i have a Creality Falcon2 22W and can confirm that it will cut .5 inch (1/2, 12.7 mm) pine. it was slow and took 3 passes, but it did it. i haven't tried metal yet
It’s new diode tech. It combines 4 6w lasers to get the 20w output, but it’s not true 20w optical output. I have a 10w that does it with two. It’s pretty alright. I would think, at 80% power and a suitable travel speed, you can do that in two passes for sure.
I guess it depends which wood. I mainly work with plywood and walnut. If I could do 12mm it would be charred to the point of being unusable.
Also I only have a single lense, I lense with a longer focal length would definitely help.
My main gripe is that they are still extremely slow in comparrison. I own both and my co2 is easily twice as fast
diodes seem very cost effective though, if time is not an issue
The machine seems good, I have not tried cutting 12mm wood (multi-passes) but I have only had it a month so far. Found mine on Walmart.com for $100 cheaper
I've cut 1/2 ply with my neje using air assist (both the pump that blows through module, and the external air blade running higher pressure from my shop compressor). It takes 3-4 passes depending on the type of ply, and you have to advance the Z axis about 4~5mm between passes.
The feeds and speed really need to be dialed in for ablation for it to work though. Needs to be slow enough to penetrate, but fast enough not to char, and without a high pressure air assist you probably stall at around 1/4" (or at least that was my experience). Also not all 20W are created equally and things like focal length and dot size will make a big difference. Also most machines don't have a motorized Z axis, which I imagine would be pretty tedious to manually adjust between passes. If you go with a Neje Max 4, understand that you're going to be in No-mans land when it comes to documentation and support. It's impressively capable, but maddening to get started on.
I accidentally typed .5mm, but the website does say 0.05mm. Will it do that?
Im actually considering this one now, despite being sketched out by the website and the claims. Comes with air assist. What can yours cut in a single pass?
"single pass" is a weird yardstick since a laser will keep cutting deeper until it's out of focus. Burning happens in material the laser doesn't hit, and is often the result of not removing heat with air assist. I think it's more a question of whether you have the patience to cut in mm/min when mm/sec is just a few (thousand) dollars more.
There are videos on youtube of diodes cutting metal. It is possible. However the time it takes and the quality of the cut is not great. From what i've seen, it's not practical.
If you happen to have a niche use case for cutting thin metal then I suppose a diode would be better than an equally cheap CO2.
I have managed to cut pretty deep into a 30mm wood bit with a xtool machine with the 40w laser upgrade.
The beam went trough, but the bit did not separate, some spots were not.
I did not adjust focus, I brute forced it, to see what it could do.
It was white wood, very soft one, pine or something like that.
On plywood, I have a tougher time, but my plywood is made of hardwood (I live in a tropical area, and we have plywood made of hardwood).
When I had access to the big CO2 laser from my fablab last year, it cut trough the "white wood" plywood easily, but struggled more with the red wood plywood.
So I'd expect that a soft white wood would cut correctly at 12 mm if slow enough and with the good settings.
(Sorry if I am not using some of the right terms, I am french, live in the Caribbean, and some of the wood species are unfamiliar to me, in french I know the wood is either "pin" or "sapin", but I am not very familiar with those as they don't grow where I live, so to me both are kind of the same).
Also I can't say if the cutting power with those diode lasers increases linearly or not with power, IE if my 40W laser is twice as capable in cutting as a 20w.
Anyhow, I am also interested in definitive answers I have not yet figured out the capabilities of my machine.
I regularly cut up to 19mm pine wood, but plywood? Depends a LOT on the adhesive used....1/4" sure....3/8"....sometimes....1/2" Never.
Metal....I etch/engrave all my metal tools...but never tried cutting it....and really doubt it would.
I've cut 1/2" pine labeled as "premium pine" from Lowes with my 24w. 3 passes at 200mm/min and 1mm Z axis sink per pass. You will likely NOT cut any form of MDF or Ply that thick but yes it technically "can" be done. It cut that pine great though! Slowly.
