An 80 watt laser can cut plywood up to 1/2 inch thick. Make sure to use a high pressure source of air to knock out all of the charring during the cutting process so the laser can work efficiently.

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I have a Chinese 80W laser. Just finished a cut test with 1/2" plywood. It cut through at 95% power 7-4mm/s with significant charring after two passes with no refocusing done between passes.

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That's great information. What is your PSI of the air assist on your laser? What focal lens distance do you have? And where did you place the focus of the lens (at the surface, or within the material)?

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What is the max thickness of material that the 80W laser can cut in plywood?

no, it will only work on anodized aluminum

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WILL THE LASER ENGRAVER WORK ON NON-ANODIZED ALUMINUM

The Greenbull machine can cut a very wide variety of materials ranging from foam to aluminum. We recommend the use of our 2.2kW spindle to allow the greatest flexibility. Aside from that, the most important thing is to use an appropriate end mill for the material you are cutting and to use appropriate speeds and feed rates.



BYCNC Response:
Our 40W laser can cut up to about 1/4" materials ranging from wood and acrylic down through lighter materials such as leather, fabric, foam, etc. Speed and final cut are greatly enhanced by an air assist upgrade. We also offer an 80W laser which has approximately twice the capabilities of the 40W.

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WHAT MATERIALS CAN THE GREENBULL MACHINE CUT? LASER ETCH?

A standard 40W CO2 laser will cut up to 1/4" thick of material, be it wood, acrylic, card stock, leather, fabric, foam, cork, etc. (Decent speed and final cut are heavily dependent on a strong air assist upgrade)

Metals cannot be cut due to the power level and wavelength of the CO2 laser. But it can be marked with special solutions like Cermark or Thermark.

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WHAT THICKNESS OF MATERIAL CAN THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUT?

Cutting metals with a CO2 laser is nearly impossible with just the laser by itself, no matter what the power. The wavelength that a CO2 laser outputs is not best for cutting metals.

However, if you add oxygen as a cutting assist in the cutting process, metals can be cut, but we do not advise this as it is very dangerous.

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What metal sheets can I cut with the 80W laser? What thickness, alumium, steel? What about the 100 or 130W upgrades?

The blackTooth will cut acrylic very easily. The type of acrylic (cast or extruded) is not important since the acrylic itself has 100% absorption with CO2 lasers. Any plastic retailer, even the home improvements stores will have sheets of acrylic.

Avoid using plastics that will off-gas toxic and corrosive fumes. One example is PVC which is Polyvinyl Chloride. The burning of that material will exhaust chloride into the air and combine with the hydrogen in the air causing a chemical reaction yielding hydrochloric acid which is corrosive and highly toxic to humans.

Always read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for any material that you intend to burn with the CO2 laser.

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does the laser xl do well cutting 1/2 Ultraboard? (foam core w/ pvc face) Can it cut it with graphics applied? can it cut 1/2" acrylic?

If you use the 2.2kW spindle, it can cut at 3/4 inch or 19 mm deep with at least a 1/4" cutting diameter single flute end mill. You will get better results with larger diameter end mills, but that is the worst case scenario. I still recommend doing a finishing pass on the edge to make sure everything is perfect.

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CAN THE GREENBULL CUT 18MM BIRCH IN ONE PASS?

Cooling is not as tricky as you might think. There is 3 ways to approach this, only 2 really matter for a low scale 40w setup. First one is the cheapest and easiest. The higher the temp of water the worse your performance will be, from what I understand anything in the 30C range is about the most tolerable it gets. Lower is better. But not frozen...from what I've been told a very experienced cutter, he found 8C was the highest power he achieved.

1. Use a 5 Gallon resovoir system which gives you a fairly large space of water to heat up before you need to tend to it. Add about a cup of anti-freeze to the mix of DISTILLED water. You don't want ANY minerals in the water that might build up in your system. The anti-freeze works to keep algae and other ickies from growing in your water.

2. Use a smaller resovoir system (or even closed loop) and install 1 or more radiators found in CPU cooling systems with 120mm fans attached. This will continously cool your water system to ambient room temperatures, but with a tiny resovoir it will be difficult to add things like ice-packs to drop the temps if the ambient is quite hot.

3. Using an industrial coolant system. Overkill and unless your cutting A LOT, this is a very expensive option to take. You can also explore the idea of Peltier cooling but it is extremely expensive electricity/BTU wise compared to an industrial cooler.

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BUT DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT COOLING THE LASER OFF - IS YOUR SETUP LIKE MOST OTHERS NEED BUCKET OF DISTILLED WATER TO PUMP THROUGH MACHINE?

The laser mount for the greenBull is designed and suited for a 40W tube only. The 80W tube is too large to mount on the gantry.

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The laser adapter for the greenBull can host laser tubes more powerful than 80W?

