Thank you for showing your test results. Being new to CNC and new to lasers, I am missing something in my settings. I have tried the laser addon with Vectric VCarve Pro with poor and unreliable results. Now I am trying Lightburn. Running laser tests with both.
Running the material test with Lightburn I can se the first row with a decent burn at 100% power and 24 IPM. Some of the second row but increasing IPM all is lost. Any help on settings that would be very welcome. The only time I get burn like what I would expect at 100% is when I manually turn on the laser.
Not an expert, but having worked with it before, it appears that scrap may be ash?? If so, ash is notoriously hard to laser on. That may be the cause of the results you are getting.
A big plus 1 agreement with Woodworking Pilot
We have had to move several of our product lines away from as due to the poor lasering results and inconsistent colouring. The only way we had anywhere near approaching acceptable results was to ensure we waxed and polish the item before lasering, however this is still not 100%
From experience I tend not to use the test grid patterns similar to the one you have posted
I tend to prep a piece of wood exactly like i would if its a finished article with regards to sanding and carry out test burns on that, its also good to ensure that the grain orientation is the same on your test piece as you finished item as that has a bearing on the finished look
I have the Onefinity Jtech pro 24W laser. I will try different wood types today. For now I have tried the thin 1/8" pieces for hobby engraving and cutting from Hobby Lobby. Didn’t burn anything. I did do a circle cut on that material and it cuts very well. Here are some screen shots. Sorry for the poor quality.
The first 2 are from Vectric Vcarve Pro - I added the laser post processor and am using the laser cut and fill. Also show the tool setting for the laser. I don’t know how to set depth with this tool. The last one if a Lightburn project that produced the output from my previous post. I did set the Lightburn S setting to 1000.
I appreciate any input. My preference would be to use Vcarve Pro laser.
jeff
I created 5 squares and created a tool path for each with 100% power
with IPM of: 10, 50, 75, 100, & 110. (Vcarve Pro laser addon / cut and fill)
Woods: Walnut, poplar, cedar, cherry, select pine, 2x6 pine
Results: inconsistent - running the first square 100% 10 imp did not result in the same burn as it did the first time. The laser seems to be reducing power. I do have air assist running from an aquarium pump as recommended by Jtech.
With the Walnut and Poplar the 100% 10 ipm cut up to 5/16" deep. It wouldn’t do it again on any other material even the same piece in a different spot.
I am not at all familiar with Vcarve. I Use Fusion 360 for router and Lightburn for the laser.
The only thing that comes to mind is the possibility that your laser is turned way down at the controller. Check out this link:
The article talks about how some lasers may need to be adjusted upon receipt. Mine was fine, but maybe yours was left turned to a lower setting by the factory. Based on the wide array of material you have tested, you should definitely be getting more than what you are seeing out of the laser.
THANK YOU!! I didn’t pay attention to that part of the instructions. I ran the first square and it almost went through 3/4" of Oak. Ran the 5th square at 110 ips and it engraved out 1/16".
When I first setup my 24 watt it wouldn’t fire on my Onefinity Woodworker. I discovered first of all that the tool setting must be set on Laser (JTech,etc.) and under that on (disabled). Then you must put a small screw driver down into the larger opening on the laser controller on the left side and turn the screw all the way left and then to the right (all while you have it in MDI mode with M3 S10 engaged) until the blue light just comes on. This is the proper setting for the 24 watt laser.
I do most of my engraving with it set at 100% power and adjust the speed to get the best burn. My speed is normally at 125mm/sec. Using 100% power at all speeds will ensure you are getting the best time possible. You must however, have your max speed in the tool database set at least that high or higher. I have mine set at 100% power and 150mm/sec. That translates to 354 in/min.
I am wondering if yours is also coming out fuzzy on the bottom. I have my kerf at .006 with a .007 stepover. Have you messed with these and found cleaner results? I also cant get mine to cutout in 1 or 2 passes without starting to burn on the 3rd or 4th pass. Jtech said to have the laser almost touching the surface of the workpiece for cutting but Im still not experiencing the “like butter” cutting i wish i was.
I discovered first of all that the tool setting must be set on Laser (JTech,etc.) and under that on (disabled)
The settings say the 2nd drop box should be set to ‘lo-hi’ not disabled.
Edited to add: I’m seeing conflicting directions on this so I am going to ask @OnefinityCNC directly, in the video for the 7W (I believe) Stone says the 2nd drop-down should be left disabled but in the screenshot directions for the 24W I saw it needed to be set to ‘lo-hi’
Are the settings on the controller different for each laser?
Hello, I just read through this thread and found it very interesting. I have received a 24 watt jtech about three weeks ago, but haven’t gotten around to installing it. I am wondering just how you have yours mounted. If I use the stock mounts, it looks like I will have to unbolt the mount every time I want to use my dust boot. Is there a better way? I have seen a 3d printed magnetic mount talked about on this board, but I wonder if it would be strong enough for the 24 watt. I would appreciate your telling me how you handle this situation.
