Laser cutting of plywood products. Plywood laser cutting machine: laser power, equipment price Modern technologies of plywood cutting

Laser cutting far from new method artistic processing of wood, which from the moment of its appearance immediately gained immense popularity. In comparison with a similar process performed by hand with a jigsaw, this method demonstrates a number of advantages, the main of which is the speed of work when it high precision provided with modern multifunctional equipment.

Also, laser cutting and engraving of plywood allows you to achieve the uniqueness of the pattern, which is distinguished by aesthetic appeal and beauty, while the cost of the service provided by a professional craftsman using expensive equipment is affordable for most customers. The minimum cutting width here does not exceed 0.01 mm, which is practically impossible when processing wood with a hand tool.

An example of cutting plywood with a laser:

Laser cutting technology involves the directed action of a laser beam on plywood, which makes it possible to form a cut of various complexity and configuration. This method is non-contact and consists in increasing the temperature at the point of contact of the beam with the tree, after which the material is removed by evaporation.

The use of equipment, which in this case is a laser machine, ensures that perfectly smooth edges are obtained after processing, which is very important when cutting artistic elements and complex openwork patterns. Wood dust and shavings are completely absent here, which gives the carpenter a lot of inconvenience. In the process of cutting wood with a laser, under the influence of high temperatures, plywood usually darkens in places of cut, which can be regarded as both advantages and disadvantages of the method, everything here depends on the artistic vision of the master. If necessary, this feature can be eliminated by supplying laser machines with a ventilation and blowing system that removes combustion products.

How the laser beam works

To obtain a laser beam, it is necessary to use a tube made of gas and a mixture of helium, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. When voltage is applied, monochromatic directional radiation is activated using technological mirrors. Experienced craftsmen they cut wood with devices whose power starts from 20 watts, but amateurs at home often use less powerful equipment. As mentioned earlier, the accuracy of laser cutting of wood is very high, and the given pattern is almost gem-quality.

To achieve smooth and clear edges of the pattern according to the specified parameters without the use of manual labor, it is enough to install the appropriate program. Minimum size laser beam in combination with numerical programs allows you to carry out the process of cutting plywood with a laser in a matter of minutes. Modern machines equipped with CNC require only a sketch from the master, while wood cutting itself is performed quickly and easily in automatic mode.

Additional accessories

By the type of configuration, the equipment on which laser cutting of non-metals is carried out can be divided into units with and without numerical control programs. There are also additional devices optimizing cutting, processing and manufacturing of parts. Devices that expand the functionality of laser machines are:

chillers that regulate the cooling process of the glass laser tube through which gas mixture... To ensure optimal temperature regime, the tube is closed with a kind of shell through which the cooling liquid circulates, and the device itself consists of a water pump, water and freon;
blowing systems that remove combustion products, due to which the plywood does not darken at the points of contact with the beam, and the products acquire an attractive appearance.

We draw your attention to the fact that laser cutting of MDF or any other wood material requires continuous cooling of the focusing lens, but such a system is not an additional option and is necessarily present on all types of machines, without exception. The cost of professional chillers mentioned above is quite high and starts at $ 500.

Often, home craftsmen make a cooling system on their own, using a pump to pump water. Thanks to this technique, laser cutting of veneer, plywood, MDF or chipboard will be available without unnecessary financial expenses. By the way, the standard work of cutting non-metals can require over one hundred liters of water. If possible, it is advisable to replace the water with a more suitable freon for such purposes, which will be much more effective.

Laser cutting process

Quality production decorative elements where mdf laser cutting is applied or other wood materials, it is impossible without modern equipment, which is subject to high quality requirements. The process itself cannot be called simple, because it requires attention and artistic talent when creating sketches. An equally strict requirement is put forward for the treated surfaces. Plywood should not contain any flaws in the form of cracks, chips and other flaws, otherwise the result may turn out to be disastrous, and the master will make his efforts in vain.

Cutting veneer with a laser, as well as processing any wood with a point light beam, can be carried out both with manual and automated equipment. Despite the fact that in this case the surrounding space is not polluted by shavings and wood dust, some inconveniences are still present. The thing is that such production is associated with a heating process, due to which the cutting laser beam burns out the tree and, as a result, emits smoke. That is why it is impossible to allow acrid smoke to fill the room, making sure to ensure exhaust system... Also, laser cutting of plywood can provoke insignificant fires, and in order to avoid a fire, it is better to put a container of water nearby in advance, which will come to the rescue in case of an unforeseen circumstance.

