Diode laser settings by material

Power and speed for slate, cork, kraft paper, leatherette, denim, basswood and balsa on 3, 7, 10, 12 and 20 W diode lasers. They come from real test grids on a 7 W Artilume T1, and they’re the same numbers BurnBadger fills in when you pick a material.

Slate Cork Kraft paper Leatherette Denim Basswood plywood Balsa More materials

How to read these

60% · 3000 means 60% of your laser’s full power at 3000 mm/min. More passes are listed when needed.
✓ marks the settings we burned and checked on a 7 W laser. The other wattages are worked out from them, keeping the energy per millimetre the same: speed changes first, and power only once speed tops out.
Lasers focus to different spot sizes, and materials vary, so treat every number as a starting point. Burn a small power × speed test grid first on a scrap of the same material.

Slate

Slate marks light grey. Past about 60% at 2000 mm/min it turns yellow-gold and loses contrast, so the brightest clean grey is 60% at 3000. Photos use less power, because each dot spreads on slate.

	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Engrave	60% · 1300	60% · 3000 ✓	60% · 4300	60% · 5150	42% · 6000
Photo	35% · 1300	35% · 3000 ✓	35% · 4300	35% · 5150	25% · 6000
Line (score or cut)	60% · 1300	60% · 3000	60% · 4300	60% · 5150	42% · 6000

Or pick Slate in BurnBadger and it’s set for your laser.

Cork

Cork darkens very easily: every square of an 8–20% grid came out dark brown. 8–12% at 4000–6000 mm/min all looked good, so cork sits at the very bottom of the range.

	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Engrave	10% · 2550	10% · 6000 ✓	10% · 6000	10% · 6000	10% · 6000
Photo	10% · 2550	10% · 6000	10% · 6000	10% · 6000	10% · 6000
Line (score or cut)	12% · 1700	12% · 4000	12% · 5700	11% · 6000	10% · 6000

Or pick Cork in BurnBadger and it’s set for your laser.

Kraft paper (gift bags)

From the front, stronger squares looked best, but held up to the light most had burned through. 20% at 5500 mm/min stays whole and comes out dark and even, bumps and all.

	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Engrave	20% · 2350	20% · 5500 ✓	15% · 6000	13% · 6000	10% · 6000
Photo	18% · 2550	18% · 6000	13% · 6000	11% · 6000	10% · 6000
Line (score or cut)	10% · 1300	10% · 3000	10% · 4300	10% · 5150	10% · 6000

Or pick Kraft paper in BurnBadger and it’s set for your laser.

Leatherette (PU hat and clothing patches)

Leatherette marks dark at low power and scorches fast, so it needs far less than real leather.

	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Engrave	25% · 1300	25% · 3000 ✓	25% · 4300	25% · 5150	18% · 6000
Photo	20% · 1300	20% · 3000	20% · 4300	20% · 5150	14% · 6000
Line (score or cut)	25% · 1300	25% · 3000	25% · 4300	25% · 5150	18% · 6000

Or pick Leatherette patch in BurnBadger and it’s set for your laser.

Denim (black, thin cotton/poly)

10% already bleaches the dye to gold. Much more burns through, and from about 30% it also melts the polyester.

	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Engrave	10% · 1300	10% · 3000 ✓	10% · 4300	10% · 5150	10% · 6000
Photo	15% · 1300	15% · 3000	15% · 4300	15% · 5150	11% · 6000
Line (score or cut)	10% · 1300	10% · 3000	10% · 4300	10% · 5150	10% · 6000

Or pick Denim in BurnBadger and it’s set for your laser.

Basswood plywood (1/8 in, 3 mm)

Cut: 100% at 700 mm/min in 4 passes cut 1/8 in basswood plywood clean on a 7 W laser (3 passes at 750 left the angled edges uncut). 2 mm plywood needs 2 passes.

