Find any material’s settings with a test grid
Stop copying someone else’s numbers off a forum. A material test — a grid that sweeps speed against power — dials in the settings for your exact machine and stock in one sheet.
Applies to
- Process
- CO₂, diode & fiber lasers
- When
- Any new material, new supplier, or new machine
- Test stock
- A representative offcut of the real material
Why it matters
Settings depend on the machine, the tube/diode power, focus, and the exact material batch — numbers from someone else’s laser rarely transfer. A test grid removes the guessing.
Sweeping speed against power in one pass shows you cut-through, char, and engrave depth side by side, so you can pick the cleanest result instead of burning through material one guess at a time.
What good looks like
- A labelled grid on the real material, run on your machine at your focus
- You can point to the exact cell that cuts clean or engraves the way you want
- The winning settings get saved to a profile so you don’t re-test next time
How to apply it
- Cut a speed-vs-power grid (a material test) on a scrap of the real stock.
- Keep focus, air assist, and pass count fixed so only speed and power vary.
- Read the cleanest cell for your goal — full cut-through, or the engrave depth/shade you want.
- Save those settings as a named material profile in your laser software.
Test it on your setup
- Use a built-in material test in your laser software (or a purchased test file) sized to a small offcut.
- Run it, mark the grid’s speed/power axes, and inspect front and back.
- Confirm the chosen cell repeats on a second coupon before committing to the real job.
Using material test grids to dial in settings for any material/machine — How to Find the Best Laser Settings ↗.
A repeatable speed/power testing workflow per material — HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT LASER SETTINGS FOR YOUR MATERIAL ↗.
Summarized and independently edited by Start Here. Starting values and cautions are our editorial notes, not a quotation from the creator.