I have been working with the laser etcher for a few days now using some wood I picked up from the hobby shop. The first attempt met with failure due to the “unable to burn at less than 100%” issue. After adjusting the power to 100%, it worked great. After upgrading the firmware to 2.2 (verified), I tried switching from B&W to a greyscale image. At 70% power, it started strong but the projected 11 hour completion time was too much so, after about 3 hours and seeing what it could do, I paused and stopped the burn.

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This takes me to my current issue.

Laser Engraving Near Me

Switching back to B&W, I tried another line art based image. Using the same 70% power, the image started but it was a bit too light. I paused, stopped, reset, upped the power to 100% and started again. The image was no darker and actually got lighter as it progressed. Pausing, stopping, trying again. Now, it doesn’t burn anything into the material.

I have tried refocusing several times but I can’t get the beam to focus any tighter (it barely exceeds the dot on the focusing card). I have turned the work speed down and get nothing. I tried reverting to my original image that worked but nothing. I downgraded the firmware to 2.1 (verified) and maxed out the power but still nothing. All parts work and the laser is shining but it will not imprint anything… not even paper.

I am beyond stumped at this point. Settings, materials and source material that worked previously yield no results. The components move, the laser shines but nothing is burned into the wood.

Can Laser Engraving Be Removed

Any ideas or suggestions would be most welcome.