Laser help

I’m looking to cut 1/4" plywood and was wondering if the lasers would cut it and what would be the recommended power and feed?

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20 Speed (mm/sec) and 70% power is what i use for more of my cutting. Thicker materials may require you to adjust the number of passes on the cut settings.

I don’t generally cut 1/4" plywood, but others have. Typically you want to cut organic materials in one pass. After the material has been burned once there will be a lot more flaming and charring on subsequent passes. Plywood can be tricky due to the inconsistency of the different layers, glue, and fillers.

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Thanks Christian, I’m currently cutting on a Epilog Mini 40W and finding the glues are making it difficult. I was hoping the difference in wattage would make things a little easier.

Yeah, 1/4" plywood is definitely pushing it on a 40W machine. It should be a lot easier with the 80W.

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I’ve had pretty good luck cutting 1/4in baltic birch plywood on our lasers. I don’t have an exact setting to recommend. It does vary a bit piece to piece, so I’d recommend a small test cut. But something like about 10-20 mm/s at 70-80% power are probably good starting points.

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I’m only running 5 speed and 100% power so if I could bump that up to 10 or 20, is be one happy camper. Thanks guys, I’m eager to try it out up there.

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On the other hand. For 1/4in plywood, and certainly for thicker than that, the shop bot in the wood shop is a good option too.

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Yes indeed, unfortunately I have to have multiple sharp internal corners where the Shop Bot just won’t do this time around.

Aaaannnnd don’t forget, we have some 30 sheets of 1/8" Baltic Birch plywood for sale right at our own makerspace. They are 5’ x 5’, and we’re selling them for $30 per sheet to help fund the move to our new building.

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Woah. I don’t think I knew about that. Where are these at and how do you go about purchasing one?

They are leaning against the wall in the classroom. If you want one or more, just fill out an envelope, enclose the money, and put it in the drop box or my mail slot. Be sure to put PLYWOOD - ATTN: DAVID on the outside of the envelope so that we can track those funds separately.

Is there a place where we can see what we can purchase from the space and how much?

Not yet we’re not to that point

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following

Are there any board still available for purchase David.

On Tuesday there were several still in the classroom and the last time I was at Booth I thought I saw more there

What we have left (approx 15 sheets) was in the classroom. There isn’t any at Booth.