How to cut thick plywood or solid wood with a laser machine

Laser capabilities when working with plywood

• Laser cutting of plywood allows you to minimize material waste due to the optimal creation of a pattern plan using computer programs and the absence of defects.
• In addition, by choosing a laser method for furniture production, it is possible to speed up the assembly of products, since additional processing will not be required after cutting.
• Because the laser beam processing is very fine, it is possible to cut out finely detailed elements and engrave complex designs.
• On a laser machine it is possible to cut a sheet of plywood from 1 mm to 2 cm.
• Possibility of producing many products of different sizes.
• Possibility of making small souvenirs.
• Production of a wide range of promotional products of various sizes.

DIY laser for cutting wood and plywood: myth or reality?

A simple laser cutter can be made from available materials, but it will not cope with wood and thick sheets of plywood. To create an entire machine, you will need to purchase expensive parts:

• stepper motors or electric motors from the printer to move the device along its axes;
• transistors and boards for motor control;
• DC-DC regulator;
• cooler for emitter;
• electronic board with a digital display for displaying information;
• controllers;
• laser with a power of at least 30 W;
• Limit switches;
• timing belts and pulleys;
• frame;
• computer and USB cable for communication with the cutter controller;
• boards for making the working frame of the apparatus;
• metal rods with a diameter of 10 mm.

In addition, you will need bearings, bolts, ties, screws, etc. The laser cutting machine is a shuttle type device. Its moving elements and guides serve to move the working head along two axes and regulate the cutting depth. Stepper motors that move the laser head are mounted on fixed parts of the frame frame and connected to moving parts via toothed belts.

To perform engraving on plywood and wood, a special program is loaded onto the PC, transmitting commands to the controller. It regulates the movement of the carriage with the laser, adjusting the movements of the working head to the selected pattern. Professional software allows you to apply images of any complexity to plywood with the high precision inherent in laser cutting technology.

Thus, with proper preparation and the availability of the necessary parts, you can independently assemble a medium-power laser machine capable of cutting thin sheets of wood or plywood.

What can be made from plywood on a laser machine?

• Souvenir products.
• A wide range of advertising products, both large banners and small-sized products.
• Templates and patterns for designer furniture and decorative elements.
• Furniture.
• Applications.
• Business cards.
• Toys.
• Magnets.
• Nameplates and numbers.
• Postcards.
• Phone cases.
• Jewelry.

Which plywood is suitable for laser cutting?

Not all plywood is suitable for laser cutting, and this is worth keeping in mind.

We list the factors that you need to pay attention to when choosing a material for working on a laser machine:

• Adhesive for gluing veneer sheets. Plywood contains various resins and varnishes. Depending on the adhesives used, plywood is divided into several types. FC plywood with urea resin is best suited for laser cutting. It is not recommended to use FSF, FKM and FB plywood due to its increased water resistance, which makes cutting difficult.
• Grade of plywood. For cutting decorative products, 1st and 2nd grade plywood is best suited. For the production of furniture, plywood of grades ⅔, 3/3 is used. If lower quality material is used, defects may occur.
• Material thickness. The most efficient way to process plywood with a thickness of 3-6 mm is processed on a laser machine in terms of cutting speed and quality.
• A type of wood veneer. According to this criterion, softwood plywood is best suited for laser processing, since it has a beautiful surface pattern and is slightly charred on the cut. Plywood made from hardwood is denser and harder to cut.

Specific features of processing thick wood

In order to perform laser processing of plywood or natural wood, you need to understand the main nuances of the upcoming process and the machine equipment used. These include the following:

• The main disadvantage is the decent cost of the equipment set. However, the increasing processing speed and quality of the finished product offset this disadvantage.
• The laser power and its parameters make it possible to achieve processing quality that is inaccessible to mechanical methods.
• Depending on the tasks, the laser can be used as one of the elements in the production process chain, or used at home.
• Laser machines ensure the formation of minimal seams, which increases the accuracy of workpiece processing.

As you work, we recommend keeping in mind a number of basic aspects of the technology in question:

• In the area where the emitter operates, the workpiece necessarily darkens, so that there is no carbon deposits, you need to set the required nozzle airflow. The defect can be removed after completion of the work (sandpaper, painting, varnishing).
• The workpiece is cut without any physical effort.
• The quality of the finished product is determined not only by the initial composition of the workpiece, but also by the quality of the equipment used for cutting and the optimally selected settings. Not all types of plywood can be cut with a laser (see below).
• When you have to work with a large number of plywood pieces, you should definitely use a cutting system combined with a hood. When working from home, it is permissible to use local ventilation.
• Laser cutting occurs without chip formation. This makes cleaning easier after the job is completed.
• Before starting work, the surface of the workpiece should be cleaned of possible contaminants and dust.
• It is prohibited to laser process workpieces whose surface is coated with paint and varnish.

How to choose a laser machine for plywood?

The main points that you need to pay attention to when choosing a laser machine for plywood are the power of the laser tube and the size of the working field of the machine. To do this, firstly, you need to decide - will you cut or engrave? And, secondly, what products will you make?

