Material & Machine Settings Guide

Welcome to the ultimate maker cheat sheet! Whether you are extruding PLA on a 3D printer, slicing through plywood with a diode laser, or carving MDF on a CNC router, finding the right parameters can be a time-consuming process of trial and error.

At Voxelase, we’ve compiled this interactive baseline guide to help you skip the guesswork, reduce wasted materials, and get straight to making.

Material & Machine Settings Guide

Welcome to the ultimate maker cheat sheet! Whether you are extruding PLA on a 3D printer, slicing through plywood with a diode laser, or carving MDF on a CNC router, finding the right parameters can be a time-consuming process of trial and error.

At Voxelase, we’ve compiled this interactive baseline guide to help you skip the guesswork, reduce wasted materials, and get straight to making.

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How to Use This Cheat Sheet

Using the Voxelase tool is quick and straightforward. We designed it to integrate seamlessly into your daily workflow:

1. Select Your Machine: Choose between 3D Printer (FDM), Laser Cutter (Diode), or CNC Router.
2. Pick Your Material: Select the specific material and thickness you are working with (e.g., 3mm Plywood, PETG, or MDF).
3. Copy Your Settings: Instantly view the optimal speeds, feeds, and temperatures. Click the “Copy Settings” button to quickly paste them into your slicer, LightBurn, or CAD software.

Pro Tip: Bookmark this page (Ctrl+D or Cmd+D) and keep it open on your workshop tablet or secondary monitor for instant access during your projects.

Why Baseline Settings Matter for Digital Fabrication

Every digital fabrication machine is unique. A 20W laser in a humid garage will perform differently than the exact same model in an air-conditioned studio. Similarly, an aging 3D printer thermistor might read 200°C when it’s actually 190°C.

Baseline settings are not absolute rules; they are scientifically and practically tested “starting points.” By starting with reliable baselines, you narrow down the variables. Instead of guessing blindly, you only need to make micro-adjustments (+/- 5%) to dial in the perfect result for your specific hardware and local environment.

Adjusting Laser Power for Different Woods

Wood is an organic, inconsistent material. Even if you always use 3mm Plywood, the density of the inner core and the type of glue used by the manufacturer can drastically change how the laser interacts with it.

• Glue Density: Laser-safe plywood uses organic glues that vaporize easily. Cheaper construction plywood uses synthetic glues that resist cutting and cause excessive charring.
• The Rule of Thumb: Start with our recommended speeds and power. If the laser doesn’t cut all the way through, decrease the speed by 10% before increasing the power. Pushing your diode laser to 100% constantly will degrade the lens and lifespan of the module faster.
• Always run a small “Material Test Array” in LightBurn on a scrap piece of your new wood batch.

Tweaking 3D Printer Retraction Speeds

Stringing and oozing are the enemies of clean 3D prints, especially with materials like PETG. While our guide provides standard temperatures and print speeds, your retraction settings depend heavily on your extruder type:

• Direct Drive Extruders: Because the gears are directly above the hotend, you need very little retraction. Start with 0.5mm to 1.5mm at a speed of 30-40 mm/s.
• Bowden Extruders: The filament has a longer path to travel, creating a “spring” effect inside the PTFE tube. You will need higher retraction distances, typically between 4mm and 7mm at 45-50 mm/s.
• Temperature Impact: If you are experiencing stringing despite aggressive retraction, try lowering your nozzle temperature by 5°C. Hotter filament flows faster and is harder to retract cleanly.