Materials, products and prices

The laser cutting method is specially designed for processing plywood, and indeed any wood in general, in order to give it a decorative effect. For example, laser cutting of MDF can turn an ordinary unsightly workpiece into a masterpiece of carpentry art. In addition to making interior elements, this technique allows you to process wood in the production of souvenir and gift products. There are a huge number of products, the main material of which is inexpensive plywood, however high level the quality of laser processing transforms a primitive workpiece so much that it looks like a precious exclusive thing. The most popular items in this category of goods are all kinds of coasters, panels, frames for photos and paintings, boxes, vases, etc.

Having a laser machine in his arsenal, the master will be able to regularly allow himself the creation of unique original gizmos for sale or for personal use, but what to do for those who do not have special equipment or lack of necessary skills? The answer is obvious. They know how to cut wood with a laser in hundreds of workshops that work according to the customer's sketches, it is enough just to voice your wishes. Such a service is quite affordable, and on average its cost is 30 rubles per linear meter with a material thickness of 5 mm.

Table: Prices for the provided laser cutting services

Thickness mm.	Cutting length linear meter
Thickness mm.

The price fluctuation in one direction or another is directly influenced by the thickness of the wood, moldings and the complexity of the pattern.

Souvenir products made using laser technologies appeared on the market relatively recently and in a short time created a separate direction in the souvenir industry.

The market offers the consumer goods made from different materials and for various purposes: promotional souvenirs, toys, kitchen utensils, interior items, things with individual design... New laser technologies: engraving on metal, wood, glass make it possible to create products for the most different spheres application. In this article, we will look at the use of lasers when working with plywood.

What are the advantages of laser engraving and cutting plywood?

Laser cutting of plywood ensures maximum accuracy of transfer of a given image to the surface of the material. The use of a laser differs from milling with a better cut edge that does not require further processing. A focused laser beam cuts out millimeter elements of the pattern while maintaining the dimension of the specified element, which is inaccessible to the cutter. The use of a laser saves material, since there is no waste in the form of sawdust.

The scope of this technology:

2. Manufacture of furniture and decorative elements of the interior. The use of laser cutting allows you to make products with high detail, which is inaccessible when using a metal cutter or milling cutter.

For understanding technological process plywood laser cutting specialists from Endurance Laser Lab will step by step illustrate all stages of making a souvenir product from plywood. Today we are going to carve a teahouse.

Laser-cut teahouse blanks are often sold at art and craft stores. Let's see how they are made on equipment from Endurance!

To create ready product, we will go through the following steps:

Let's create a drawing of a teahouse.
Let's connect a laser engraver.
Load the drawing into software for a laser engraver and set the program settings for material cutting.
Set the material (plywood sheet) in the working area of the Endurance Laser Lab engraver.
Make sure the printable area does not extend beyond the plywood sheet.
Let's start the plywood cutting program.
Separate the resulting parts from the base and glue them.

Creating a drawing for laser cutting plywood

To create complex drawings, Endurance laser laboratory specialists recommend using graphics editor CorelDRAW. In the case of the teahouse, we take finished drawing as a jpg image.

Initially, we planned to make a teahouse using the Endurance Makeblock XY 2.0 plotter laser engraver with a wide working area of 31 x 39 cm. This would allow loading the drawing in one file and making all the structural elements in one operation.

At the time of this writing, the sales department reported that all the engravers of the Makeblock model are sold out and for an experiment they are ready to give us an Endurance DIY desktop laser engraver. The working area of this model is 20 * 20 cm. This meant that we would not be able to fit all the details of our house in the working area of the cutter.

I had to cut the drawing into separate parts and cut them one by one.

Connecting Endurance DIY laser engraver - step by step instructions

There were no problems here. Devices from Endurance Laser Lab usually work without problems. We load the drawing into the laser engraving software and set the program settings for cutting the material.

To work with laser engraver Endurance DIY we used the popular CNCC Laseraxe software version 2.53. This software has a fairly wide functionality, while being free. You can download CNCC Laseraxe on our website. The program does not require installation. At first glance, the interface is somewhat confusing, but it won't take long to understand the program.

