Epilog Settings

[Marc Caron]

Hello,

I'm cutting .100" cardboard with an 40W Epilog Laser. Air assist is on during the cuts.
It leaves a black residue on the edges that were cut. It very messy.

I've played around with the settings but can't find a way to eliminate the dust.
Is this normal?

Thank you for your answers.

Marc

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Your recourse may be to cut several passes at a lower power to reduce char. I agree, this is messy stuff and tends to smear on the 'good' surfaces.

[Glen Monaghan]

What are your speed/power/frequency settings? To avoid black edges, you generally want to go fast and use low frequency, with power set just high enough to ensure a good cut. 500 Hz is a good starting point for frequency and you might experiment with lower values such as down to 450 or 400 (too low can cause visibly ridged edges or even a perforated/dotted line effect). If there isn't enough power available to run at 100 percent speed, then you have to slow down until you can cut through at max power. Barring that, you might be forced to run multiple passes using settings that don't blacken the edges but together complete the cut.

[Marc Caron]

Thanks for the replies.

Tried several settings. Currently at speed 35, power 80 and 250 Hz.
Its the lowest I can go and there are still dark edges.
I may have to try two passes.

[Glen Monaghan]

Is this corrugated cardboard or a paperboard sort of stuff? Where are you getting it? I was just cutting .09" corrugated pieces to hold/protect some acrylic parts for mailing, and there was no visible browning of the cardboard edges. If your material is more of a solid paperboard (like a legal pad back or cereal box), maybe you're having a problem with binders and need to find a different composition.

[Marc Caron]

Its 3-ply dense cardboard.
Binder : Do you mean the glue used to laminate the 3 layers together?

[Michael Hunter]

Can't help with your particular problem, other than that you *should* be able to make cuts with almost zero charring.

BE VERY CAREFUL with corrugated cardboard!!!!!
I have found that cardboard can smoulder inside the corrugations - a high risk of fire even after you have taken it out of the machine.
Particularly bad with 3-wall stuff (3 flat sheets separated by 2 corrugated ones).

[Glen Monaghan]

I don't know what 3-ply dense cardboard is but, yes, binder is the "glue". It might be used to laminate layers together or to hold fibers together within a single layer. Is this stuff corrugated, i.e., flat layer, wavy layer, flat layer? What constitutes "dense" cardboard? Maybe a picture of the cut edges would help...

[David Somers]

Mark. This may be a non sensical suggestion. But would you be able to put a low adhesion masking tape on for rhe cut and let it take on the soot while you experiment at eliminating it? Scott@rabbitlaserusa has suggested the masking tape from Harvor Freight as being low adhesive and high paper content. I have had good luck with it on many items? Of course masking tape on cardboard may just ruin the surface paper of the board. Worth a test though perhaps?

Or if tape werent appropriate how about a top paper layer over the board. Let the paper take on the soot?

Dave.

[Bill George]

Would a little misting with water hurt the cardboard?