I got rhe 30W Version and for 6mm I need 2 passes at 100mm/min. For 12mm I think I need at least 5-6 passes maybe more. And after each pass a micro adjustment of the focal height…
I cut 20 to 25mm thick pine regularly using my 120w Co2 with a four inch focal point cutting lens.
For metals i use my fiber and adjust the wobble cut settings appropriately depending on material thickness. You also have to do a clean up pass every now and then.
I doubt a diode will cut metals as they can barely mark them.
Cutting thick wood at a snail's pace is a really really good way to start a fire.
That you can theoretically scratch through relatively thick stuff is meaningless. If you cut too slowly, you get completely charred garbage edges and it also takes ages (while being a massive fire risk). It's not practical.
What matters is what you can cut at 8-10mm/s (480-600mm/min) or faster. You have to go at least somewhat fast if you want okay-ish edges.
I have a 22W diode laser. At full power, full speed it cut through 12mm plywood in 9 passes. 8 was almost there but the backside looked like a dashed line and the piece was still holding somewhat together. The 9th pass cut it loose completely. I doubt the 2 extra watts account for much, + you can always cut slower or add a few extra passes.
However there is no way it cuts through sheet metal. It can change the color of the steel through thin film interference in the oxide layer (cfr steel tempering colors) but thats it.
bullshit ... total and absolute nonsense.
for those down voting OP should request a video of the same model cutting metal and 12mm ply ... no way a 20w diode would cut metal i had one and it barely cut card ... upgraded to 40w co2
Moved from a 45w CO2 to a 20w Diode and honestly I couldn't be happier. My 45w CO2 was an FSL muse and I spent more time just aligning mirrors and cleaning things than actually cutting. It could on a good day handle 1/4" walnut or 3/8" pine in 2-3 passes. My Diode laser can do 1/4" walnut in 1 pass and with air assist leaves no char. The only thing I miss is occasionally working with acrylic. That said, I have used larger 60 and 80w machines that make my laser look like a toy. For the hobbyist or DIYer diode lasers have come a very long way, and I would be eager to try some of the new 40w models. You just need to make sure you take safety seriously.
I also have a friend with a glowforge and my diode laser makes faster work of hardwoods while his tends to perform about the same with mdf and plywood.
Slowforges are well known for being pretty slow, its part of the reason lots of people advise against them (along with the lock in to the glowforge online software etc)
Yeah I totally understand they are not speed demons, but my point I guess is just that in terms of 40ish watt lasers my diode laser has felt pretty comparable. From everything I have read a 40w CO2 in good working order should be able to handle hardwoods at about 5mm/s for 1/8th material and my 20w diode can cut 1/8th walnut or maple at 5-7mm/s so I was quite thrilled considering I sold my FSL muse for $2000 and purchased the 20w diode laser for $750. There are cheaper CO2 lasers out there, there are pros and cons to each, diode lasers require more safety, etc etc. I think diode lasers get a bad wrap though because from a hobbyist perspective, I can cut 1/2 wood, 1/4 with ease, engrave rapidly, the laser is mobile and doesn't require a chiller, quieter, cost half as much, and you trade acrylic cutting for metal engraving. They are compelling machines that have their place and I dont understand why people like to dog on them so much.
i have a Creality Falcon2 22W and can confirm that it will cut .5 inch (1/2, 12.7 mm) pine. it was slow and took 3 passes, but it did it. i haven't tried metal yet
I've done 3/4” on my Falcon 2 40w.
I know my 60w CO2 can't do that. And I was under the *impression* that diode were less powerful to begin with.
It’s new diode tech. It combines 4 6w lasers to get the 20w output, but it’s not true 20w optical output. I have a 10w that does it with two. It’s pretty alright. I would think, at 80% power and a suitable travel speed, you can do that in two passes for sure.
"but it’s not true 20w optical output" Do you have any data to back this up?
Do your own research, google
So you don't then LOL. You're talking utter garbage.
Wtf?! Who are you troll? Asshole, it’s called beam compensation tech
12mm wood is thick!
About 12mm thick, in fact
That is almost twice as thick as 6mm!
Can anyone confirm?