1) Launch the program and connect to the laser engraver by pressing the Connect button. Then open the picture with the Open button.

2) We carry out the processing of the picture by pressing the PR button and selecting the upper right picture of a hare.

3) We set the values of the burn-through time and laser power to the maximum. Press the Advan button.

4) In the changed window, check the setting of the vertical sliders, which should correspond to the picture: the top one is on Outline, the bottom one is on Path / Speed. Then we create g-code by clicking the Create button.

5) The program offers to go to the page with the code. Click "Yes".

6) Before sending the drawing for burning / cutting, we need to check if the laser is correctly positioned in relation to the material. We put a tick in the WS window. The laser indicates the point at which the engraving / cutting process will begin. Place the material in accordance with the laser point and start the process by pressing the Run button. To cut through the material, you need to start the laser several times manually using the Run button. The harder the material, the more once you need to start the process. We used soft material- balsa for aircraft models. It took 5 laser starts to cut through 4 millimeters of balsa.

This is how the made elements of the house looked like.

And such a house turned out after connecting the parts.

Conclusion

We have demonstrated laser cutting of plywood and step by step production plywood souvenir using Endurance lasers. Everything important nuances and the subtleties of working with plywood and setting up laser technology cannot be described in one article. Therefore, we tried to give information about working with plywood in the most general terms, deliberately without touching on the choice of materials, thickness and type of plywood, laser power, etc. A more detailed analysis of work in this direction will be published in separate articles after studying and conducting practical experiments.

For all questions about working with laser technology, you can contact our office. There you can also get acquainted with our products and purchase laser equipment.

The sponsor of the article is the site old.EnduranceRobots.com - chatbots, robots, lasers and engravers in Moscow.

Plywood laser cutting - effective method cutting sheet material and processing complex parts. Modern equipment and advanced technologies allow you to achieve maximum clarity of lines with perfect cut quality and dimensional accuracy of the workpiece.

Professional laser cutting of plywood at Mos-Laser

Depending on the density and structure of the material, laser cutting of plywood sheets is carried out with a laser beam certain power, which is selected individually for each product. Professionalism of specialists Mos-Laser team, preliminary study of templates in 3D format and right choice optimal speed eliminate the likelihood of damage to parts and the occurrence of marriage.

Plywood is widely used in construction, interior decoration, creation decorative items, therefore, the service of laser cutting of sheets of this material is so in demand in Moscow. In our work, we use high-precision equipment with a powerful system of blowing the cutting zone, so that the edges and cuts are perfectly clear without deformation and signs of charring.

Plywood Laser Cut Prices

Material thickness, mm	Plywood (F.K.), MDF, rub. per meter of cut	Plywood (FSF), Solid wood, rub. per meter of cut
3	from 29	from 34
4-5	from 30	from 35
6-7	from 34	from 42
8-9	from 42	from 48
10	from 45	from 55
12	from 50	from 70
14-15	from 70	from 80
16	from 84	from 98
18	from 96	from 110
20	from 110	from 125
22	from 120	from 145

How to use the services of Mos-Laser

Which is carried out on special laser and milling equipment. Cutting plywood is very often required when it becomes not very convenient to use large-format plywood sheets, or when it is required to perform curly cutting material in large quantities.

Prices for milling plywood

Plywood thickness, mm	Price for 1 running meter, rub.
Plywood thickness, mm	up to 100 m	from 100 to 500 m	more than 500 m
3-6 mm	32	27	20
8-12 mm	35	28	23
15-18 mm	40	35	30
20-24 mm	50	45	40
27-30 mm	63	58	55

Prices for laser cut plywood

Plywood thickness, mm	Price for 1 running meter, rub.
Plywood thickness, mm	up to 100 m	from 100 to 500 m	more than 500 m
3 mm	45	38	30
4 mm	53	45	38
6 mm	60	53	45
8 mm	68	60	53
10 mm	75	68	60
12 mm	83	75	68

Plywood is made from veneer sheets, connected to each other with a special glue on a resinous basis, which, when cutting plywood, very bluntly and wears out the cutter knives and other elements of the tools. In this regard, it is very important to use tools made of very strong, hard alloys for cutting plywood. good quality... Only in this case plywood will lend itself well to cutting and processing, and the tool will not wear out and retain its performance longer.

