We hope that knowing how to work out the correct settings to cut through any given material will allow anyone with a laser (Diode & CO2) to get the results they are after! Nothing like a clean edge that needs no post-production to make your laser projects fly along! I would love to see the projects you are creating with your laser and Lightburn! Unfortunately, you can not post pictures to RUclips, but you can in the Laser Livestreams Facebook group! facebook.com/groups/laserlivestream We would love to have you aboard!
Please can you get a camera that records at better than 720 as it will add significantly to your videos overall quality and ease of viewing. Great information, thank you.
Hi, thanks for this great tutorial. I am completely new to lightburn and am itching to start some projects with my Atomstack laser. This video will set me on my way. I look forward to watching more of your tutorials. Thanks again.
Follow the workflow to work out the best settings. Each laser is different, most of the settings they give you are a guideline. I also do this test with new batches of material to get the most out of laser. 👍
Gil thank you, This is very useful informatioI my brother and I are new to all of this and have already created a lot of awesome items. We have looked around, diligently I might add, for a starter material list that we could import and then modify as we go. But our efforts have been futile... Would you happen to know where we could get a good starter list??? or does it come built in and we did something wrong???
Hi Gil Eddie in the UK here ! Great video - thanks ! I've just bought an Atomstack S20 Pro Laser and my learning has begun ! I need to cut White Depron Material and was wondering if you could give me any recommended cutting settings please ? Thanks again for such a helpful video Gil.
Hey Eddie, glad this video helped. I have not used Depron before, but it looks like it's a form of foamboard. That can be tricky cause polystyrene, and lasers don't like to dance well together. If you try cutting it, start with low power/high speed and adjust the power until you get the result. Test often and make small changes (5-10% power at a time). Polystyrene can catch alight easily, and when it does burn, it releases toxic smoke and hardens to a rock-like substance that can be hard to remove. Personally, I avoid the stuff or get the laser to score the paper layer, then take a blade to cut through the polystyrene layers without having to risk the material catching alight. I'm curious to hear what you are planing to make with Depron sheeting? Stay safe and make something amazing! :)
Great stuff Gil! Fine-tuning settings for materials is an important thing to discuss and share whether you are a laser newbie like myself, or a seasoned vet =)
i love your videos, they are super helpful! but PLEASE go 1080p :D it would make following your screen captures etc a lot easier. I feel like im not wearing my glasses haha. anyway. love your content. thankyou!
Hey Gary, Thanks for the feedback. All our videos are at 1920X1080 HS and at 30P frame rate. Not sure why your playback is not cleaner, my suspicion is that if the bandwidth is a little clogged, RUclips might be throttling back the resolution so the video plays smoothly. Either way, I will look into it for you. Nothing worse than finding out that all the work put into the videos is not being delivered...
7mm MDF will almost never be cut on a diode laser without multiple passes. Try using the workflow with something like thick card first before using thick stock. MDF is not great material even if you master the laser cause of the way it’s made. Go for the easy wins first then scale up. Let us all know how you go 👍
Hi. I am just starting out and I am using Baltic birch plywood to make ornaments. Do I use this method to test the best results with my laser? When I cut it is burning the wood.
Yes, absolutely. The method is to work out the best settings for YOUR laser. Each machine may have a different setting. If you are burning the wood, I would turn the power down, and see what the result is. :) Let us know how you go, and I would love to see your birch ornaments once they have been finished :)
Yes. Every new material I use, I test and then create a power range as a starting point. I will also use that info to test new material I purchase as not all materials are made the same way to optimise power and speed.
@@LaserLivestream Hey Gil, think maybe you could help out with the settings for pallet wood .I guess I jumped the gun and went for it. only to have this black hole, no design. send the link to your share page and Ill send the pics of my Baby Grand NOW that is where I was listening to you and and followed your direction it came out perfect..
hello great video. i have a problem with neje 3 + mac ios 13 + lightburn (trial). I designed a circle but the final result is ouval. what should I do to setting this ? thanks
Thanks for the feedback Anthony. I would love to see some of the projects you make with your laser. Be great if you could join us on our Facebook group. What do you make with your laser?
