Laser settings by material: starting values at a glance
are explained briefly when you hover over or tap them.
What power, what speed, how many passes? This page collects the starting values from the material articles in the wiki and sets them beside published manufacturer tables. It is a reference for the first attempt, not a substitute for your own test.
Important first: All values here are starting points. They depend on the machine, the actual laser power, the optics, focus, air assist and even the batch of material. Percentage values cannot be transferred between machines. Before every new material, laser a test grid as described in Material test.
How to read the tables
- Power is given as a percentage of your machine’s maximum power.
- Speed is given in mm/s. Where a manufacturer states mm/min, the converted value is shown alongside (60 mm/min = 1 mm/s). Check which unit your software uses, otherwise you can easily be out by a factor of 60. More on this in Laser parameters.
- Passes are given when there is more than one or the source states them explicitly.
- Engraving means area engraving with a line interval of around 0.1 mm, cutting means contour cutting with air assist and the focus on the surface.
Starting values from the wiki articles
The following ranges appear in the respective material articles. They do not come from a single manufacturer table but are meant as a framework for the first test grid. You will find details, notes on the material and safety in the linked article.
Wood, leather and acrylic
| Material and task | 10 W diode | 20 W diode | 40 W diode | 40 to 55 W CO₂ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood 3 mm, light engraving | 30 to 50 %, 100 to 200 mm/s | 25 to 40 %, 200 to 400 mm/s | 25 to 40 %, 300 to 500 mm/s | 15 to 30 %, 300 to 500 mm/s |
| Wood 3 mm, dark engraving | 60 to 80 %, 80 to 150 mm/s | 50 to 70 %, 150 to 250 mm/s | 50 to 70 %, 200 to 300 mm/s | 30 to 50 %, 200 to 400 mm/s |
| Plywood 3 mm, cutting | 100 %, 3 to 6 mm/s, 1 to 2 passes | 100 %, 6 to 12 mm/s | 90 to 100 %, 15 to 25 mm/s | 60 to 80 %, 15 to 25 mm/s |
| Natural leather around 2 mm, engraving | 15 to 30 %, 150 to 300 mm/s | 15 to 30 %, 250 to 400 mm/s | 10 to 25 %, 300 to 500 mm/s | 10 to 25 %, 300 to 500 mm/s |
| Natural leather 2 mm, cutting | 100 %, 3 to 6 mm/s, 2 to 3 passes | 100 %, 5 to 10 mm/s, 1 to 2 passes | 80 to 100 %, 10 to 20 mm/s | 40 to 60 %, 15 to 25 mm/s |
| Acrylic 3 mm, engraving | black only: 30 to 50 %, 100 to 200 mm/s | black only: 30 to 50 %, 200 to 400 mm/s | black only: 40 to 60 %, 300 to 500 mm/s | all colours: 15 to 35 %, 300 to 500 mm/s |
| Acrylic 3 mm, cutting | black only: 100 %, 2 to 4 mm/s, 2 passes | black only: 100 %, 4 to 8 mm/s, 1 to 2 passes | black only: 90 to 100 %, 10 to 25 mm/s, 1 to 2 passes | all colours: 60 to 85 %, 10 to 25 mm/s |
Blue diode lasers do not cut clear or blue acrylic, because the light passes straight through. Leather here means vegetable-tanned natural leather; synthetic leather containing PVC does not belong under the laser, see Prohibited materials.