Cutting plywood with a laser

Laser cutting is the most modern and popular method of processing, sawing and decorating plywood. Laser cutting allows for a short period not only to cut plywood into pieces, but also to create high-quality drawings.

Modern laser devices cut any plywood sheets with sufficient quality and make it possible to make various elements without exerting any mechanical effect on them. This cutting method eliminates the formation of chips or pile on the edge of the material being processed. However, very often the result of laser cutting depends on the quality and type of raw materials from which it is made plywood sheet, as well as on the method of its processing and the type of glue that was used in its manufacture.

The cut of the material after laser processing burns, slightly changing its color, which can be both a positive and a negative feature of this type of cutting. The darkened edge of the plywood, formed after cutting, emphasizes the contours of the material, which can be used for decorative purposes.

Milling plywood allows you to perform shape cutting or high-quality cutting of material in a straight line. At the same time, the plywood at the cut site does not change its color.

Milling cutting allows you to perform both through cuts of plywood and surface cuts, when the cutter penetrates into the material only to a predetermined depth. The milling unit also allows you to mill technological recesses, grooves and many other different operations.

Milling cutting of plywood involves a mechanical effect on the material, but, despite this, thanks to the use of specialized cutters, this method of cutting plywood makes it possible to almost completely eliminate the formation of chips and pile on the cut of the material.

CNC woodworking milling machines provide accurate, reliable and fast cutting of plywood according to preprogrammed parameters. Using a milling machine, you can not only cut plywood and make it shaped cutting the required configuration and size, but also to carry out the final processing of the edges of the material to remove various roughness, creases and irregularities from them. Also, using milling cutting, you can perform decorative trim in the form of relief engraving or figured cutting, which is often used when decorative design furniture.

Cutting plywood at home can be done by hand or electric jigsaw for cutting sheet materials... This method of cutting does not allow achieving sufficient High Quality cut, since after cutting there may be chips at the edges of the plywood, and the cut itself may have irregularities.

The manual way of cutting plywood is the simplest and most affordable way. You can use a regular hand saw to cut plywood at home. Since plywood is a fairly dense and durable material, cutting it with a hacksaw requires a certain amount of physical effort. The thicker the plywood is, the more difficult it will be to cut. That's why manual way cutting is usually used for relatively thin plywood and for cutting predominantly in a straight path.

except hand saw an electric circular saw can also be used to cut plywood at home. With the help of a saw, you can easily cut plywood of any thickness. However, this method is also mainly suitable for cutting plywood in a straight line. Also, the disadvantage of this method is the formation of a large number of chips on the cut surface of the material.

✅ Before you buy a plywood laser cutting machine, learn how to choose and use it correctly. This will help you to accurately determine the characteristics of this equipment and understand what its price should be. Only useful information, VIDEO REVIEWS, life hacks and advice from experienced specialists in laser cutting of plywood.

Before you buy a plywood laser cutting machine, learn how to choose and use it correctly. This will help you to accurately determine the characteristics of this equipment and understand what its price should be. Only useful information, life hacks and advice from experienced specialists in plywood laser cutting.

How to choose a laser cutting machine for plywood

It is very easy for an experienced specialist to choose a laser plywood cutting machine. After all, he has a lot of experience, knowledge, and most importantly, practice. But what should a beginner do, where to start looking for his CNC laser equipment for cutting and nesting plywood? How to buy what you really need at the right price, including additional options? As experienced specialists, we talk about everything in order. First and foremost, you need to know what area of plywood sheets you will cut. For a large one we choose a laser machine with a large working field, for a smaller one - with a small one (such as mini, desktop). The price of a plywood laser cutting machine depends on its size. On the other hand, if you have the ability to cut large-format plywood sheets into small pieces, for example, with a milling cutter or circular, then you can immediately pay attention to medium- or even small-format laser cutting machines. This, for example, is done in the production of small elements and parts made of plywood. These machines are suitable for the home. However, in this case, you will need to take care of the ventilation system. In addition to the area, you need to know what thickness of plywood you will be cutting. At the same time, remember that if you cut out thick plywood on a CNC laser machine, then the edges of the cut will remain charred. Yes, there is one life hack that will help you solve this problem, but more about it below. On the other hand, some end products with black edges are attractive. When you need a clean end, it is better to use other machines for cutting thick plywood, including milling machines, and use laser equipment for engraving. The thickness of the plywood that you will cut affects the power of the CO2 laser emitter and, as a result, the cost of the plywood laser cutting machine. To select it, you can focus on this data:

Plywood up to 6 mm - 50 W
Plywood up to 8 mm - 60 W
Plywood up to 10 mm - 80 W

To apply images with a laser on plywood (engraving), you can stop at a 50 W laser tube. But, as they say, the economy must be economical, therefore, if the task is to produce more products per unit of time and establish profitable production, then it is better to buy a CNC laser machine for cutting plywood with a more powerful emitter.