An end mill smaller than 1.5mm or 1/6" is too small a diameter for end mills to cut through materials that are thick. A good rule of thumb is if the end mill has a cutting length that is more than what you want to cut, that diameter will be acceptable.

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CAN .7MM END MILL BE USED TO CUT THROUGH 15MM MDF?

We use purified water, but adding some coolant can be a benefit. The addition of coolant can keep the water in a state that maintains no growth of foreign organism like algae and the such. Additionally, If you are in a colder climate, antifreeze will work well.

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Do you recomend distilled water or coolant for your 80W laser tube with the CW-3000?

If the turns per inch on a lead screw is different, then the nut on the lead screw will move at a different velocity.

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Let me explain in more detail.

Let's say you have two lead screws:

- 1/2" 5 starts at 10 TPI = 2 turns per inch. (5 starts / 10 TPI = 1/2 inches per turn or 10 TPI / 5 Starts = 2 turns per inch.)

- 3/8" 2 starts at 10 TPI = 5 turns per inch. (2 starts / 10 TPI = 1/5 inches per turn or 10 TPI / 2 starts = 5 turns per inch.)


So, if two stepper motors (one connected to the 1/2" lead screw and the other connected to the 3/8" lead screw) turned 10 revolutions in 2 seconds, the 1/2" lead nut would travel 5 inches and the 3/8" lead nut would travel 2 inches at the 2 second mark.

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Will the 1/2" 5 start lead screw and the 3/8" 5 start will it all work together in unison

If the turns per inch on a lead screw is different, then the nut on the lead screw will move at a different velocity.

Additional Information:
Let me explain in more detail.

Let's say you have two lead screws:

- 1/2" 5 starts at 10 TPI = 2 turns per inch. (5 starts / 10 TPI = 1/2 inches per turn or 10 TPI / 5 Starts = 2 turns per inch.)

- 3/8" 2 starts at 10 TPI = 5 turns per inch. (2 starts / 10 TPI = 1/5 inches per turn or 10 TPI / 2 starts = 5 turns per inch.)


So, if two stepper motors (one connected to the 1/2" lead screw and the other connected to the 3/8" lead screw) turned 10 revolutions in 2 seconds, the 1/2" lead nut would travel 5 inches and the 3/8" lead nut would travel 2 inches at the 2 second mark.

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Will the 1/2" 5 start lead screw and the 3/8" 5 start will it all work together in unison

If the turns per inch on a lead screw is different, then the nut on the lead screw will move at a different velocity.

Additional Information:
Let me explain in more detail.

Let's say you have two lead screws:

- 1/2" 5 starts at 10 TPI = 2 turns per inch. (5 starts / 10 TPI = 1/2 inches per turn or 10 TPI / 5 Starts = 2 turns per inch.)

- 3/8" 2 starts at 10 TPI = 5 turns per inch. (2 starts / 10 TPI = 1/5 inches per turn or 10 TPI / 2 starts = 5 turns per inch.)


So, if two stepper motors (one connected to the 1/2" lead screw and the other connected to the 3/8" lead screw) turned 10 revolutions in 2 seconds, the 1/2" lead nut would travel 5 inches and the 3/8" lead nut would travel 2 inches at the 2 second mark.

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If I buy the 1/2" 5 start lead screw and the 3/8" 5 start lead screws will it all work together

Yes, it is ok if the thickness is plus or minus +/- about 2mm.

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IT OK TO USE THICKER PLYWOOD (MATERIAL) BUILD THE CNC MACHINE, BLACKFOOT, BLACKTOE?

Yes, other CO2 laser tubes will work fine with our laser controller (including the Reci tube). Our laser controller is a digital based controller that controls the laser tube power supply, the motor drivers and other peripherals by outputting digital signals to these devices.

Laser controller URL:
https://www.buildyourcnc.com/item/Laser-Component-Laser-Control-System

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Can other types of laser tubes work with the controller you are selling, for example, the 80W Reci tube?

Yes, it is ok if the thickness is plus or minus +/- about 2mm.

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is IT OK TO USE THICKER PLYWOOD (MATERIAL) to BUILD THE CNC MACHINE, BLACKFOOT, BLACKTOE?

The blackTooth Laser cutter and Engraver can be built in a weekend. Take a look at the build instructions and try to determine if you feel you have sufficient capability to put together the laser system.

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HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO BUILD THE BLACKTOOTH LASER CUTTER?

Yes, the vertical laser XL (VLXL) can use a laser tube with a higher wattage than 80 watts. The maximum wattage depends on the length of the laser tube. As the wattage of the laser tube increases, the length of the laser tube also increases. The inside clearance of the Vertical Laser XL will allow a 130-watt CO2 laser tube to be used.

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[510] Can this machine use a bigger laser tube than 80W?