Laser Cutting & Laser Engraving Materials with CNC Lasers
Engraving Tests
With the PLH3D series engraving laser heads, many types of materials can be cut and engraved. Engraving is much simpler as the generation of the G-code requires only one pass at an appropriately selected speed. Many materials thicker than 0.5-1.5 mm require several passes for the laser to cut the entire depth. The exceptions are foam and some soft materials, which in some cases can be cut with up to 10 mm Passs. The cutting method depends on the structure of the material and its density. Plexiglas, for example, as well as hard plywood, are more difficult to cut and, depending on the type, may require several passes to cut through 1 mm of material thickness.
Information About Engraving Possibilities
Material | Cut | Mark / Engrave | Max thickness tested with a cut |
Paper |
|
|
0.1 mm / 0.003" |
Cardboard (hard) |
|
|
3 mm / 0.118" |
Cardboard (flute, wave) |
|
|
6 mm / 0.236" |
Balsa |
|
|
10 mm / 0.393" |
Plywood (soft) |
|
|
6 mm / 0.236" |
Plywood (hard) |
|
|
3 mm / 0.118" |
Wood |
|
|
3 mm / 0.118" |
Rubber (dark)1 |
|
|
1.5 mm / 0.059" |
T-Shirt |
|
|
0.5 mm / 0.019" |
Jeans |
|
|
0.8 mm / 0.031" |
Plexiglass (color)3 |
|
|
3 mm / 0.118" |
Plastic (dark) |
|
|
1 mm / 0.039" |
Artificial Leather |
|
|
2 mm / 0.078" |
Real Leather |
|
|
2 mm / 0.078" |
Felt |
|
|
3 mm / 0.118" |
Nylon |
|
|
0.2 mm / 0.007" |
Glass Reinforced Foil2 |
|
|
0.5 mm / 0.019" |
Thermal Pad (foam) |
|
|
3 mm / 0.118" |
Thermal Pad (textile) |
|
|
0.3 mm / 0.011" |
Stretch Foil (dark) |
|
|
0.005 mm / 0.0001" |
Lead Foil |
|
|
0.5 mm / 0.019" |
Kapton Foil |
|
|
0.2 mm / 0.007" |
Foam (dark) |
|
|
25 mm / 0.984" |
PCB |
|
|
-- |
Carbon |
|
|
-- |
Glass (painted) |
|
|
-- |
Metal (painted) |
|
|
-- |
Stainless Steel |
|
|
-- |
Titanium |
|
|
-- |
Aluminum, Copper, Brass |
|
|
-- |
Notes:
- There are many types of rubber. High-temperature resistant rubber is not possible to cut. The laser may leave he mark on the surface in such case.
- It depends on the density of the glass threads and their thickness.
- It depends on the color, dark colors are much easier to cut. Transparent plexiglass is not possible to cut
| Engraving Speed for PLH3D-2W 1 [mm/s] | Engraving Speed for PLH3D-6W-XF 1 [mm/s] | Engraving Speed for PLH3D-6W-uSpot [mm/s] | Engraving Speed for PLH3D-15W [mm/s] |
|
Best Focus2 |
Square Spot3 |
Best Focus2 |
Square Spot3 |
Best Focus2 |
Square Spot3 |
Best Focus2 |
Leather |
>80 |
24 |
>80 |
45 |
>80 |
60 |
160 |
Soft Plywood |
15 |
9 |
>80 |
33 |
>80 |
45 |
|
Cardboard |
>80 |
45 |
>80 |
>80 |
>80 |
>80 |
|
White Paper |
12 |
6 |
>80 |
21 |
>80 |
27 |
|
Black Anodized Aluminum |
|
|
>80 |
|
>80 |
33 |
|
Stainless Steel |
|
|
1.5* |
|
15* |
1.5* |
6 |
*Marking, not Engraving.
Notes:
- Equipped with High Resolution Engraving Lens for maximum engraving performance.
