Some notes on laser cutting.
The laser cutter I used is an 80 watt model. The strength of the cut is determined by two parameters: power (as a percent of maximum) and speed (in mm per second). The manual listed a recommended setting for cutting 1/8″ basswood (50% power, 15 mm/s), and a recommended setting for engraving (14% power, 350 mm/s).
I tried the engrave and it worked fine, but I was worried that the cut setting might be too strong. I was right. For 1/8″ basswood I found 50% and 50 mm/s speed to cut just through. For my 3/16″ sheet the setting I found was 50% power and 30 mm/s speed. And for the 1/32″ sheet it was 50% power and 200 mm/s speed. If I had more time I would have experimented with other power settings, but I went ahead with the settings that I knew would work.
Some test cuts shown below.
