Universal Laser Systems X-600 Safety, Installation, Operation, And Basic Maintenance Manual page 64

RASTER ENGRAVING
LASER WATTAGE
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
VECTOR ENGRAVING
LASER WATTAGE
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
VECTOR CUTTING
LASER WATTAGE
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
When engraving wood with a laser, a brown, maple syrup like residue will deposit on the surface of
the wood. This is normal and impossible to eliminate by POWER, SPEED, or PPI changes. More
residue will be present when engraving deeper and/or slower. This residue washes off with water and
a sponge. We recommend using a kitchen sponge with a nylon string mesh wrapped around it.
Dampen the sponge and wipe off the residue. A damp chamois cloth works well also. Do not use
paper towels or a regular sponge because these materials will get lodged in the engraved area when
wiping and are extremely difficult to remove. A method to avoid cleanup is to mask the wood with
transfer tape and peel off the tape after engraving. If desired, after engraving and before peeling off
the tape, spray paint can be applied to color fill the engraved areas. After the paint dries, peel off the
tape. If an intricate drawing has been engraved and there are many small pieces of tape to remove, it
may be easier to flood the masking, after engraving, with water. This will loosen the tape and it can
be easily removed by rubbing it off by hand. In the vector cutting example, the wood was elevated
from the table to let smoke and heat escape from underneath. If you elevate the wood, mask and/or
dampen the bottom side of the wood very lightly, in which the water acts as a heat sink to prevent the
underside from flaming and charring.
Elevating the wood also helps to determine whether the laser has passed completely through since
the cut pieces will fall through to the table when cutting is finished. Also, set up the drawing so that
the inner pieces of the drawing are cut first, otherwise pieces may fall through at the wrong time.
MATERIAL SETTINGS GUIDE
WOOD
POWER SPEED
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
POWER SPEED
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
80
POWER SPEED
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
COMMENTS
Section 5-22
PPI
25 500
30 500
34 500
39 500
44 500
50 500
55 500
59 500
PPI
4.2 500
5.0 500
5.9 500
6.7 500
7.6 500
8.4 500
9.2 500
10.1 500
PPI
1.3 250
1.6 250
1.8 250
2.1 250
2.3 250
2.6 250
2.9 250
3.1 250
PASS DEPTH
1 .020"
1 .020"
1 .020"
1 .020"
1 .020"
1 .020"
1 .020"
1 .020"
PASS DEPTH
1 .030"
1 .030"
1 .030"
1 .030"
1 .030"
1 .030"
1 .030"
1 .030"
PASS DEPTH
1 .125"
1 .125"
1 .125"
1 .125"
1 .125"
1 .125"
1 .125"
1 .125"