Starter settings for 100W CO2 Laser

WZ9V

New member
Can anyone recommend or point me to some power and speed settings for a 100W CO2 Laser for cutting Dollar Tree Foam Board?

The Laser I’d be using has a Ruida controller if that helps. I can also scale from other tube wattages if you have something that works with other tube wattage ratings.
 
Hey, I have a 60w co2 laser and these are my cutting settings for the dollar store foam:

Cutting: 100% oomph and about 40-50mm/min
Cutting one side paper and half the foam: 85% oomph at 200mm/min
Score lines for alignment: 40% at 400mm/min



Hope that’s a good starting point for you....
 

canyonracer

Junior Member
Hi, wondering how the foamboard cutting is going with your 100 watt laser? Just about to order a reci CO2 laser for my DIY build but undecided on power. Looks like the 60watt above, is working pretty hard? Thank you! MIke
 
Hi, wondering how the foamboard cutting is going with your 100 watt laser? Just about to order a reci CO2 laser for my DIY build but undecided on power. Looks like the 60watt above, is working pretty hard? Thank you! MIke

I had a 60w reci laser (lost it in a fire a few weeks back) and it worked great for scratch building with foam. I just ordered another one last week but I decided to get a slightly larger one with a 100w reci tube. I’ll let you know how much faster it cuts when it gets here.
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Just curious, how much would it cost to get a cheap laser cutter for fb? Would a 60 watt cutter be able to cut firewalls and control horns as well? How often does the laser tube need to be replaced?
 
That applies to Diode Lasers but not CO2 Lasers. Same for glass, Diode passes right through, CO2 etches the glass.

Wait, what? The question was will a .5 watt 405 nanometer laser cut threw foam board like a 10.4 micrometer laser (this is the wavelength that co2 lasers utilize) and the answer is a definite no.