Opt Lasers - Cutting and Engraving Laser Heads
Laser Heads - Quick Comparison
PLH3D-XT-50 is the most precise 6 W high-power laser head for CNC machines on the market. Its precision is above the highest precision human eye can differentiate (real-life DPI of 338). It lasts for years and consumes a maximum of 30 W of electrical power. Go for XT-50 if you desire to:
- Laser engrave in Ultra HD definition (550 DPI)
- Laser cut thin materials up to 6-8 mm thick, especially leather and textiles
- Laser engrave, not just mark, stainless steel, carbon steel and Titanium
- Laser engrave with an adjustable-size square beam spot
- Laser engrave small text or design 1 mm in size
- Use this laser head for testing the accuracy of your CNC machine(s) or, if you are a CNC machine-producing company, for your CNC machines’ accuracy prototyping.
- Use this laser head for optical tweezers
- Minimize your electrical power consumption and/or carbon footprint while using a professional industrial-grade laser head
PLH3D-15W is our 3-laser-diodes laser head for CNC machines with built-in Air Assist Nozzle. It lasts for years and boasts a maximum power consumption of 85 W. Go for PLH3D-15W if you desire to:
- Rapidly laser engrave in Full HD+ definition (125 DPI)
- Laser cut thin materials up to 6-8 mm thick, especially wood, leather and textiles
- Laser engrave, not just mark, stainless steel, carbon steel and Titanium
- Quickly laser engrave with a single thick curve or line
- Quickly laser cut foams up to 20 mm thick
- Laser engrave and cut thermoplastics at a faster pace
- Minimize your electrical power consumption and/or carbon footprint while using a professional industrial-grade laser head
PLH3D-30W, designed for high-volume or more industrial duties. This lightweight, high power, long-lifetime, cost-efficient, and easy to use laser is an ideal choice for high-volume industrial applications and demanding individual users alike. Go for PLH3D-30W if you desire to:
- Swiftly laser engrave in Full HD+ definition (125 DPI)
- Or rapidly deep-engrave wood with a 5 mm [0.19 inch] deep line or curve
- Laser engrave wood, wood-based materials and cotton at the maximum speed of popular CNC machines, 100-150 mm/s [3.9-5.9 inch/s]
- Laser cut materials up to 6-8 mm thick, especially wood, leather and textiles
- Quickly laser engrave, not just mark, stainless steel, carbon steel and Titanium
- Have a built-in protection against back-reflection from reflective metals being engraved
- Have the most powerful industrial blue laser head on the market.
- Laser cut foams up to 30 mm thick
PLH3D-6W-XF+ is the best laser head to learn laser engraving and cutting, featuring a rotatable lens sleeve. Like other laser heads from Opt Lasers it lasts for years, and consumes a maximum of 30 W of electrical power. Go for the XF+ laser head if you desire to:
- Laser engrave in Standard+ definition (80 DPI)
- Laser cut thicker materials above 8 mm thickness
- Laser mark stainless steel and Titanium
- Be able to rotate the focusing lens, changing the working distance as well as the focused beam spot size and consequently resolution (40-160 DPI)
- Laser cut foams up to 40 mm thick
- Minimize your electrical power consumption and/or carbon footprint while using a professional industrial-grade laser head
PLH3D-XT-10 is the most precise laser head on the market overall. It has a lower 0.5 W power than our XT-50 laser head (6 W), but XT-10 can laser engrave and cut with an even higher resolution of >2500 DPI. It also only consumes a maximum of 15 W of electrical power. Go for XT-10 if you want to:
- Laser engrave in Ultra HD definition (>2500 DPI) with a 10 µm wide square focused beam spot
- Laser cut thin materials up to 6-8 mm thick, especially leather and textiles
- Laser engrave with an adjustable-size square beam spot
- Laser engrave ultra-fine texts or designs less than 1 mm in size; XT-10 can even be used to engrave 0.2 mm high text on a grain of rice!
- Use this laser head for testing the accuracy of your CNC machine(s) or, if you are a CNC machine-producing company, for your CNC machines’ accuracy prototyping.