I'd like to share Gil, I'm learning how to apply what you've been teaching with my CO2 laser. I'm fairly new to lasers so your channel which I've subscribed to has been awesome.
As always, an informative video. Various sites (Facebook Groups, RUclips, ...) say that you shorten the useable life of your laser by constantly running at 100% power and that you should never exceed xx% (xx < 100). What are your thoughts? Would it be better to cut at 80% power and either slower or with multiple passes?
I know not all lasers are made equal, but the laser I have doesn't push my laser element to 100%. It's little shy of that, so I use all my settings at 100%. That said, laser elements (diodes or tubes) are an expendable item on your laser. They reduce efficency over time. I think its your call on how you want to run your laser. What you save on money, you might have to use more time. With all the different things happening, time is the most expensive element for me.
Hallo, please help me to setting my laser. I have Neje Zoneway 80w and software Lightburn. My problem is, that doesn't cut 4mm poplar plywood. Laser have 35mm up to plywood. Speed 140-180/min and power 100%. Please tell me another setting to cut a circle from 4mm plywood 🙏🏼
If you have a NEJE 80W you can reliably cut 6mm MDF and more. For 4mm plywood try 95% power 165-170mm/min, possibly a touch quicker, and with just one pass, maybe 2 if you drop the power. Keep your material 2-3mm supported off the base you work on so there's an air gap underneath. If you haven't already got air assist it might be a pain but with air assist it should be easy. Also check your focus, mine is screwed all the way in, but not tight, it focuses at 20.5mm from the bottom of the aluminium body. So to cut 4mm material drop the distance from 20.5mm to 18.5mm so that the focal point is in the middle of the material. If with a 20.5mm focal length I was engraving I'd keep it at 20.5mm above the surface, cutting 6mm MDF it's 17.5mm from the surface cutting at 95% power, 180mm/min and with two passes.
I am new to laser cutting and am struggling a bit. I am using a trail version of Lightburn and like it, but until finding your videos, found it difficult to understand. The screen shot you show has more options than the one I see. For instance it doesn't give me the option of the thickness of the material. Is this hiding from me.? I will continue to look at your videos and hopefully I will succeed in completing a project. Thank you
Hi Joan, glad you found us. Your version if Lightburn maybe on “Beginners Mode”. Go into Setting and see if the first option in the page is on. If it is, turn it off and see if that changes how many options you have in Lightburn. Let us know how you go… :)
As suggested I have put up a message on Facebook. Having succeeded in getting a sample cut ,I tried again nesxt day with the same material and setting but it has failed to cut. I cannot understand why this is so. Any suggestions. Thanks
Thanks Gil, Great video look forward to these, as always very informative. Best way to build up the library. Beats writing them down on a scrap of paper, then trying to find that scrap again.
Am I correct by saying people don’t need to measure their material thickness and enter that information in somewhere? We had to do this with epilogue and universal with a caliper, why wouldn’t we do this with light burn? Also my free version of light burn does not have a built in library, does the paid version? Thanks 🙏🏽
I always measure the thickness of the material I am using as not all material are made equal. Sometimes it can be a few mm off. Place your measurement in the materials option. You can find it on the layers tab, in the bottom right corner. The materials library is something you have to create when using different materials over time. We have a tutorial on the channel introducing how to add setting to the library on the channel. What are you using Lightburn to create and what laser is it attached to?
