Laser settings are the first thing beginners struggle with and the first thing experienced operators obsess over. The tables below are working starting points — not gospel. Your specific lens, focal length, air assist, and material batch will require a test burn before committing to a production run.
CO2 laser settings (60–80 W typical desktop)
Percentages refer to power as a fraction of rated wattage. Speed in mm/s. Run a focus test first — the optimal focal point varies 1–3 mm between material thicknesses.
| Material | Cut | Engrave | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power % | Speed mm/s | Power % | Speed mm/s | |
| Baltic birch plywood (3 mm) | 75% | 20 | 25% | 300 |
| MDF (3 mm) | 80% | 18 | 30% | 250 |
| Pine (19 mm) | 90% | 8 | 20% | 350 |
| Cast acrylic (3 mm) | 65% | 15 | 15% | 400 |
| Extruded acrylic (3 mm) | 60% | 20 | 12% | 400 |
| Leather (2 mm) | 50% | 25 | 20% | 350 |
| Anodised aluminium | — | — | 80% | 200 |
| Slate | — | — | 75% | 150 |
| Cardboard (3 mm) | 40% | 30 | 10% | 450 |
“—” indicates the operation is not recommended for that material with a CO2 laser. Always use air assist for cutting to prevent char and fire risk.
Diode laser settings (10–20 W typical)
Diode lasers (xTool, Sculpfun, Ortur, NEJE) use different units. Power % is relative to rated output. Speed in mm/min. Multi-pass cutting is normal — single-pass is rarely achievable on thick material.
| Material | Cut | Engrave | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power % | Speed mm/min | Passes | Power % | Speed mm/min | |
| Baltic birch plywood (3 mm) | 100% | 300 | 3 | 40% | 3000 |
| Pine (19 mm) | 100% | 180 | 8 | 30% | 4000 |
| Leather (2 mm) | 85% | 400 | 2 | 35% | 3500 |
| Anodised aluminium | — | — | — | 90% | 1500 |
| Slate | — | — | — | 85% | 1200 |
| Acrylic | — | — | — | — | — |
Acrylic is not recommended for diode lasers — it requires a 10.6 µm wavelength (CO2) to cut cleanly; diode wavelengths (~450 nm) pass through clear acrylic and reflect off white acrylic.
Photo engraving: halftone vs. scanline
ShapeShift's Photo Engrave mode (open from the studio's Tools menu) offers two approaches for converting photographs to laser-engraveable files:
Halftone dots
Converts brightness to dot size — darker areas get larger circles, lighter areas get smaller ones. The result is a vector SVG of circles that your laser burns at a fixed power. Works best on wood and leather. Set dot spacing to 0.5–1 mm for smooth gradients.
Scanline G-code
Rasters the image line by line, varying feed rate to control burn depth by pixel brightness. Produces the most photorealistic results on wood. Slower than halftone (typical A4 image = 45–90 min), but the output is stunning. Use 0.1–0.2 mm line spacing and a fine-focus lens.
For both modes, test on the same material scrap first — different batches of the same wood species can vary enough to require a 10–15% power adjustment.
Troubleshooting
- Incomplete cuts (material not fully through): Slow down speed 10%, add a second pass, or check focus height.
- Excessive charring: Speed too slow or power too high. Increase speed first. Use air assist.
- Fuzzy engraving edges: Focus is off. Run a focus test card (diagonal ramp cut across the beam path).
- Acrylic melting instead of cutting: Use cast acrylic (not extruded), slow down, add air assist.
- Uneven depth on wood: Grain density variation is normal. Use slightly higher power and accept some inconsistency — or switch to halftone mode.
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