6 Best Tips And Tricks For Laser Cutting & Engraving

Laser cutting machine and laser engraving machine can quickly and easily engrave and cut materials. At Emitlaser, we are doing various processing with sample and projects requested by everyone, I will introduce the tips and tricks of using our laser cutter and engraver that we found in that.

1. Apply masking tape to reduce dirt

Depending on the material, the surface will be stained with tar and smoke when processed. This can be done by applying a masking tape to the surface of the material and processing it to reduce dirt.
Since masking tape is thin, it is recommended because it hardly affects the engraving and cutting effect.

2. 0.1mm or less is recommended for hatching

Vector data with a specified color for fill can be hatched, so that fine parallel lines can be drawn to express “Fill”. You can set the distance between the parallel lines, but it is recommended that it be less than 0.1mm. However, if the interval is too narrow, the processing time will be longer, and the heat will cause dirt and stains. Therefore, adjust the distance by increasing the speed.

3. Parameters and order can be specified for each data color

By color-coding data when creating data with Illustrator, you can set parameters for each color and change the processing order. Very useful when you want to specify the order of cutting.

4. Border the data to make the mark clear

Only engraving on the stamp will make it more clear. Just try setting a line in the data, so be sure to give it a try.

5. Processing time changes depending on the direction of data.

Raster processing and vector (painting) processing are performed while the laser head moves left and right (up and down). At this time, the laser is not irradiated when the laser head is turning back, so there is a loss in time.

Reducing the number of reciprocations as much as possible will shorten the machining time.

In the case of raster processing, the laser head moves to the left and right, so turning a 90-degree vertical photo will shorten the processing time. In the picture below, 25 minutes has been reduced to 21 minutes.
In the case of vector (fill) processing, setting the direction of hatching in the same direction as the long side of the data will save more time.

6. Shift focus to make lines thicker

In vector (line) processing, laser irradiation is performed as to follow the data line, so it is marked with a thin line. If you want to make this line thicker, you can make it thicker by shifting the focus on purpose. Processing time can be considerably shortened compared to engraving thick lines by vector (painting) processing or raster processing.

You can check the difference between these two settings by the image below.

What did you think about these tips and tricks? Please try it because it can improve the processing result and save time. If you have other tips about using laser engraving or cutting machines, please leave us a message. We look forward to your tips!