- Engraving plane is set exactly at focus plane
- Engraving plane is placed 4.4 mm / 0.173" ( for PLH3D-6W-XF and PLH3D-2W) and 1.8 mm / 0.070" (for PLH3D-6W-uSpot) from focus plane to achive symetrical square spot
Balsa |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
10 mm |
60 mm |
9 mm/s |
10 |
Hardwood (Plywood) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
4 mm |
60 mm |
7.5 mm/s |
13 |
3-layers cardboard |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.4 mm |
60 mm |
15 mm/s |
3 |
5-layers cardboard |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
5 mm |
60 mm |
10 mm/s |
4 |
Binder board |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
2.3 mm |
60 mm |
5 mm/s |
5 |
Fiber-reinforced foil |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.3 mm |
60 mm |
3 mm/s |
1 |
Full Grain Leather |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.5 mm |
60 mm |
2.5 mm/s |
2 |
Green Nylon-6 |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.1 mm |
60 mm |
150 mm/s |
1 |
Jeans |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.5 mm |
60 mm |
8 mm/s |
1 |
Rubber |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.5 mm |
60 mm |
15 mm/s |
2 |
Silicon Pad |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.3 mm |
90 mm |
5 mm/s |
1 |
T-Shirt |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.5 mm |
60 mm |
25 mm/s |
1 |
Tablecloath |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.25 mm |
60 mm |
4 mm/s |
1 |
Balsa |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
2 mm |
60 mm |
38 mm/s |
7 |
Balsa |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
60 mm |
38 mm/s |
10 |
Balsa |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
10 mm |
60 mm |
22.5 mm/s |
10 |
Cardboard Laser Cutting |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
5 mm |
60 mm |
10 mm/s |
4 |
Wood Laser Engraving |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
60 mm |
40 mm/s |
1 |
ABS - Engraving |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
60 mm |
50 mm/s |
1 |
Black PET |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.3 mm |
60 mm |
25 mm/s |
1 |
Fiber-Reinforced Foil – Dark |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.3 mm |
60 mm |
3 mm/s |
1 |
Full Grain Leather |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.5 mm |
60 mm |
15 mm/s |
23 |
Green Nylon-6 |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.1 mm |
60 mm |
150 mm/s |
1 |
Red Rubber |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
60 mm |
15 mm/s |
21 |
Tablecloath |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.25 mm |
60 mm |
8 mm/s |
2 |
T-shirt |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.5 mm |
60 mm |
35 mm/s |
1 |
Thermal Pad |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.3 mm |
60 mm |
5 mm/s |
1 |
Foam EVA |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
9.85 mm |
60 mm |
25 mm/s |
4 |
Polyfoam |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
15 mm |
60 mm |
8 mm/s |
10 |
Green Pad |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.5 mm |
60 mm |
6 mm/s |
1 |
Green Plexiglass |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3.0 mm |
60 mm |
5 mm/s |
29 |
Red Plexiglass |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
60 mm |
6 mm/s |
23 |
PCB-Soldermask |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
60 mm |
100 mm/s |
1 |
Anodized Aluminum - Marking |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
30 mm |
50 mm/s |
1 |
Painted Metal - Marking |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
60 mm |
15 mm/s |
1 |
Stainless Steel - Marking |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
60 mm |
0.5 mm/s |
1 |
Stainless Steel - Marking |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.5 mm |
30 mm |
3 mm/s |
1 |
Red sleeve Anodized Aluminium - Marking |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
60 mm |
10-80 mm/s |
1 |
Blue Sleeve Anodized Aluminium - Marking |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
30 mm |
50 mm/s |
1 |
Gold Sleeve Anodized Aluminium - Marking |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
30 mm |
50 mm/s |
1 |
Balsa |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
10 mm |
60 mm |
40 mm/s |
21 |
Balsa 2.0 mm |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
2 mm |
60 mm |
45 mm/s |
7 |
Balsa 3mm |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
60 mm |
40 mm/s |
7 |
Balsa 8mm |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
8 mm |
60 mm |
40 mm/s |
19 |
Balsa 1mm |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1mm |
60 mm |
4 mm/s |
4 |
Dark Brown-Solid Leather (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 10L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.6 mm |
60 mm |
74 mm/s |
4 |
