Laser Cutting 3/4 Inch Laminated Press Wood
I had a mill work customer ask me the other day if our Austrian CNC laser was able to cut through 3/4 Inch Laminated Press Wood in one shot. Best way to find out is to do it!
Laser Cutting 3/4 Inch Laminated Press Wood.
I guess that’s as good an answer as you can get! I only had my cell phone in the shop that day while doing material testing so the picture quality isn’t the best but this gives you an idea of the work involved.
After wrapping both the front and back to prevent smoke damage, our Austrian Trotec Speedy 400 flexx CNC laser was put into action, this process is very slow as the power requirements to plow through this material are at the utmost limits of our machine. We could cut thicker stuff, it just won’t be at an affordable price and the quality won’t be up to my standards to leave the door using only our CNC laser.
After the cutting, it’s time to see what it looks like once we pulled-out the cut square. Removing the protective masking shows how well the CNC laser performed.
So the question has to be asked, why would you want to CNC laser through this 3/4 Inch Laminated Press Wood? Well, if you tried doing this with your CNC router, which is what our client has done in the past, you’d end-up with a large amount of material removed around the square so if you had a “hidden panel” you wanted to have easily removed, you’d have quite a bit more “space” that would need to be filled. More importantly, try laminating this so that the grain follows all the way through both the cut-out and the larger panel. It’s a complicated and costly process that the CNC laser solves perfectly!
Looking at it using a better camera, you can see the edge quality is pretty good though I’d further refine production to get a cleaner cut.
Would you cut this stuff day in and out?
I wouldn’t recommend it, there are a few workarounds including cutting the underside with a CNC router about half the depth and then on the front, using the CNC laser to do the other half. This will cut down on laser time dramatically and produce a smoother finish as less power is required to get all the way through. The result would be better and cost less. Yes, we have a CNC router here as well!
Have some stuff to be cut?
CNCROi.com has extensive experience cutting, engraving, etching and marking materials of all sizes and shapes. Our goal is to maximize your ROI on the projects you give us, the faster we can get a project done, the faster you can benefit from it and, indirectly, pay us! We do have 24 hour service as well if you are in a rush but prefer to have a few days to get through projects, it saves you money and us time (and a good night sleep).
Contact us today for all your CNC laser needs!