suitabe for veneer cutting?

[tedpet]

I am looking for a way to cut specialty veneers. This is wood, single ply (there are no glues) that range in thickness of 0.6mm to 1.5mm.

In marquitry, you cut out little pieces of differing colored veneers and assemble to create a pattern or image.

I am thinking of using the 80 watt CO2 laser. What is the width of the kerf? Is it possible to focus these lasers to have very thin kerfs? Does the 40 watt laser have a thiner kerf?

I am hoping that although I do not see a lot of activity, that there still is help available for new builders.

Ted

[tedpet]

Actually, I am enthused that in the two days since I posted this, it has been viewed 50 times.

although no one added any comments, there is activity!

[rsm5178]

I have done a couple marquitry projects with my Laser 2.X. 40w tube. I have a 2.5" focal length lens and it works fine. You could play with the focal length to better "tune" your cuts. However, over the small thickness of the veneer, does any kerf really matter? The 40w tube rips through veneer easily. 80W would be way overkill. Also, I do not think you will get better results with an 80W. But if money is not an option, more power = more better.

When you cut, you need to offset the lines of your laser beam or else you get gaps (from the beam width). This is less noticeable on small pieces. On larger pieces with many more cuts, the gaps definitely do add up a lot.

Attached are some pieces I tried. Still a lot to learn. But it was fun.

I used inkscape to trace a photo. Then AutoCAD to clean up the .dxf. Then LaserCAD to cut the pieces.

-Rich

[tedpet]

That's exactly the information I was looking for. It sounds like the 'kerf' is an issue, but it is easily surmountable. I just need to get the parts together and start the build.

what is the maximum size you can load into the laser?