Fiberglass with PVC sheath |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.25 mm |
60 mm |
8 mm/s |
1 |
Fiber Reinforced |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.2 mm |
60 mm |
10 mm/s |
2 |
Full Grain Leather Brown |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.5 mm |
60 mm |
30 mm/s |
6 |
Green Plexiglass |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
60 mm |
6 mm/s |
16 |
Plywood |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
60 mm |
5 mm/s |
5 |
Poly Foam |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
15 mm |
60 mm |
233 mm/s |
6 |
Poly Foam |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
20 mm |
60 mm |
13 mm/s |
4 |
Polyester Elastic Gray |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.2 mm |
60 mm |
26 mm/s |
2 |
Red Plexiglass |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3.0 mm |
60 mm |
8 mm/s |
21 |
Sandpaper |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.3 mm |
60 mm |
20 mm/s |
1 |
Solid Leather (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 10L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.3 mm |
60 mm |
20 mm/s |
4 |
Tablecloath |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.25 mm / 0.009" |
60 mm |
9 mm/s |
2 |
Polypropylene (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 10L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
55 mm |
25 mm/s |
1 |
Natural Leather Engraving (0.1% power used) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
55 mm |
1 mm/s |
1 |
Natural Leather Engraving (0.1% power used) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
55 mm |
1 mm/s |
1 |
Natural Leather Engraving (0.1% power used) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
55 mm |
1 mm/s |
1 |
Green Anode (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
55 mm |
84 mm |
1 |
Green Nylon-6 (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.1 mm |
55 mm |
267 mm/s |
1 |
Microsurfaced Impact Acrylic (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.8 mm |
55 mm |
15 mm/s |
10 |
Poly Foam (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
20 mm |
55 mm |
13 mm/s |
4 |
Rubber Stamp |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
2 mm |
55 mm |
17 mm/s |
1 |
Rubber Thin (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.5 mm |
55 mm |
25 mm/s |
1 |
Thermal Pad (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.3 mm |
55 mm |
9 mm/s |
1 |
Transformer (Silicon) Steel Marking (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
12 mm |
55 mm |
50 mm/s |
1 |
Stainless Steel (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
12 mm |
55 mm |
1.6 mm/s |
1 |
Stainless Steel (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.5 mm |
55 mm |
8 mm/s |
1 |
Stainless Steel (with High-Pressure Air-Nozzle on 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.5 mm |
55 mm |
8 mm/s |
1 |
Plywood (with 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
6 mm/s |
1 |
Orange Transparent Plexiglass (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
100 mm/s |
1 |
Natural Grain Leather (with 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.3 mm |
4 mm |
21 mm/s |
1 |
Green Plexiglass (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
1 mm/s |
1 |
Tool Steel (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
10 mm |
4 mm |
33 mm/s |
1 |
Tool Steel (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
6 mm/s |
1 |
Stainless Steel Knife (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
5 mm/s |
1 |
White Marble (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
4 mm |
16 mm/s |
1 |
Steel (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
4 mm |
100 mm/s |
1 |
Schist (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
100 mm/s |
1 |
Natural Grain Leather (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.3 mm |
4 mm |
20 mm/s |
1 |
Decorative Curtain-Fabric Polyester (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.5 mm |
4 mm |
3 mm/s |
2 |
Foam EVA (with 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.8 mm |
4 mm |
75 mm/s |
1 |
Foam EVA (with 15L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
5 mm |
4 mm |
67 mm/s |
2 |
Red Plexiglass Cutting (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
1.5 mm/s |
1 |
Cotton Fabric (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
4 mm |
60 mm/s |
1 |
Cordura (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
0.35 mm |
4 mm |
50 mm/s |
1 |
Black Leather (with 10L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
1.4 mm |
4 mm |
9 mm/s |
1 |
Black Plexiglass (with 5L/min airflow) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
3 mm |
4 mm |
2.5 mm/s |
1 |
Blended Granite (50% power) |
Material thickness |
Working Distance |
Feed Rate |
Pass |
N/A |
4 mm |
100 mm/s |
1 |