If you cut plywood up to 5-6 mm thick, a 50 W laser tube will be sufficient. And for plywood with a thickness of more than 6 mm, a 100 W laser tube will be required. Up to 40 watts of power may be sufficient for engraving.

As for the working field of the machine, when choosing it you need to start from the dimensions of the product. For the production of souvenirs, a machine with a small working field, for example, 500/300 mm, is suitable. And to produce advertising banners or furniture, you will need a machine with a working field of 1200/900 or 1600/1000 mm.

In addition, you need to pay attention to the lens. For engraving plywood you will need a short focal length lens, and this is critical, but for cutting it is not.

Also, the standard equipment of the plywood laser machine includes stepper motors, an S&A chiller and a lamella or honeycomb table. The table is selected depending on the size of the product. A lamella table is suitable for making small jewelry or keychains, and a cellular table is suitable for large souvenirs, decor or advertising.

Wattsan machines have a Ruida control system. It differs from other programs in its multitasking, because in one pass you can engrave different depths and cut out parts along the contour.

In addition, some laser engravers have additional options and upgrade capabilities.

For example, there are machines with two cutting heads, which allows you to produce twice as many products. They are in demand in large mass production.

And on some equipment it is possible to connect a rotating device, which allows you to engrave on cylindrical objects, for example wooden cups or decorations.

Which laser machines are suitable for plywood?

To cut small souvenir products from plywood - boxes, business cards, toys and jewelry, you need small Wattsan 0203, 0503 and 6040 machines with a working field from 200/300 to 600/400 mm and a laser tube power from 40 to 95 W.

For advertising or furniture production and woodworking, suitable options would be modifications of Wattsan 1610 and 1290 machines with a working field of 1600/1000 and 1200/900 and a power of 100-120 W.

For engraving plywood, Wattsan 0203, 0503 machines with a short-focus lens and a wide nozzle are used. You can cut plywood on any Wattsan machine.

In large industries, machines with two cutting heads, Wattsan 1610 duos and Wattsan 1290 duos, are common.

Laser machine Wattsan 6090 LT

General algorithm for cutting wood

A similar operation with plywood and wood is performed in several stages. The workpiece material may have different thicknesses.

For each existing cutting process, different equipment functions are used; for cutting thick (usually 8-10 mm) materials, laser tubes with an average power of 120 W are used.

The general algorithm includes three basic stages:

• preparation of the future drawing (image parameters are entered electronically into the software memory);
• mode of processing the workpiece with the emitter; The main setting parameter is the power of the laser tube. Selected taking into account the characteristics of the workpiece material. Exceeding the optimal power value leads to an increase in cutting width.
• formation of a pattern.

To cut a workpiece of the desired geometry or rough image, the laser emitter can be moved at maximum speed.

It should be remembered that working at maximum speeds causes edge darkening of the workpiece.

The highest quality processing can be achieved using CNC-equipped laser machines.

What is the best way to cut plywood on a laser machine?

Look at the characteristics of the Wattsan 6090 machine. Its important advantage is that it can work with material of unlimited length.

• To avoid a yellow coating on the edge of the cut, it is necessary to use a compressor with an air supply of 1.5-2 atmospheres.
• To avoid “shooting”, the plywood needs to be raised on the work table by 1 cm.
• It is necessary to frequently clean the ventilation mesh from combustion products of plywood glue.
• To avoid defocusing the beam, either a long-focal lens or pressing the plywood to the workbench using neodymium magnets helps. Also, neodymium magnets can be used to secure the sheet both from below and from above, thus fixing its position.
• It is possible to cut plywood thicker than the capacity of the tube allows, but in two passes. The first is without air supply, and the second is with oxygen supply. But do not forget to monitor the focusing lens, because without air supply to the nozzle it can quickly burst.

How to avoid carbon deposits

This problem most often appears when there are not enough machine resources. Or the settings are not selected correctly:

• head speed,
• beam power,
• beam focusing,
• air supply for blowing the lens.

Important! These parameters are interrelated. If you change at least one of them, you need to select the corresponding others.

Speed ​​setting

This parameter is selected experimentally, taking into account:

• density and thickness of the workpiece,
• radiation power.

The thicker the sheet, the slower the process occurs. Water-resistant types of material also slow down processing. The higher the energy of the beam, the faster it cuts. This means that the speed must be chosen so that the beam has time to cut through, but does not char.

Beam power

It is selected so that the machine cuts, but does not burn. If the emitter allows, this parameter is selected for the maximum speed of head movement. Important! The strength of the light flux depends on the condition of the laser tube. It has a limited resource. Over time, it sits down and the radiation weakens.

Focusing

The radiation from the tube is redirected using a prism to a lens, which focuses it onto the working surface. For the process to proceed cleanly and quickly, the beam must be well focused on the surface of the workpiece and be as thin as possible. This is achieved by adjusting the focal length. Focusing also depends on the state of the focusing lens:

• temperature regime,
• cleanliness of the lens surface.

Blowing the lens

Cooling is carried out by air flow. If the airflow on the lens stops or becomes weaker, it will begin to heat up. The laser spot area becomes wider. Soot appears. For thick sheets, airflow of 1.5-2 atmospheres is used. This ensures a bright and clean cut surface.