I just realized that if I am not measuring my material thickness and entering in the material thickness field, my material power/speed test will be an inaccurate test for cutting efficiency. Might just be me but it seems like this is overlooked by many of the teaching videos out there? 🤷🏽♂️
@@EmpoweredPercussion Excellent point. I think a lot of people who share processes take for granted that people measure their material. I will add that step moving forward in my tutorials. Thank you 🙏
Hi Mike... I don't have any cork to test out, but I suggest trying the method described in the tutorial. My starting point would be the same settings that I would use for some card stock. Let me know how you go :)
Can you please help, my diode laser 20w 5w i can get it to cut every now and then, im using 3mm plywood, if it cuts once it wont cut another piece on the same material can you please help, ive tried reaching out to groups and the company but not getting anywhere, im on the verge of throwing it in the bin, please help newbie
Can you help me? I'm running laser burn on my. NEJE master 2S when I go to the move control and click the down arrow the lazer moves up and click on the up arrow it moves down. What I'm I doing wrong
I have a atomstack a5 m-40 pro was working fine and last time i used it tried to engrave a knife blade and it wouldn’t engrave anything after that i tried to engrave a piece of poplar wood laser goes through the motions but doesn’t engrave power is at 100 percent and speed you can slow down to 200 and doesn’t engrave wood doesn’t even get warm i have reset to factor settings using lightburn
I wanted to email this question but perhaps I can get input from you and others. Blackfish youtube channel makes cardboard weapons with templates. I down loaded 1 . Pdf is 55 pages. How do I input this into lightburn without printing every page on A4 paper? So what I want to do is download A4 paper of his pdf download into lightburn and have it cut 55 page down load on to card board.
Good question. First, Lightburn’s material test is a new feature and was not avalible when this video was made. Second, the material test uses a lot of material and it is suggested to do a cut test on any new material or batch of material you have. This test is fast to do, and uses very little material. Feel feee to use it or Lightburn’s material test depending on what suits your needs 👍
I'm confused. At around 3:25 you talk about not running your laser at full power and putting stress on your diode, but then you continue to set your laser to 100% power in all your test cuts
There is a lot of debate about using a CO2 laser at 100%. As I use a diode laser, I tend to use it at 100%, but in the end, you should always use the settings you are most comfortable with. 👍
I don't understand how you can run the Lazer at 200, 💯 percent power 2 passes and not putting the paper in a fire ball. I watch a lot of videos in hopes of not being Dead stupid when I get a Lazer in November.
Hey Erica, Thanks for the feedback. Sorry if there is to much talking, just trying to get as much information out on the topic being presented. Will put together a basics video in the near future. Let me know what your making with your laser so I can focus on what you need... (without the extra talk!) :)
We hope that knowing how to work out the correct settings to cut through any given material will allow anyone with a laser (Diode & CO2) to get the results they are after! Nothing like a clean edge that needs no post-production to make your laser projects fly along!
I would love to see the projects you are creating with your laser and Lightburn! Unfortunately, you can not post pictures to RUclips, but you can in the Laser Livestreams Facebook group! facebook.com/groups/laserlivestream We would love to have you aboard!
Please can you get a camera that records at better than 720 as it will add significantly to your videos overall quality and ease of viewing. Great information, thank you.
Thank you for the great tutorial and guidance.
Thanks @eyespye What do you use your laser to make?
Great stuff. Just started with my laser and these videos are teaching me what I could not find elsewhere. Thanks!
Hi there, thanks so much for this video, I was wondering if you have a video where you show the settings for cutting wood or plywood of 1/4. thanks.
Hi, thanks for this great tutorial. I am completely new to lightburn and am itching to start some projects with my Atomstack laser. This video will set me on my way. I look forward to watching more of your tutorials. Thanks again.
i will try your settings. im having trouble cutting through 3mm basswood. did it once at 6/100/2 but doesn't work now
What are the best wood cutting settings for Lightburn for Longer Ray 5 10w?
Follow the workflow to work out the best settings. Each laser is different, most of the settings they give you are a guideline. I also do this test with new batches of material to get the most out of laser. 👍
Gil thank you,
This is very useful informatioI my brother and I are new to all of this and have already created a lot of awesome items.
We have looked around, diligently I might add, for a starter material list that we could import and then modify as we go. But our efforts have been futile...
Would you happen to know where we could get a good starter list??? or does it come built in and we did something wrong???
A 5 Watt laser you can use them for cutting too but may have to make more passes?