	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Engrave	90% · 1500	90% · 3500	90% · 5000	90% · 6000	54% · 6000
Photo	90% · 1500	90% · 3500	90% · 5000	90% · 6000	54% · 6000
Line (score or cut)	100% · 300 · 4 passes	100% · 700 · 4 passes ✓	100% · 1000 · 4 passes	100% · 1200 · 4 passes	100% · 2000 · 4 passes

Or pick Basswood in BurnBadger and it’s set for your laser.

Balsa

Line: 80% at 1500 mm/min is our tested setting on a 7 W laser.

	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Engrave	80% · 850	80% · 2000	80% · 2850	80% · 3450	80% · 5700
Photo	80% · 850	80% · 2000	80% · 2850	80% · 3450	80% · 5700
Line (score or cut)	80% · 650	80% · 1500 ✓	80% · 2150	80% · 2550	80% · 4300

Or pick Balsa in BurnBadger and it’s set for your laser.

More materials: starting points

These come from the Artilume T1 manual’s table (written for a 3 W module), scaled the same way. We haven’t burned grids on them yet, so test first.

Engrave	3 W	7 W	10 W	12 W	20 W
Solid wood	90% · 1000	90% · 2350	90% · 3350	90% · 4000	81% · 6000
Bamboo	90% · 1000	90% · 2350	90% · 3350	90% · 4000	81% · 6000
Real leather	60% · 1500	60% · 3500	60% · 5000	60% · 6000	36% · 6000
Dark felt	60% · 1500	60% · 3500	60% · 5000	60% · 6000	36% · 6000
Silicone and rubber	80% · 1000	80% · 2350	80% · 3350	80% · 4000	72% · 6000
Coated tin plate	80% · 2500	80% · 5850	58% · 6000	48% · 6000	29% · 6000

Questions

What power and speed should I use to engrave slate with a diode laser?

For text and logos on slate: On a 7 W diode laser: 60% power at 3000 mm/min. On a 10 W: 60% power at 4300 mm/min. On a 20 W: 42% power at 6000 mm/min. These come from test grids on a 7 W Artilume T1, scaled for other wattages, so burn a test grid on yours first.

What power and speed should I use for photos on slate?

For photos on slate: On a 7 W diode laser: 35% power at 3000 mm/min. On a 10 W: 35% power at 4300 mm/min. On a 20 W: 25% power at 6000 mm/min. These come from test grids on a 7 W Artilume T1, scaled for other wattages, so burn a test grid on yours first.

What settings engrave cork coasters?

Cork darkens very easily, so stay low and fast. On a 7 W diode laser: 10% power at 6000 mm/min. On a 10 W: 10% power at 6000 mm/min. On a 20 W: 10% power at 6000 mm/min. These come from test grids on a 7 W Artilume T1, scaled for other wattages, so burn a test grid on yours first.

What settings engrave kraft paper gift bags without burning through?

Kraft burns through easily; hold a test up to the light. On a 7 W diode laser: 20% power at 5500 mm/min. On a 10 W: 15% power at 6000 mm/min. On a 20 W: 10% power at 6000 mm/min. These come from test grids on a 7 W Artilume T1, scaled for other wattages, so burn a test grid on yours first.

What settings cut 1/8 inch (3 mm) basswood plywood?

Cutting 1/8 in basswood plywood: On a 7 W diode laser: 100% power at 700 mm/min, 4 passes. On a 10 W: 100% power at 1000 mm/min, 4 passes. On a 20 W: 100% power at 2000 mm/min, 4 passes. These come from test grids on a 7 W Artilume T1, scaled for other wattages, so burn a test grid on yours first.

Skip the numbers

BurnBadger fills these in for you. Pick your material and your laser’s wattage, and it sets power, speed and passes. It also has a test card and a power × speed grid for anything new. It works with GRBL diode lasers (which lasers) and is free to download.

Download for Windows Download for Mac

Always wear the safety glasses made for your laser, burn somewhere with airflow, and stay with the laser while it’s on.