Glowforge Laser Settings
Every type of material will react differently with the laser, even from one plastic to the next. Settings do not always have to be exact. While engraving acrylic at 35% speed and 75% speed will give you a very different result, the difference between 35% and 39% will be much more subtle and relies more on personal preferences.
Test your material. If you have a small area of the material you won’t be using, or an extra of the item, take advantage of this area to test out your settings by engraving a small square or cutting a small circle. You can fine tune your settings in these areas. You can also run only a part of a file, such as text, to ensure correct settings.
Similar materials use similar settings. For example, most anodized aluminums will react well with similar settings, as will most plastics.
When in doubt, start low: You can always re-run your job as long as you don’t move it in the machine.
