Cutting Paper

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Cutting Paper

Postby r691175002 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:53 pm

There is a bit of interest in quality of laser cut paper. I'm a huge fan of papercraft and paper is one of the main reasons I bought a laser cutter.

Heres a quick look at what the pros can do with laser cutters:
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And here I am going to highlight what the cuts look like from an angle:
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If you look at the left side of the box you can see some tanning. Discoloration on the edges of cuts is just part of laser cutting.

When you are cutting paper you want to avoid charring and simply vaporize the paper.
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Charring is caused by poor focus, no air assist and excessive power. Here is what we are trying to avoid:
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A charred cut will smear black gunk and mess up the appearance of your white paper. Note that the wide kerf is because I cracked my lens and can't focus tight anymore.

Turn down the power and crank up the air assist and you can do a lot better:
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My lens is cracked so the beam is about 0.5mm which is causing some trouble but I can still get fairly clean cuts with properly chosen power and enough air to keep the smoke from discoloring the paper.

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This is 110lb paper and was cut while my lens was still good. The cut edge is brown but the paper surface has not been discolored whatsoever. The hexagons are about 1" tall each.

Thinner paper will have less of an edge and thus will look even better. If you are careful you can get fairly nice cuts. All these pictures are very close as well, after about a foot or two you can't really pick out the edges.

For printer paper I run along the lines of 100% speed 7% power or 50% speed 4% power. Just adjust one percent at a time until you are barely cutting. Technically lower speeds should be more accurate but it isn't noticeable.
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Re: Cutting Paper

Postby LeonS » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:28 pm

Thanks for the tips and "formulas". The examples are beautiful. I am especially charmed by the butterfly wings.
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Re: Cutting Paper

Postby lasersafe1 » Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:07 pm

I have never had a problem getting enough air, but sometimes too much air and have blown the workpiece completely off the table.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=291
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