Hi Gil Eddie in the UK here ! Great video - thanks ! I've just bought an Atomstack S20 Pro Laser and my learning has begun ! I need to cut White Depron Material and was wondering if you could give me any recommended cutting settings please ? Thanks again for such a helpful video Gil.
Hey Eddie, glad this video helped.
I have not used Depron before, but it looks like it's a form of foamboard. That can be tricky cause polystyrene, and lasers don't like to dance well together.
If you try cutting it, start with low power/high speed and adjust the power until you get the result. Test often and make small changes (5-10% power at a time). Polystyrene can catch alight easily, and when it does burn, it releases toxic smoke and hardens to a rock-like substance that can be hard to remove.
Personally, I avoid the stuff or get the laser to score the paper layer, then take a blade to cut through the polystyrene layers without having to risk the material catching alight.
I'm curious to hear what you are planing to make with Depron sheeting?
Stay safe and make something amazing! :)
Great stuff Gil! Fine-tuning settings for materials is an important thing to discuss and share whether you are a laser newbie like myself, or a seasoned vet =)
Thank you BK and I’m glad you can join us with your laser journey 🙏
i love your videos, they are super helpful! but PLEASE go 1080p :D it would make following your screen captures etc a lot easier. I feel like im not wearing my glasses haha. anyway. love your content. thankyou!
Hey Gary, Thanks for the feedback. All our videos are at 1920X1080 HS and at 30P frame rate. Not sure why your playback is not cleaner, my suspicion is that if the bandwidth is a little clogged, RUclips might be throttling back the resolution so the video plays smoothly. Either way, I will look into it for you. Nothing worse than finding out that all the work put into the videos is not being delivered...
@@LaserLivestream definitely only 720p available in the video settings. No 1080p option available on this video.
@@danielbass09 Thanks for letting me know. Working with YT to try and resolve this issue
are you able to give any advise for 3mm acrylic? I am new to the laser/software and I can’t get the laser to go through the acrylic and cut
Can you share with me the type of laser your using and is the acrylic clear or a solid colour?
I have same problem using gweike cloud. Any help?
Hi still learning ☺️ cant get my lizer to cut mdf 7mm I did put it on 100% power at 400mm/m I have a 40w foxalien thanks
7mm MDF will almost never be cut on a diode laser without multiple passes.
Try using the workflow with something like thick card first before using thick stock. MDF is not great material even if you master the laser cause of the way it’s made.
Go for the easy wins first then scale up.
Let us all know how you go 👍
Hi. I am just starting out and I am using Baltic birch plywood to make ornaments. Do I use this method to test the best results with my laser? When I cut it is burning the wood.
Yes, absolutely. The method is to work out the best settings for YOUR laser. Each machine may have a different setting. If you are burning the wood, I would turn the power down, and see what the result is. :)
Let us know how you go, and I would love to see your birch ornaments once they have been finished :)
@@LaserLivestream thank you so much! I’ll share with you when I get everything just right 😉
We are looking to buy an Australian made lazer suitable for cutting out 3mm acrylic for earring making, please can you do a demo on this?
Just remember that diode lasers can't cut through clear acrylic. When you want to cut clear acrylic, you will need a Co2 laser.
My XTool d1 20w laser library has maple. that's it. Do I test for numbers for everything else?
Yes. Every new material I use, I test and then create a power range as a starting point.
I will also use that info to test new material I purchase as not all materials are made the same way to optimise power and speed.
What exactly does air assist do?
Much appreciated Gil
Glad it was of some help Martha. What do you make with your laser? Love to see some of your work sometime! :)
@@LaserLivestream Hey Gil, think maybe you could help out with the settings for pallet wood .I guess I jumped the gun and went for it. only to have this black hole, no design. send the link to your share page and Ill send the pics of my Baby Grand NOW that is where I was listening to you and and followed your direction it came out perfect..
hello great video.
i have a problem with neje 3 + mac ios 13 + lightburn (trial).