What can you do with plywood on a milling machine?

Milling machines work with many materials, including plywood. At the same time, the router, due to its complexity and large size, is advisable to use in furniture production and woodworking.

Several types of plywood processing are possible on a CNC milling machine: cutting, milling and engraving.

Contour cutting is used to cut a sheet of plywood into smaller pieces or cut a design onto it. Engraving on a milling machine is possible when using certain types of cutters - diamond or engraving.

In addition, using a milling machine it is possible to create three-dimensional designs on plywood, the so-called 3D milling. It differs from conventional cutting in its layout and control program settings. But we will talk more about this in another article.

How laser equipment works

A light beam is focused on the plywood, concentrating the energy at one point. Part of the material under its influence burns out. The laser continues to move across the sheet, cutting lines into it, the shape and length of which are determined by a computer program.

Laser engraving of plywood is performed according to the same principle. The power of the light beam can be adjusted. The laser is adjusted so that it burns only one or a few layers on top. The result is an image. Its role can be a pattern, drawing or inscription.

What milling machines are suitable for working with plywood?

High-speed CNC machines are suitable for cutting plywood. For example, Wattsan M2S 1325, equipped with a vacuum table, a lubricant aspiration and supply system, a rotating device and a coolant system.

In addition, the Wattsan M1 1325 RD machine is used exclusively for woodworking. It can often be found in the production of furniture, decorative elements for interior design and souvenir production.

This machine can work with both soft and hard wood. By the way, if in the first case the machine does not leave burrs, then it will mill even better on hard material.

For engraving, machines with a working field size of 2000 x 4000, comparable to the size of the sheet, are suitable. For example, the Wattsan M1 2040 machine can work with large workpieces.

Engraving can also be done on small desktop milling and engraving machines, such as Wattsan 0404 mini, Wattsan 0609 mini. They are actively used for woodworking and in the manufacture of souvenirs from plywood and interior and exterior decoration.

Technology of figured cutting of plywood sheet

Algorithm of actions:

1. The workpiece is cut to size, dirt and dust are removed from the surface.
2. A vector drawing is drawn up. All areas need to be carefully considered. If you plan to cut out a shape or figure, then the required distance is provided between the lines.
3. The equipment is set up, the appropriate mode is set, all connections are checked, and the release lens is wiped.
4. The cutting program starts. It is necessary to monitor the quality of processing. To avoid mistakes, especially if you have no experience, you definitely need to practice.
5. Upon completion of the process, the power supply is turned off.
6. The resulting result is checked. If necessary, adjustments are made.

Theoretically, a CNC cutting machine does not need constant monitoring, it should work completely autonomously, but in reality, it is advisable to constantly monitor home-made units, especially during the first starts. The
process can be carried out manually using templates, but such cutting will be inferior to automatic cutting.

Recommendations for choosing milling equipment

1. Check with managers for information about the model. In particular, information about what materials the machine works with. All our equipment undergoes triple quality control. And this process is recorded on video, which you can ask managers before purchasing the machine.
2. Attend a demonstration. This can be done for free before purchasing any equipment. You can bring your workpiece to the demonstration, see how the machine works on it and ask questions about its operation.
3. Check the package. When you have decided on the choice of machine, be sure to check the equipment components. There must be a software control unit for the machine, cords with connectors of the appropriate configuration and disks with software. All this and more can be done during commissioning, which is carried out in our service center by qualified engineers.

Milling machine Wattsan 0609 MINI Wattsan 0609 MINI is easy to use: a minimum number of settings and an intuitive interface. Details HERE.

What is the difference between laser processing of plywood and milling?

• Laser processing may leave a yellow edge, but milling does not.
• The processing speed on a laser machine is twice as high as on a milling machine.
• After laser cutting, no post-processing is required as the laser does not leave burrs on the plywood. And after milling, sanding and, in some cases, painting are required.
• Most plywood tasks can be done with either a laser or a router. A laser is suitable if you need high speed, and the yellow edge when cutting is not critical. Typically, CO2 machines are used for the mass production of souvenirs, gifts, toys, keychains, jewelry and other small items from plywood.

For the production of furniture, large items and interior elements, as a rule, a milling machine is chosen. It is especially relevant for creating designer furniture, thanks to the possibility of 3D milling, which a laser machine does not have. And after cutting on the router, not only post-processing is done, but also subsequent assembly of the product.

Where to buy a CNC machine for plywood?

Lasercut has been supplying laser and milling equipment since 2009 and is the official representative of the Wattsan brand. You can purchase CNC equipment from us at affordable prices. The range of laser machines for working with plywood can be found here. And here the milling equipment is presented.

If you have any questions about cutting and engraving plywood, call +7 (800) 777-17-87 or leave a request for a call back on our website.

Conclusion

The main difference between milling and laser processing of materials is that the cutting tools are different from each other. The laser method uses CO2 gas lasers. And milling machines are equipped with a spindle that operates at high speeds. The choice of equipment depends on your final product and production volumes.