YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU ARE TELLING CNCC to make the darkest print so select the darkest dog image before you print then slow down the print speed and make sure you are at 100% power

Thank you for answering me. Still doesn't work anyway...

See herebelow the current settings,maybe you can tell me where I am wrong.

you do not have it on "Outline" looks like it is on Black white. Go to Advan, to the right, thin click outline. Click PR them Scale. Click on Create, it will lode the code. Click Run.

Hi,

I just finished setting up my new LaserAxe 100x100 with a 15W laser and am trying to learn how to use it. I created a simple circle image to test with. I want to cut it, first out of cardboard and ultimately out of paper laminated foam board.

So I am also trying to get the laser to follow a path, just a simple circle but I am getting results I do not want. First I set the slider to Outline on the Pic/Txt --> Advanced Tab, but if I then click "Start" on Pic/Txt --> Primary the laser shuttles back and forth along the X axis rather than following the path. It does eventually complete the circle but it takes a very long time

I found that if I go to the code tab and click "run" it will follow the path, great, however even with TTL selected it always starts at 100%

My 15W laser at 100% is too powerful. I believe need to run it at lower power and BurnT and then do multiple passes/cycles to avoid melting the foam too much. I tried setting the burn time down to 6ms and the power to 5% but I cannot figure out how to make it follow the path for multiple low power cycles. If I set Cycletime to more than one it returns to 100% power each cycle. In the sample image I tried manually lowering the power each cycle but that is not a good way to do this.

How can I automate doing multiple passes at low power?

Can you suggest for me some settings to try?

Sincerely

Paul

Hi, i think you cannot cut the white foam with your laser, but that is another story and maybe i am wrong with that, it seems to thick the laser beam is not focused so deep. Anyway, try to generate gcode instead using the Picture mode. Use a programm like Inkscape which is free with a laser engraver output plugin. Then use the code function in the laseraxe software to play the gcode. Then you can use the slider for Power setting as well.

Hi,

thanks for getting back to me. If I understand your response it is not possible to control the laser in the fashion I want just using your CNCC program?

I will play with InkScape and see what I can come up with. It must be possible in the gcode to specify the laser power level and burn time uniquely for each pass. I think this must be the best approach to cutting this foam board. My goal would be to get the right power and burn time to cut the paper in the first pass, then do several lower powered high speed passes on the foam then a final slower pass for the bottom paper.

Would you like me to post how it goes?

Hi, yes please. If you put the white foam under the laser without any paper, does it get cut at all? I tried with mine and it seems to me it is too reflective, it does not get cut.

Sadly, you are right. I cannot cut the foam.

It does not matter how much power or for how long I hit it with the laser it just does nothing.

I should have done my homework first. It was with the specific intention of cutting this foam laminate that I purchased the cutter in the first place.

What do you think it would take to cut this foam? I know very little about this. Does it depend at all on the colour/frequency of the laser? The power? Would a different laser make any difference do you think?

I want to make foam RC planes with it. There must be some way to do that?

Thanks for helping.

Regards

Hi, i think the laser color does not matter much, normally for foamwings you cut the wing profile (crosscut view of the wing) from plywood with the laser and then use it as a guide for the hot wire cutter.

I have not had much success with that white foam board, however I found that some black foam board does cut OK. It's been a steep learning curve but I am making progress. I can cut the black board in just a few passes however I find the risk of fire is high at full power and a speed below 100mm/minute. The paper takes 2 passes at 150mm/minute but that is too much for the third pass as it is now into the foam. 5 passes at 300mm/minute cuts the foam nicely. I am still experimenting as to whether I should do 15 passes at 300mm/minute or whether I can get away with 2 passes at 150mm/minute, 5 passes at 300mm/minute then finish up the lower paper using 2 more passes at 150mm/minute. You can see the scale is not so well defined, it was too slow I think there. I'll keep you posted.

I am fairly happy with the results considering this unit was never really designed for cutting. I have two questions though:

1. What is likely to happen if I run the laser too long? Will it break or start producing a weaker beam or something? I had thought the risk was over heating but this is a 15W laser and the body of it never even gets warm. Because I have to make many passes I need to keep pausing it. How long should I pause between sessions and is an hour at a time too long? Sometimes I forget to pause it. What is likely to happen in these cases? So far it seems unaffected. 2. Do you have plans for more powerful visible light lasers? Just a couple of years ago 15 W was not possible. Do you know if development is being done in this area?

regards

Paul

I just want to cut a circle, but of I choose Outline from a simple PNG or JPG file, I get this error. What am I doing wrong? or better, What should I do to make it work?

Thank you in advanced