VIDEO. Comparison of laser cutting machines for plywood

Professional industrial and semi-professional models.

VIDEO. Budget plywood laser cutting machines

Small format models.

And now we will tell you about the plywood itself for laser cutting, how best to cut it and the nuances of processing.

The ideal grade of plywood for laser cutting is 1/1 or 1/2. When choosing plywood, pay attention to its type. So, marking Ш1 indicates that this is plywood, sanded on one side, and Ш2 - from 2 sides. For cutting with a laser machine, the so-called indoor plywood or FC is suitable (the abbreviation stands for "plywood + urea-formaldehyde glue"). It is better not to take moisture-resistant plywood or FSF for a laser. It is very difficult to cut with a laser. So, this plywood with a thickness of 4 millimeters is cut using the same parameters as ordinary FC plywood with a thickness of 12 millimeters. In other cases, it just burns. And, as they say, do you need it? Such plywood is easier to process with a milling machine. In addition, there is bakilit plywood for the manufacture of, for example, spacers. It is cut either with a router, waterjet, or diamond cutting equipment. At the same time, ideally, it is better to use water jetting, because the same milling cutter burns cutters when processing bakilit plywood (we read - we spend a lot of money on consumables), and all due to the fact that it is impregnated and covered with a special reinforcing chemical composition, in some cases with epoxy resins. There are also special grades of lightweight aviation plywood. This is just space for the laser. Its plus is that it cuts very well, and at the same time is very durable, because it is intended for aeromodelling. In short, she's perfect. Such plywood is produced with a thickness of 2 millimeters. The better the plywood, the easier it will be for you to process it. Choose plywood with as few knots as possible. They interfere with normal cutting. Plywood for laser cutting must be ordered from specialized companies. In ordinary hardware stores and hypermarkets, plywood is sold that is not suitable for laser processing.

How best to cut plywood on a laser machine

When laser cutting plywood to avoid yellow bloom along the edge of the cut, it is necessary to use a more powerful compressor, with an air supply to the nozzle of 1.5-2 atmospheres. If you need a cut without "shooting" on the other side, then the plywood from the working table must be raised by at least 1 cm. Then the beam scatters when shooting from the table and no traces remain on the material. Perfectly flat plywood does not exist, each sheet leads, twists. To avoid defocusing the laser beam when cutting uneven plywood, either use a long focus lens or press the plywood against the table. You can press it with neodymium magnets, which adhere perfectly to the honeycomb table, or fix the plywood sheet with corners that you can make yourself. The easiest way to align a sheet of plywood on a table, avoiding shots on the back side, is to place neodymium magnets on the table, place a sheet of plywood on top of them and secure this sheet on top with more neodymium magnets. Then the sheet is located at the required distance from the honeycomb table and is fixed on top by other magnets. When cutting plywood intensively, clean the ventilation mesh more often, because there is much more combustion products and soot from plywood glue than from plexiglass. As a result, the hood clogs up faster. For the same reason, when cutting plywood with a laser, you need to clean your lenses and mirrors more often.

Life hack for cutting thick plywood with a laser

If you want to laser cut plywood thicker than the power of the CO2 tube allows, then you can do it in 2 passes. But, there is one big BUT. When cutting from the first pass, you will have to cut without forced air supply, otherwise the laser machine will not finish cutting and will simply light the plywood, with oxygen, as you know, everything burns better. But already on the second run, you turn on the oxygen supply. And this is BUT: remember, in the absence of air supply to the nozzle, the lens of your laser machine will very quickly get smoke and burst.

Where to buy a laser cutting machine for plywood

Our company sells a large number of laser machines for cutting and cutting plywood with different characteristics... In addition to standard serial laser equipment, we can launch into production a laser machine according to your specifications and make it at an affordable price. Do you have any questions? Ask our technical specialists.

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