Need help finding the right settings for poplar

Snapmaker 2.0 Getting Started
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I’m trying to do a gray image of the following

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2922×642 958 KB

On my computer this is what it looks like.

IMG_20200404_225726
IMG_20200404_2257262016×1512 1.18 MB

After about 10 or so tries, I’m not feeling I’m getting any closer. This is about as close as I gotten.

IMG_20200404_225709
IMG_20200404_2257092016×1512 975 KB

Maybe someone here can help.I tried messing with the dot. I’ve tested at every number between 3 and 8. I found the image turns to crap below 4 (the 2 image is of 4 btw). Like it’s pixel like. I’ve tried messing with the power, but it doesn’t seem to matter that much one way or the other. Like anything above 40% produces more than less the same result. I’ve messed with the dwell time. Skipped every 5 (5, 10, 15…) from 5 to 45. Below 30 I have to do multiple runs. Even with 30 it feels like I have to do multiple runs since as seen. Most of the detail doesn’t show up.

Again the wood type is poplar. But I’ve had similar problems with cork, but with it making it too dark with cork.

Am I using the wrong type of laser? Like I’m thinking about switching mine out with something like a glowforge or something else at this point.

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Hey @crua9
Is this picture the highest resolution you have?
High resolution and depth is important, I also had to learn it the hard way.

I will try your Pic in about an hour…

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Hey, here is what i did: [Grayscale]

b766_01_Atkinson
b766_01_Atkinson3840×2080 2.16 MB

I think it would be nice to get rid of the background, you could use inkscape for this, there are a lot of tutorials on youtube.

For the next time, pls show us your settings.
Hope this helps!

PS: Quality of the Picture is most important!

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Thanks. I will try that. Also, this is the highest quality photo I have. I’m going to try to engrave as is before removing the background if needed.

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What power level are you using? The machine decided to set the power level to 1%.

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In this case you have to do some trail and error.
I have gave you just the settings, try different speeds and laserpower.

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What is your normal setting for poplar (power and speed)?

The reason why I’m asking is I’m running into the same problem as before. Like I did a bunch of test and found with your settings, I need to have the power level somewhere between 4% and 5%. Something I am wondering that might be causing the problem is maybe focus or maybe size. And at which case I’m simply asking the machine to do something it can’t, and I need to look at other machines or maybe it’s just impossible with current tech.

With this being said, anyone with a snapmaker v2, if you can run the image on scrap poplar and let me see how it turns out. That would be a huge help since I believe the V2 has auto focus.

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Sorry here i can´t help. I have no poplar and even no SM2.
I don´t believe that this won´t work.

Here is the laserguide:

Hope this helps!

1 Like
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Poplar isn’t on that guide at all

After talking with other people with much much much higher end lasers about this problem. I found one of the biggest problems is the build plate size. Basically the smaller area, the less “pixels”/dots there can be. So anything with swings in light vs dark in a small space won’t show, and high detail won’t show.

TLDR: Apparently I’ve been fighting against physics and not against the wood type. And apparently you can’t just take most normal everyday photos without heavily editing things within it no matter the resolution, unless if the build size is up there.

BTW I tried cutting the background out completely, but that didn’t look good.

Something that was linked to me was this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjXD96VrGH8

I’m going to see if I can follow it, and see what happens.

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Hey, the machine does good jobs if you are able to. Really. Be patient and do some trail and error, it will work.

Maybe do some searching in the forum would also help.- Don´t missunderstand me, i want to help but be a bit creative how to get it on and write all parameters in your post.
if it just get a picture with 4% before it burns, what speed did you run?- get it to more (for example 500mm/s) and turn the power on.

Check if the focus point is right, the dot should be the smallest possible.- Try it manually if the autofocus didn´t like it should.

Maybe this helps you too: [Sapmaker how to laser]

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You aren’t lying. After experimenting a lot more. I found I had to heavily edit the picture to get most of it to look clear. That video guide I linked helped a lot in that.

2 (1)
2 (1)922×642 616 KB

IMG_20200406_175939
IMG_20200406_1759392024×1512 1.19 MB

I think that is the highest detail I will get for the work space.

I’m experimenting now with speeds. In a few hours hopefully I will be closer to finding the fastest speed I can go. As far as power, I found 10% is the best.

It’s too bad you can’t take a normal picture and just use that without having to have a bigger work area. I wonder if the SM2 is big enough for this.

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I wonder, what is not big enough? What size are you engraving? The first picture seems to be 100x70mm

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The boards I have is about 100x100mm. Both pictures of the engrave, the engrave is set to 80x60.9. I have a plan for the extra 20 mm to the side. This is something I will show off when done (maybe a few weeks if everything goes good).
The last engraving, I stopped it early because it was on a test board. I cropped the picture because it was hard to see what was this test and another.

Anyways, my hope was something that looks as clear as the picture uploaded. Or at least very close to it. And I’m wondering if you upscale the work space to a point, if it will be as clear.

To explain it a bit more, this was told to me somewhere else.

you 1-bit dithered it at that resolution.

If you turn a 24-bit RGB pixel into a 1-bit B&W pixel, you discard a lot of information. You can keep more of that information if you turn each RGB pixel into multiple 1-bit pixels:

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Top one was resized to 800% before dithering it. Each RGB pixel became an 8x8 block of 1-bit pixels.

Within the software I ended up mimicking a increase work size (I forgot by how much, but I think it was 500xsomething). It turns out they were right with too much information was being lost. But I couldn’t find a way to fix this problem without increasing the size. I could be wrong, but I think it’s like if you put the picture in paint, and resize it to a smaller size. The smaller the picture is made, the more detail will be lost. And at a given size, there can only be so much information. So the worse your picture is (or less detail) the less you will notice a difference.

If this is correct, I wonder at what size does the work area have to be where there will be no noticeable lost in information with a non-edited normal picture.

BTW if you take the original picture and resize it from the original 922x642px to about 139x97px, it’s pretty close to the detail within the last engraving. Like look at the areas like the eyes where in the normal picture you can see everything, shrinking it down you can’t see anything other than 1 or 2 colors, and the same in the last engraving. (the teeth is another place to see similarities. Where both in the reduce picture and the laser engraved picture it didn’t show any teeth. While in the normal picture it did. Even the gray picture used showed that.)

UPDATE: I found 100 dwell to be the fastest. Maybe this can be cut down with an increase power level. But currently it’s 10%

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I think this is the best I will get it. Later I will show off something neat if things work out, which explains the empty space.

IMG_20200407_025333
IMG_20200407_0253332016×1512 978 KB

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Good job, well done!
Quality of the picture is most important if it’s not black/white.
Engraving size, bigger is better (in most cases)

1 Like