[updated] First engraving, seeking advice

[goodgrief]

Hiya there! I've owned a 40 w xtool for a week now and I'm still getting my bearings. I stumbled across LA hobby guy very recently and love the content, I've just been trying to soak up information. Recently I stumbled across the custom engraving and cut files very generously offered in the file section here but only saw files up to the 20w diode! I was curious if anyone had resources I could scavenge for the 40w? Thanks in advance for taking the time to read my post.

edit:

Oops! I should have searched for this situation prior to posting, I did find a similar post in which it was suggested to start with the 20 w library already available. I'll work from there!

[TomG]

here is a link to the xtool website where the support section has a material settings page. Pay attention to the chart and check out the material test settings for the 40 watt as there are some for various woods there. Both cut and engrave settings can be found for some materials and that can give you a starting point
here is the link

https://www.xtool.com/pages/material-settings

[goodgrief]

I very much appreciate you for providing and linking this info! I just dialed in my focus with LA hobby guy's video and I'm ready to move onto greater things

[TomG]

if you have downloaded the material test card, you can use those general settings along with the test cards to allow you to better dial in your laser.
Remember each material, each thickness, should have a test card to help you avoid wasting materials based on trial and error. Also, always do engrave tests before you do cut tests as you can always sand the material down to run another test, but once you cut the wood, its a one shot deal

[goodgrief]

IMG_1259.png

Update:

I've gone ahead and engraved my first image on a slate coaster. It is very offcenter ( user error ), could probably use less tacos, requires touching up in the contrast and fading out some of the fuzzy white areas . . .

however my main concern is the vertical choppiness. I recall reading about overscan somewhere . . . I'm not sure if I've diagnosed the problem correctly. Would love to have someone weigh in their expertise on my attempt here!

[edit]I’ll be trying to tighten the tension up a bit and see if that helps as a quick fix

[TomG]

your speed may be a bit fast as well for the engraving portion.
can you post your settings please?

[Louvp57]

if using Lightburn under tools tab there is Material Test you can run. that is your best place to start

[goodgrief]

your speed may be a bit fast as well for the engraving portion.
can you post your settings please?

I used 15% power and 25 mm/s. Tightening up the belt fixed 90% of the issue however I do still see horizontal lines to some degree. I believe I've tightened the tension belt as far as it can go without overdoing it, is it a DPI issue at this point?

[TomG]

since its an image likely, what dpi have you got the image set at? My best results using an image for detail is usually 1 of 2 settings.
254 or 318 seems to work best for my laser.
You can crop an image of something detailed and then try running the same image with the same power and just change the dpi settings to see which dpi gives you the best results for detail.
crop an image to a 1 inch by 1 inch square then just keep power and speed based on your testing and change the dpi.
there are a lot of videos on engraving slate as well as posts in this forum which will also give you lots of information.

[goodgrief]

since its an image likely, what dpi have you got the image set at? My best results using an image for detail is usually 1 of 2 settings.
254 or 318 seems to work best for my laser.
You can crop an image of something detailed and then try running the same image with the same power and just change the dpi settings to see which dpi gives you the best results for detail.
crop an image to a 1 inch by 1 inch square then just keep power and speed based on your testing and change the dpi.
there are a lot of videos on engraving slate as well as posts in this forum which will also give you lots of information.

Cheers! I haven't messed with DPI yet as it's one of the many things I've probably overlooked or shot in one ear and out the other. I'll mess around a bit with that and check out the forums for more information.