Laser Cutter – Recommended Settings

The following are suggested laser cutter configuration settings for various materials.

There are three Boss laser cutters available in Leazar Hall 220A, next to the Materials Lab, and two Boss laser cutters currently located in 111 Lampe Digital Fabrication Studio MakerSpace.

The laser cutters are available for College of Design students, faculty and staff only.

• Model BOSS LS-2440 – 155WATTS – located in Leazar Materials Lab

• Model BOSS LS-1630 – 105WATTS – located in Lampe Digital Fabrication Studio MakerSpace

BOSS LASER SETTINGS

https://bosslaser.com/laser-settings/

Boss Laser Library – Tested Materials

Here is an in-depth list of materials that have been tested with this Co2 LS/HP Series Lasers. The list of materials that are known to be safe for the machine. It is important to review the information below to ensure you are not attempting to cut or engrave a material that is not meant for your machine.

Plastics:

• ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) (Do not cut)
• Acrylic (Also known as Plexiglas, Lucite, PMMA)
• Delrin (POM, Acetal)
• High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)- Melts Badly (Do not cut) 
• Kapton Tape (Polyimide)
• Mylar (Polyester) (Do not cut)
• Nylon – Melts Badly (Do not cut)
• Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG)
• Polyethylene – Melts Badly (Do not cut)
• Polypropylene – Melts Somewhat
• Styrene (Do not cut)
• Two-Toned Acrylic – two-layer colored acrylic, top layer is a different color than the base color. Used for signs, plaques, and instrumentation panels.

Foam:

• Depron – Often used for RC planes
• Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) (Do not cut)
• Gator Foam – Hard shell of gator foam does well but, the foam core gets burned and eaten away. (may cause small fire flareups, may cut on lasers but watch closely)

Textiles and Other:

• Cloth- Leathers, suede, felt, hemp, cotton
• Paper – Cardstock, cardboard,
• Rubber – These can only be used if they do not contain chlorine Teflon (PTFE, Polytetrafluoroethylene)
• Woods – MDF, balsam, birch, poplar, red oak, cherry, holly, etc.

Materials that cannot or should not be cut:

• NO Metals – may damage laser focus assembly
• NO Polycarbonate (PC, Lexan) – due to the fumes.
• NO material containing chlorine or PVC (Cintra) – contains chlorine
• NO Vinyl – contains chlorine
• NO Glass/Mirrors – may damage laser focus assembly

Additional Materials Settings

Acrylic Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	20	.065	ANY
155W (Leazar)	350	15	.065	ANY

Acrylic Cutting Settings

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THINCKNESS
105W	15	75	N/A	1/4″
155W	20	65	N/A	1/4″

Balsa Wood Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	20	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	15	.065	Any

Balsa Wood Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	25	55	N/A	1/8”
155W (Leazar)	25	50	N/A	1/8”

Bass Wood Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	25	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	20	.065	Any

Bass Wood Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	25	55	N/A	1/8”
155W (Leazar)	25	40	N/A	1/8”

Birch Wood Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	25	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	20	.065	Any

Birch Wood Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	15	70	N/A	1/4”
155W (Leazar)	20	65	N/A	1/4”

Birch Plywood Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	25	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	20	.065	Any

Birch Plywood Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	15	75	N/A	1/4”
155W (Leazar)	20	70	N/A	1/4”

Cardboard Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	20	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	15	.065	Any

Cardboard Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	15	60	N/A	1/4”
155W (Leazar)	15	50	N/A	1/4”

Leather Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	18	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	15	.065	Any

Leather Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	12	75	N/A	1/8”
155W (Leazar)	15	70	N/A	1/8”

Paper Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	20	15	N/A	1/100”
155W (Leazar)	20	15	N/A	1/100”

Romark – Multi-Colored Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	20	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	15	.065	Any

Rubber Engraving

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	350	20	.065	Any
155W (Leazar)	350	15	.065	Any

Rubber Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	12	75	N/A	1/8”
155W (Leazar)	15	70	N/A	1/8”

Foam Cutting

WATTS	SPEED (mm/s)	POWER%	INTERVAL /SCAN GAP (mm)	THICKNESS
105W (Lampe)	25	55	N/A	1/4”
155W (Leazar)	25	40	N/A	1/4”

If you have other settings you’d like to suggest, please send an email to design_materialslab@ncsu.edu with the details.