I designed a circle but the final result is ouval.
what should I do to setting this ? thanks
I add the text inside the piece I am cutting out! If it falls free you have it recorded on it. 😉
Great tip. I’ll start doing that too. Thank you 🙏
Really enjoy your channel! Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback Anthony. I would love to see some of the projects you make with your laser. Be great if you could join us on our Facebook group.
What do you make with your laser?
I'd like to share Gil, I'm learning how to apply what you've been teaching with my CO2 laser. I'm fairly new to lasers so your channel which I've subscribed to has been awesome.
What's your Facebook group? I know you've mentioned it..lol
@@anthonymyers-35 Second link in the description 👍
As always, an informative video. Various sites (Facebook Groups, RUclips, ...) say that you shorten the useable life of your laser by constantly running at 100% power and that you should never exceed xx% (xx < 100). What are your thoughts? Would it be better to cut at 80% power and either slower or with multiple passes?
I know not all lasers are made equal, but the laser I have doesn't push my laser element to 100%. It's little shy of that, so I use all my settings at 100%. That said, laser elements (diodes or tubes) are an expendable item on your laser. They reduce efficency over time. I think its your call on how you want to run your laser. What you save on money, you might have to use more time. With all the different things happening, time is the most expensive element for me.
Hallo, please help me to setting my laser.
I have Neje Zoneway 80w and software Lightburn. My problem is, that doesn't cut 4mm poplar plywood. Laser have 35mm up to plywood. Speed 140-180/min and power 100%.
Please tell me another setting to cut a circle from 4mm plywood 🙏🏼
If you have a NEJE 80W you can reliably cut 6mm MDF and more. For 4mm plywood try 95% power 165-170mm/min, possibly a touch quicker, and with just one pass, maybe 2 if you drop the power. Keep your material 2-3mm supported off the base you work on so there's an air gap underneath. If you haven't already got air assist it might be a pain but with air assist it should be easy. Also check your focus, mine is screwed all the way in, but not tight, it focuses at 20.5mm from the bottom of the aluminium body. So to cut 4mm material drop the distance from 20.5mm to 18.5mm so that the focal point is in the middle of the material. If with a 20.5mm focal length I was engraving I'd keep it at 20.5mm above the surface, cutting 6mm MDF it's 17.5mm from the surface cutting at 95% power, 180mm/min and with two passes.
I am new to laser cutting and am struggling a bit. I am using a trail version of Lightburn and like it, but until finding your videos, found it difficult to understand. The screen shot you show has more options than the one I see. For instance it doesn't give me the option of the thickness of the material. Is this hiding from me.? I will continue to look at your videos and hopefully I will succeed in completing a project.
Thank you
Hi Joan, glad you found us.
Your version if Lightburn maybe on “Beginners Mode”.
Go into Setting and see if the first option in the page is on. If it is, turn it off and see if that changes how many options you have in Lightburn.
Let us know how you go… :)
Thank you for your reply. I have tried that but it makes no difference. The version I am using is Lightburn 1.1.03 maybe that makes a difference.
@@joanhanna1966 Join the facebook group and post a picture there so we can see what you are working with. Link is in the video description :)
Thank you for your reply and your time. I will work on your suggestion and return to you via Facebook next week. I appreciate your help.
Joan
As suggested I have put up a message on Facebook. Having succeeded in getting a sample cut ,I tried again nesxt day with the same material and setting but it has failed to cut. I cannot understand why this is so. Any suggestions. Thanks
Thanks Gil, Great video look forward to these, as always very informative. Best way to build up the library. Beats writing them down on a scrap of paper, then trying to find that scrap again.
Am I correct by saying people don’t need to measure their material thickness and enter that information in somewhere? We had to do this with epilogue and universal with a caliper, why wouldn’t we do this with light burn? Also my free version of light burn does not have a built in library, does the paid version? Thanks 🙏🏽
I always measure the thickness of the material I am using as not all material are made equal. Sometimes it can be a few mm off.
Place your measurement in the materials option. You can find it on the layers tab, in the bottom right corner.