Stone and glass
| Material and task | 10 to 20 W diode | 40 W diode | 40 to 55 W CO₂ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slate, engraving | 30 to 60 %, 100 to 300 mm/s | 20 to 40 %, 200 to 400 mm/s | 15 to 30 %, 300 to 500 mm/s |
| Granite, dark, engraving | 60 to 100 %, 80 to 200 mm/s | 50 to 80 %, 150 to 300 mm/s | 40 to 70 %, 150 to 300 mm/s |
| Glass, coated, engraving | 60 to 100 %, 80 to 200 mm/s | 50 to 80 %, 150 to 300 mm/s | coating not needed |
| Glass, uncoated, engraving | not suitable | not suitable | 15 to 30 %, 200 to 400 mm/s |
Paper, fabric and cork
| Material and task | 5 to 10 W diode | 20 W diode | 40 W diode | 40 to 55 W CO₂ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 80 to 160 g/m², cutting | 20 to 40 %, 100 to 200 mm/s | 10 to 25 %, 200 to 400 mm/s | 5 to 15 %, 300 to 500 mm/s | 8 to 15 %, 200 to 400 mm/s |
| Cardboard 1 mm, cutting | 60 to 100 %, 20 to 50 mm/s | 50 to 80 %, 50 to 100 mm/s | 30 to 60 %, 100 to 200 mm/s | 20 to 40 %, 50 to 150 mm/s |
| Felt 3 mm, cutting | 80 to 100 %, 10 to 20 mm/s | 60 to 90 %, 20 to 40 mm/s | 40 to 70 %, 40 to 80 mm/s | 25 to 45 %, 30 to 80 mm/s |
| Denim, lightening | 15 to 30 %, 200 to 400 mm/s | 10 to 20 %, 300 to 500 mm/s | 5 to 15 %, 400 to 600 mm/s | 8 to 15 %, 300 to 500 mm/s |
| Cork, engraving | 20 to 40 %, 150 to 300 mm/s | 15 to 30 %, 250 to 400 mm/s | 10 to 25 %, 300 to 500 mm/s | 10 to 20 %, 300 to 500 mm/s |
At very low power some diode lasers do not fire cleanly. If 5 % does nothing, use a little more power and more speed to compensate.
Metal
| Task | Diode 10 to 40 W | Fibre 20 to 30 W |
|---|---|---|
| Anodised aluminium, removing the colour | 80 to 100 %, 200 to 400 mm/s | low power, high speed, manufacturer profile as a starting point |
| Stainless steel with marking spray | high power, slow, follow the spray manufacturer’s instructions | not needed |
| Stainless steel, dark marking | slow, several passes, test | 60 to 80 %, 300 to 600 mm/s |
| Stainless steel, deep engraving | not possible | 90 to 100 %, 50 to 100 mm/s, 3 to 5 passes |
Bare metal hardly absorbs the light of a CO₂ laser, so without a coating no mark is produced. Why that is, and what is possible with a fibre laser and an infrared module, is explained in Laser engraving metal.
Manufacturer tables for comparison
Some manufacturers publish their own values for their machines. They apply exactly to the named machine with its laser spot and its mechanics. For other machines they only show the order of magnitude you need to look in.
Diode lasers: Creality Falcon2 22 W and 40 W
Creality gives values in mm/min for the Falcon2 series. The table shows both units, each with one pass.
| Material and task | Falcon2 22W | Falcon2 40W |
|---|---|---|
| Basswood 2 mm, engraving | 40 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) | 25 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) |
| Walnut plywood 3 mm, engraving | 35 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) | 20 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) |
| Brown leather 0.65 mm, engraving | 18 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) | 12 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) |
| Black mirror acrylic 3 mm, engraving | 50 %, 4,000 mm/min (about 67 mm/s) | 26 %, 4,000 mm/min (about 67 mm/s) |
| Brushed stainless steel 2 mm, engraving | 80 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) | 40 %, 6,000 mm/min (100 mm/s) |
| Basswood 2 mm, cutting | 100 %, 700 mm/min (about 12 mm/s) | 100 %, 1,000 mm/min (about 17 mm/s) |
| Walnut plywood 3 mm, cutting | 100 %, 450 mm/min (7.5 mm/s) | 100 %, 750 mm/min (12.5 mm/s) |
| Brown leather 0.65 mm, cutting | 100 %, 2,000 mm/min (about 33 mm/s) | 70 %, 4,000 mm/min (about 67 mm/s) |
| Black acrylic 4.6 mm, cutting | 100 %, 120 mm/min (2 mm/s) | 100 %, 180 mm/min (3 mm/s) |
For comparison: in its guide, the CO₂ manufacturer OMTech gives only 1,500 to 3,000 mm/min (25 to 50 mm/s) at 15 to 30 % power for a 10 W diode laser on softwood and plywood, and 200 to 300 mm/min (about 3 to 5 mm/s) at 100 % for 3 mm plywood with a 10 to 20 W diode. Differences like this between two sources are normal and show why a test is necessary.
