I’m looking to use for designing rocket fins (estes type model rockets). can the snapmaker 2.0 cut through 3/32" thick balsa wood? and if so, what settings are people using to perform this task
It should, I have cut 4mm (3/32" =2.38mm) birch settings can very based on how fast you want it to cut and how good you want it to look when you’re done (smoke staining) the important thing is 100%power and multi passes where cut depth * passes is >= material thickness.
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@Atom What cut depth were you using? .5mm? And speed, 5mm/s?
I was using .4mm cut 10 passes at 120mm/s I think…
I will check what settings I used on that when I get home
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LOL. Gonna need that source image. And 120mm/s is flying fast - assuming that would be 2mm/s
I left the speed at default in luban maybe that was 120mm/m? I can shoot you the stl 
still new to the laser cutting so my settings could be way off… but the point is that it works so it should do what @j.m.ratkos wants as well
I am cutting 3mm plywood with 120mm/min, 4 passes and 0.4mm pass depth without problems.
I would say that you will be able to cut through balsa wood even more easily. Just try cutting some little forms (I used the “T” form of the Tetris game) with different configurations to find which is enough for your material so you don’t over-burn your piece.
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I made a quick little cutting test by drawing a 10mm line in luban and then duplicating it 10 times. I then selected different settings for each from slow to fast with both 3 & 4 passes. So 2 sets of 5. Now I can quickly run a small test on a scrap piece and see if it’s making it all the way through.
-S
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How do you 10 passes with .4 ? did you remove this little cap screwed on the laser lens?
if I do 7/8 this cap would hit the surface.
Trying to cut my 3mm plywood but no success so far…
I tried it with several lines in different speed and passes:
First Try: 3 and 4 passes with .4 and speed 120/140/160 -> no success
Second Try: 4/5/6 passes with .6 Speed 140 && 5/6/7 passes with .6 and Speed 160 -> no success
all with auto focus mode and material thickness 3mm
This guide says 2.8mm cutting with 4 passes with .4 and 120 should be fine.
Any idea?
I find the lens hood frustrating and removing it was one of the first things I did. Supposedly it’s to minimize exposure to the laser light, so I guess at your own risk?
the optics have there own focal length that can be adjusted, if you remove the hood and look at the laser (with the power off obviously) you will see there is a second screw that you can adjust to change the actual focal length of the laser. my recommendation is to adjust that out so your focal length is longer by a little then replace the hood. i personally did not need to do that but i assume every unit has a little different focal length. also some people have had issues with the auto calibration for the laser. if you cant seem to cut through with those settings my recommendation would be to manually calibrate the laser then try again. your probably having issues because the laser isn’t focused properly.
I have seen recommendations that diode lasers should be focused around 2-3". I think your post gave me the kick to actually move it. It’s the flat head screwdriver up inside right
correct, though i’m not sure which direction you need to go to increase the focal distance.
just started working with 3mm plywood today and did some testing with al kind of settings. 1500/120 4x 0,5 (or 0,6 without effect on the result) just worked fine. clean cut and 99% separation. No alterations on the hardware (out of the box).
1600mW laser at 100% obviously. either include in G-code or take notice in the workspace. for some reason the power level sometimes is set to someting else or even 0%.
What kind of 3mm plywood, out of curiosity? 3 ply baltic birch?
Birch it is indeed
If you look closely at the picture you see the underside of the cut material has some “hairs” left standing. They don’t prevent separating the parts in any way. Nothing a quick sanding cant fix. Its realy minor.
I upscaled the demo-box to compensate for the finger length as much as possible, but not enough space/material for scale 2:1. Well, it was just a test…
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