Following wood types can be cut or engraved particularly well with Mr Beam


Laser cutting (dreamcut [x]:

  • laser plywood (poplar plywood up to 8mm, birch plywood up to 4mm)
  • balsa wood (up to 6mm)
  • kraftplex (up to 3mm)
  • Swiss pine (up to 3mm)

Engraving:

  • most of the wood types, e.g.  beech, cherry, oak, etc.)
  • laser plywood (poplar plywood, birch) 
  • balsa wood
  • kraftplex
  • bamboo
  • Swiss pine

Product examples: 

With the help of Mr Beam you can make furniture items like lampshades, storing systems and boxes, individual puzzles and much more. Furthermore, you can engrave anything from cutting boards or cooking spoons and other wooden kitchen supplies, model making projects, stools, jewelry, wall decoration, signs, etc. etc.!

Tips for working with wood:

- Which wood types are the best ones for laser-cutting?

Rule of thumb: The less additives like binding agents, fireproofing agents, etc., the better. This is why solid wood any plywood are easier to work with than MDF and chipboard. The softer / lighter the wood, the easier it is to cut it. For this reason Mr Beam can cut poplar plywood fairly well up to 4mm thick, but oak wood only when it's a thin veneer. We also highly recommend using Kraftplex, which is a great material for laser cutting and engraving. Kraftplex consists of long woodfibre which is glued together with its own resin. Which means it releases less toxic substances while being laser-cut, and is e.g. suitable for making children toys. 


- Evenly coloured wood: the more regular the colouring and the texture of the material, the more consistent your engraving result is going to be. 


- You can also laser-cut or engrave oiled or oil-impregnated wood.


- Cleaning: Cutting and engraving wood releases small particles and resin, which stick to the inside of the machine. This means of you are working with wood a lot, you should clean the housing of your Mr Beam regularly (e.g. with a small vacuum-cleaner), clean the laser head and regularly exchange the pre-filter


*Especially when working with wood, you will notice the advantages of Mr Beam II dreamcut, which has considerably more power than Mr Beam II (e.g. by cutting 4mm poplar plywood).

 

- Where do I get wood suitable for lasercutting? 
In our shop there is a whole selection of particularly well suited wood.

Here is a selection of our videos with inspiring project on laser-cutting and engraving wood with Mr Beam. For more educational and inspiring videos please visit our You-Tube Kanal, or scroll through the creations of Mr Beam users on instagram under #madewithmrbeam!