New to laser cutting... some questions - Maker Forums

Hello,

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Previously I&#;ve used Sculpteo for all my laser cutting needs. I&#;m a twisty puzzle designer, here is my latest design:

And I want to cut 3mm or 1/8" acrylic to make tiles for it. As some of the tiles will be very small I&#;m afraid they will fall through the support grid Sculpteo uses in their cutters and not make it to me. So I&#;m looking to do the cutting myself. This is currently the cutter I am looking at:

OMTech 12"x 8" 40W CO2 Laser Cutter Engraver Engraving Machine Red Dot Guidance...

It&#;s equipped with two engraving platforms to easily accommodate regular and irregular shaped objects. Your kind consideration is highly appreciated.

I&#;ve been watching Youtube videos and reading what I can find to try and educate myself and I had a few questions.
(1) The unit I am looking at has some features that I don&#;t see on some others but I&#;m not certain they are all good features. For example it has an integrated fan. Elsewhere I read that many upgrade the blower right away and throw away the one that comes with the unit. Being integrated into the unit then may be a bad thing. Should I be looking at a different unit?
(2) I want to add air assist to the unit and I see this one already has a cable chain to the head in place so I think that will make the process easier. Would this unit be compatible with this head?

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Amazon.com: 18mm Laser Head w/Air Assisted. Ideal for K40 Machine: Office...

This is a laser head with air-assisted . With the O-ring in the lens holder, the laser head now can install a 15mm diameter focus lens too. The mount is capable of hosting a 20or18or15mm diameter focus lens and a 20mm...

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(3) I&#;ve read that the appropriate settings (power, speed, anything else?) depend on the thickness and color of the material being cut. I want to cut and engrave 3mm and 1/8" white, yellow, red, orange, blue, and green acrylic. How does one go about finding the optimal settings for each of these materials? Any suggested starting points and tips for how to tune from there?
(4) Any questions I should be asking that I don&#;t currently know enough yet to ask?

Thanks,
Carl

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