The materials library is something you have to create when using different materials over time. We have a tutorial on the channel introducing how to add setting to the library on the channel.
What are you using Lightburn to create and what laser is it attached to?
@@LaserLivestream Thanks boss!
I just realized that if I am not measuring my material thickness and entering in the material thickness field, my material power/speed test will be an inaccurate test for cutting efficiency. Might just be me but it seems like this is overlooked by many of the teaching videos out there? 🤷🏽♂️
@@EmpoweredPercussion Excellent point. I think a lot of people who share processes take for granted that people measure their material. I will add that step moving forward in my tutorials. Thank you 🙏
What you suggest for 1 to 2 mm cork?
Hi Mike... I don't have any cork to test out, but I suggest trying the method described in the tutorial. My starting point would be the same settings that I would use for some card stock.
Let me know how you go :)
@@LaserLivestream Gil...I used 2000mm/80. I am making commerative coasters for my daughter's wedding. They are looking great!
My light burn don't have a library. Maybe that's why I'm having a heck of a time
Can you please help, my diode laser 20w 5w i can get it to cut every now and then, im using 3mm plywood, if it cuts once it wont cut another piece on the same material can you please help, ive tried reaching out to groups and the company but not getting anywhere, im on the verge of throwing it in the bin, please help newbie
Can you help me? I'm running laser burn on my.
NEJE master 2S when I go to the move control and click the down arrow the lazer moves up and click on the up arrow it moves down. What I'm I doing wrong
I have a atomstack a5 m-40 pro was working fine and last time i used it tried to engrave a knife blade and it wouldn’t engrave anything after that i tried to engrave a piece of poplar wood laser goes through the motions but doesn’t engrave power is at 100 percent and speed you can slow down to 200 and doesn’t engrave wood doesn’t even get warm i have reset to factor settings using lightburn
90 degree sharp corner?
Most boxes have 90 degree corners. Sharp in the way that they change direction quickly, compared to the gentle slope of a curve.
@@LaserLivestream I was questioning your "25 degree sharp corner" dialogue, should it have been 90 degree sharp corner
@@nikkicork8815 Your right. 25 degrees won't cut it. Thanks for bring it to my attention 🙏
I wanted to email this question but perhaps I can get input from you and others. Blackfish youtube channel makes cardboard weapons with templates. I down loaded 1 . Pdf is 55 pages. How do I input this into lightburn without printing every page on A4 paper? So what I want to do is download A4 paper of his pdf download into lightburn and have it cut 55 page down load on to card board.
If you join the Facebook page, you can send me the PDF to take a look at. Best way to work out how to get the design into Lightburn. :)
@@LaserLivestream the Facebook page is your name sir?
I don't do Facebook much anymore.
@@timalbertson4004 m.facebook.com/groups/laserlivestream/
Why not use Lightburn's Material Test?
Good question. First, Lightburn’s material test is a new feature and was not avalible when this video was made. Second, the material test uses a lot of material and it is suggested to do a cut test on any new material or batch of material you have.
This test is fast to do, and uses very little material. Feel feee to use it or Lightburn’s material test depending on what suits your needs 👍
I'm confused. At around 3:25 you talk about not running your laser at full power and putting stress on your diode, but then you continue to set your laser to 100% power in all your test cuts
There is a lot of debate about using a CO2 laser at 100%. As I use a diode laser, I tend to use it at 100%, but in the end, you should always use the settings you are most comfortable with. 👍
I don't understand how you can run the Lazer at 200, 💯 percent power 2 passes and not putting the paper in a fire ball. I watch a lot of videos in hopes of not being Dead stupid when I get a Lazer in November.
can you just do a simple video on 1 letter the basics. your videos are good but for someone who is new to the software they are too much wordie.
Hey Erica,
Thanks for the feedback. Sorry if there is to much talking, just trying to get as much information out on the topic being presented.
Will put together a basics video in the near future.
Let me know what your making with your laser so I can focus on what you need... (without the extra talk!) :)