rabbit). We decided that (for this particular type of glass), a speed of 350 with a power of 18 looked best. Higher power levels increase the "fuzziness" of the graphic.
Scan Gap = 25.4/DPI, so DPI = 25.4/Scan Gap. Theoretical limit is 1000DPI, or 0.0254
Speed: 350, Power: 15,_2 Passes
Speed: 350, Power: 18, Sample 1
Speed: 350, Power: 18, Sample 2
Paul -
Additionally i found that glass requires: focus above the surface of the glass, a soap and water paper towel, and
speed: 500, power 24, scan gap 0.0200
These #'s are a first pass and will be refined later.
From wikipedia: Pulsed lasercutting acrylic introduces a high internal stresses along the cut edge, which when exposed to solvents produces undesirable "stress-crazing" at the cut edge and several millimetres deep. Annealing the PMMA sheet/parts is therefore an obligatory post-processing step when intending to chemically bond lasercut parts together. This involves heating the parts in an air circulating oven from room temperature up to 90 degrees C (at a rate of no more than 18 degrees per hour) down to room temperature (at a rate of no more than 12 degrees per hour). Temperature should be maintained as follows: One hour for 3mm thickness, two hours for up to 6mm thickness, four hours for up to 12mm thickness, and six hours for up to 20mm thickness. A rapid annealing cycle is reliable for thin sheets and involves placing them in a pre-heated oven to 80 degrees C for one hour, then removing parts from oven and allowing to cool to room temperature. .