CO₂ lasers: guides from OMTech and Trotec
OMTech builds CO₂ and fibre lasers and publishes starting values by power class in a guide. The values apply to typical machines of the class, not to a specific model.
| Material and task | Power class | Power | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plywood or balsa 3 mm, cutting | 40 to 60 W | 80 to 90 % | 10 to 15 mm/s |
| Wood, light engraving | 40 to 80 W | 40 to 60 % | 400 to 600 mm/s |
| Acrylic 3 mm, cutting | 40 to 50 W | 70 to 80 % | 6 to 10 mm/s |
| Acrylic 3 mm, cutting | 60 to 80 W | 65 to 75 % | 10 to 15 mm/s |
| Acrylic, engraving (300 to 500 DPI) | no class | 15 to 30 % | 400 to 750 mm/s |
| Vegetable-tanned leather 1.2 to 2 mm, cutting | 40 to 60 W | 40 to 50 % | 25 to 30 mm/s, 1 pass |
| Leather, engraving | 40 W | 15 to 40 % | 100 mm/s |
| Leather, engraving | 60 W | 10 to 15 % | 100 mm/s |
| Glass, engraving (line interval 0.1 mm) | 40 to 60 W | 20 % | 300 mm/s |
For slate, Trotec publishes project examples with complete parameters. On a 40 W Speedy 100, Trotec engraves a slate board at 60 % power, 100 % speed and 500 ppi in one pass with air assist. Trotec states the speed as a percentage of the machine’s maximum speed, so the value cannot be transferred directly to other machines. Further Trotec references for stone and glass are in Laser engraving glass, stone and slate.
Fibre lasers: OMTech starting value for metal
For its fibre lasers from 20 to 100 W, OMTech gives a common starting value for 0.5 mm thin sheets of painted metal, aluminium, copper and 201 stainless steel: 60 % power at 1,000 mm/s. The table does not state frequency or pulse duration. With fibre lasers, however, these have a strong influence on the result, see Laser parameters. So start with the material profile that the manufacturer supplies in its software and vary from there. For colour marking on stainless steel with MOPA sources there are no transferable values; the only help is a colour grid on exactly the material you want to use.
Why your values will differ
- Optical power is not the same as power. Some manufacturers state the optical output power, others the electrical power consumption. A machine labelled “40 W” can therefore emit considerably less light than another with the same figure. More on this in Laser power.
- Laser spot and optics. A smaller spot concentrates the energy more. Two machines with the same power therefore need different values.
- Focus. Even a millimetre of deviation visibly changes engraving and cutting, see Laser focus.
- Air assist. With an airflow, cuts come out cleaner and often faster, see Air assist.
- Material. Glue in plywood, moisture, tanning in leather, alloy in metal: the same material from a different batch may need different values.
- Age and maintenance. A dirty lens or an aged CO₂ tube delivers less power than when new.
How to proceed
- Use the material profile from your manufacturer’s software if there is one. It is matched to your machine.
- If there is no profile, use the middle of the matching range from the tables above.
- Laser a test grid with power and speed as the axes on an offcut of the same material, see Material test.
- Save the best values, together with machine, material, thickness, line interval, focus and air assist, in your software’s material library.
Never leave the laser unattended, especially not during slow, high-power cuts, and keep a fire extinguisher ready. Which materials do not belong under the laser at all is explained in Prohibited materials.
Continue with: Material test, Laser parameters and Avoiding burn marks.
Sources
- Creality Falcon: Material Settings of Creality Falcon Laser Series (Falcon2 22W and Falcon2 40W)
- OMTech: Material Settings for Laser Engravers (published 05/2026)
- Trotec: Slate Planner, laser parameters
- Starting values from the wiki articles: Wood, Leather, Acrylic, Glass, stone and slate, Paper and fabric, Metal