Kerf

The kerf means laser burns extra portion of material when it cutting the part it is called the kerf.Kerf is determined by material properties and thickness. kerf is different for every material its range is 0.08mm to 1mm . The focal length of the lens, pressure of compressed air both have an impact these points also affect the laser cuter kerf.The manufacturing tolerance of the material can also impact the kerf.

To find the kerf on laser cutter and to understand the machin setting I cut one some rectangles with different settings

this is the rdworks software in that I import my file and I set each rectangle at diffrent speed and power so i understand that which setting is best for cutting.then I download that file to laser cutter and give print

this is the laser cutter setting sheet after calculating the kerf we know that which setting is best

To find the kerf I use the following equation

From the values above, the worse case kerf can be calculated:

3mm cardboard (SPD/POW 10/50): (20.14mm - 19.76mm)/2 = 0.19mm

3mm cardboard (SPD/POW 18/55): (20.09mm - 19.86mm)/2 = 0.12mm