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Okay, so...
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this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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Ooh exciting, I've wanted to find someone with your knowledge! I couldn't find a good answer when I was researching this a while back.
How powerful of a laser would I need to cut 18mm ply at a workable speed? Would I need crazy cooling setups? And what size steel or aluminium could I cut with that?
This would be a home DIY setup, but on the 'serious business' side of DIY.
The lasers I ran could do that but we typically cut steel and aluminum with them. They had a separate chiller that had to vent outdoors, along with forced ventilation systems to keep fumes and fine metal dust from building up.
I'm not as familiar with cutting plywood, unfortunately. But I feel like 18mm material woukd need at least 1,000 watts.
Cool!
... Speaking of, what's the cooling like on a 1kW laser?
You two are fun. U sense there's a drinking game just around the corner
With a slight possibility of blindness
I wish to make an insight check
I feel like the guys that run our plasma may not have the best ventilation.
I've cut plywood that thickness with a CO2 laser at 150 Chinese watts (closer to 140 SI watts). It takes several passes, and you would want a lens that makes a parallel beam. Most laser cutters come with a lens that focuses the beam to a point. That's good for thinner material, but not something this thick.
It's not great at it. Might have a lot of char. But it's possible.