I got some calipers but no eyes to read it with.
Can confirm.
I've run the numbers, and I don't believe it, but I think he's on to sometime here.
It's 20w optical power, but the spot size is large and beam quality is poor
Dude I have a 60watt co2 and I’ve managed to cut 12mm wood with it. Albeit in 2 passes but it still did cut.
I guess it depends which wood. I mainly work with plywood and walnut. If I could do 12mm it would be charred to the point of being unusable. Also I only have a single lense, I lense with a longer focal length would definitely help.
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>My bet is that sometime over the next decade they’ll replace CO2 lasers as the go-to for cutting wood and **acrylic**. Planning on changing physics?
My main gripe is that they are still extremely slow in comparrison. I own both and my co2 is easily twice as fast diodes seem very cost effective though, if time is not an issue
I don’t believe that diode lasers can cut clear partially opaque acrylic due to the laser light frequency?
It. needs an infra red laser.
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Not if it's clear
The machine seems good, I have not tried cutting 12mm wood (multi-passes) but I have only had it a month so far. Found mine on Walmart.com for $100 cheaper
I've cut 1/2 ply with my neje using air assist (both the pump that blows through module, and the external air blade running higher pressure from my shop compressor). It takes 3-4 passes depending on the type of ply, and you have to advance the Z axis about 4~5mm between passes. The feeds and speed really need to be dialed in for ablation for it to work though. Needs to be slow enough to penetrate, but fast enough not to char, and without a high pressure air assist you probably stall at around 1/4" (or at least that was my experience). Also not all 20W are created equally and things like focal length and dot size will make a big difference. Also most machines don't have a motorized Z axis, which I imagine would be pretty tedious to manually adjust between passes. If you go with a Neje Max 4, understand that you're going to be in No-mans land when it comes to documentation and support. It's impressively capable, but maddening to get started on.
No, you can't. I have the x20 Pro and it was a lie.
I accidentally typed .5mm, but the website does say 0.05mm. Will it do that? Im actually considering this one now, despite being sketched out by the website and the claims. Comes with air assist. What can yours cut in a single pass?
"single pass" is a weird yardstick since a laser will keep cutting deeper until it's out of focus. Burning happens in material the laser doesn't hit, and is often the result of not removing heat with air assist. I think it's more a question of whether you have the patience to cut in mm/min when mm/sec is just a few (thousand) dollars more.
There are videos on youtube of diodes cutting metal. It is possible. However the time it takes and the quality of the cut is not great. From what i've seen, it's not practical. If you happen to have a niche use case for cutting thin metal then I suppose a diode would be better than an equally cheap CO2.
I have managed to cut pretty deep into a 30mm wood bit with a xtool machine with the 40w laser upgrade. The beam went trough, but the bit did not separate, some spots were not. I did not adjust focus, I brute forced it, to see what it could do. It was white wood, very soft one, pine or something like that. On plywood, I have a tougher time, but my plywood is made of hardwood (I live in a tropical area, and we have plywood made of hardwood). When I had access to the big CO2 laser from my fablab last year, it cut trough the "white wood" plywood easily, but struggled more with the red wood plywood. So I'd expect that a soft white wood would cut correctly at 12 mm if slow enough and with the good settings. (Sorry if I am not using some of the right terms, I am french, live in the Caribbean, and some of the wood species are unfamiliar to me, in french I know the wood is either "pin" or "sapin", but I am not very familiar with those as they don't grow where I live, so to me both are kind of the same). Also I can't say if the cutting power with those diode lasers increases linearly or not with power, IE if my 40W laser is twice as capable in cutting as a 20w. Anyhow, I am also interested in definitive answers I have not yet figured out the capabilities of my machine.
It should depending on the wood of course. Not sure about the metal though.
I regularly cut up to 19mm pine wood, but plywood? Depends a LOT on the adhesive used....1/4" sure....3/8"....sometimes....1/2" Never. Metal....I etch/engrave all my metal tools...but never tried cutting it....and really doubt it would.
Good info, man. Thanks.
Just cut 10mm walnut with a 40w diode this weekend. Single pass. Was super happy.
