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General Mach Discussion / Re: Mill or Router - which is best for this application?
« on: February 28, 2011, 11:30:50 AM »
Jen,
You are right about wood's density. Wood's like teak and spruce have a soft growth layer sandwiched between a very hard annual ring - the laser will cut deep into the soft and not so deep into the hard but the overall average should be pretty constant.
As the depth of cut is related to both power and speed as well as the wood itself the exact depth will always be a trial and error thing but once established it will be repeatable, at least for that sample of wood.
There will be some blackening (charring) around the edges but the surface of the work can be protected with paper transfer tape (used with vinyl signs) also there are a number of proprietary cleaners which, I understand, can work wonders.
(Incidentally, the smallest practical beam spot size is around 0.05mm diameter without resorting to beam expanders or extremely short focal length lenses).
Tweakie.
You are right about wood's density. Wood's like teak and spruce have a soft growth layer sandwiched between a very hard annual ring - the laser will cut deep into the soft and not so deep into the hard but the overall average should be pretty constant.
As the depth of cut is related to both power and speed as well as the wood itself the exact depth will always be a trial and error thing but once established it will be repeatable, at least for that sample of wood.
There will be some blackening (charring) around the edges but the surface of the work can be protected with paper transfer tape (used with vinyl signs) also there are a number of proprietary cleaners which, I understand, can work wonders.
(Incidentally, the smallest practical beam spot size is around 0.05mm diameter without resorting to beam expanders or extremely short focal length lenses).
Tweakie.