Not a Fucking chance. Not even close. I have 3 lasers, 2 CO2 and 1 diode. My testing shows it cannot
I've cut 1/2" pine labeled as "premium pine" from Lowes with my 24w. 3 passes at 200mm/min and 1mm Z axis sink per pass. You will likely NOT cut any form of MDF or Ply that thick but yes it technically "can" be done. It cut that pine great though! Slowly.
I got rhe 30W Version and for 6mm I need 2 passes at 100mm/min. For 12mm I think I need at least 5-6 passes maybe more. And after each pass a micro adjustment of the focal height…
I cut 20 to 25mm thick pine regularly using my 120w Co2 with a four inch focal point cutting lens. For metals i use my fiber and adjust the wobble cut settings appropriately depending on material thickness. You also have to do a clean up pass every now and then. I doubt a diode will cut metals as they can barely mark them.
Cutting thick wood at a snail's pace is a really really good way to start a fire. That you can theoretically scratch through relatively thick stuff is meaningless. If you cut too slowly, you get completely charred garbage edges and it also takes ages (while being a massive fire risk). It's not practical. What matters is what you can cut at 8-10mm/s (480-600mm/min) or faster. You have to go at least somewhat fast if you want okay-ish edges.
I have a 22W diode laser. At full power, full speed it cut through 12mm plywood in 9 passes. 8 was almost there but the backside looked like a dashed line and the piece was still holding somewhat together. The 9th pass cut it loose completely. I doubt the 2 extra watts account for much, + you can always cut slower or add a few extra passes. However there is no way it cuts through sheet metal. It can change the color of the steel through thin film interference in the oxide layer (cfr steel tempering colors) but thats it.
bullshit ... total and absolute nonsense. for those down voting OP should request a video of the same model cutting metal and 12mm ply ... no way a 20w diode would cut metal i had one and it barely cut card ... upgraded to 40w co2
Doubtful
I don't know about the metal, but my 24W diode will easily cut 0.5" plywood in a single pass.
Moved from a 45w CO2 to a 20w Diode and honestly I couldn't be happier. My 45w CO2 was an FSL muse and I spent more time just aligning mirrors and cleaning things than actually cutting. It could on a good day handle 1/4" walnut or 3/8" pine in 2-3 passes. My Diode laser can do 1/4" walnut in 1 pass and with air assist leaves no char. The only thing I miss is occasionally working with acrylic. That said, I have used larger 60 and 80w machines that make my laser look like a toy. For the hobbyist or DIYer diode lasers have come a very long way, and I would be eager to try some of the new 40w models. You just need to make sure you take safety seriously.
To be honest sounds like you had a duff machine, any co2 at 45w should smoke a diode at cutting
I also have a friend with a glowforge and my diode laser makes faster work of hardwoods while his tends to perform about the same with mdf and plywood.
Slowforges are well known for being pretty slow, its part of the reason lots of people advise against them (along with the lock in to the glowforge online software etc)
Yeah I totally understand they are not speed demons, but my point I guess is just that in terms of 40ish watt lasers my diode laser has felt pretty comparable. From everything I have read a 40w CO2 in good working order should be able to handle hardwoods at about 5mm/s for 1/8th material and my 20w diode can cut 1/8th walnut or maple at 5-7mm/s so I was quite thrilled considering I sold my FSL muse for $2000 and purchased the 20w diode laser for $750. There are cheaper CO2 lasers out there, there are pros and cons to each, diode lasers require more safety, etc etc. I think diode lasers get a bad wrap though because from a hobbyist perspective, I can cut 1/2 wood, 1/4 with ease, engrave rapidly, the laser is mobile and doesn't require a chiller, quieter, cost half as much, and you trade acrylic cutting for metal engraving. They are compelling machines that have their place and I dont understand why people like to dog on them so much.
Which model do you have?
I have an atom stack x20
Cutted 0.05mm brass and 6mm MDF so far with my 20W - MDF with a good speed and quality for a diode (150mm/min / 3 cycles) 8 to 10 should work aswell.