- Use this laser head for optical tweezers
PLH3D-6W-LC is a liquid-cooled version of the XF laser head. In comparison, the LC version offers a lower maximum power consumption of 24 W. In addition, as a result of being water-cooled and not having a cooling fan, it does not produce 58 dB of background sound. Go for the LC laser head if you want to:
- Laser engrave in Standard+ definition (80 DPI)
- Laser cut thicker materials above 8 mm thickness
- Laser mark stainless steel and Titanium
- Be able to rotate the focusing lens, changing the working distance as well as the focused beam spot size and consequently resolution (40-160 DPI)
- Laser cut foams up to 40 mm thick
- Work in a very quiet environment
- Fully minimize your electrical power consumption and/or carbon footprint while using an industrial-grade laser head
PLH3D-2W laser head is our budget-friendly laser head for hobby applications. It has a maximum electrical power consumption of 16 W. Go for our 2W laser head if you want to:
- Get a laser head for strictly hobby applications or low-throughput hobby use
- Laser engrave in Full HD+ definition (200 DPI)
- Laser cut thicker materials up to approximately 8-12 mm thickness
- Be able to rotate the focusing lens, changing the working distance as well as the focused beam spot size and consequently resolution
| Name / Parameters | PLH3D-2W | PLH3D-6W-XF+ | PLH3D-XT-50 | PLH3D-XT-10 | PLH3D-15W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser Diode Optical Specification | 2W @ 445 nm | 6W @ 450 nm | 6W @ 450 nm | 0.5W @ 405 nm | >15W @ 445 nm |
| Working Distance (WD) measured from the front surface of the laser head body | 60 mm (2.36”) |
30 - 120 mm (1.18” - 4.72”) Factory-set: 60 mm (2.36") |
60 mm (2.36”) | 60 mm (2.36”) |
27 mm (1.06") From long nozzle: 4 mm (0.157”) |
| Beam Spot Specs & Resolution | <150um >200 DPI | 150 - 650 µm 160 - 40 DPI | <45µm >550 DPI | <10µm >2500 DPI | <200µm >125 DPI |
| Max Power Density | > 200 kW/cm² | 500 - 45 kW/cm² | > 2500 kW/cm² | > 1500 kW/cm² | > 1600 kW/cm² |
| Optical System Efficiency | > 77% | > 40% @ 30 mm WD > 77% @ 60 mm WD | > 87% | > 83% | > 95% |
| Modulation Inputs | PWM / Analog / TTL | PWM / Analog / TTL | PWM / Analog / TTL | PWM / Analog / TTL | PWM / Analog / TTL |
| Dimensions mm³ (oz³) | 30 x 30 x 69 (1.2 x 1.2 x 2.7) | 40 x 55 x 78 (1.6 x 1.7 x 3.1) | 40 x 55 x 140 (1.6 x 1.7 x 5.51) | 40 x 55 x 140 (1.6 x 1.7 x 5.51) | 70 x 87 x 167 (2.75 x 3.42 x 6.57) |
| Weight | 80 g (2.8 oz.) | 225 g (7.9 oz.) | 370g (13.1 oz.) | 370g (13.1 oz.) | 760 g (26.8 oz.) |
| Operating Temperature | 10-40 °C (50-104°F) | 10-45 °C (50-113 °F) | 10-40 °C (50-104°F) | 10-40 °C (50-104°F) | 10-40 °C (50-104°F) |
| Laser Diode Lifestime | >10.000 h | >10.000 h | >10.000 h | >10.000 h | >10.000 h |
| Compatible Machine Description | Small Hobby Machines such as Prusa 3DP, ACRO System, Ortur, etc Laser is a primary or secondary tool. | Desktop CNC such as LEAD, X-Carve, Stepcraft, WorkBee, etc. A laser is a secondary detachable tool. | Fast and Precise CNC Machines, Desktop CNCs Laser is a primary or secondary tool. | High Precision CNC Machines with High Repeatability. A laser is a primary tool for specialized use. | Large Desktop CNC Machines, Laser Plotters, CNC Plotters Laser is a primary or secondary tool. |
| Name / Parameters | PLH3D-2W | PLH3D-6W-XF+ | PLH3D-XT-50 | PLH3D-XT-10 | PLH3D-15W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | + | ||||
| Speed | + | ||||
| Power | + | ||||
| Versatility | |||||
| Power density | + | ||||
| Use in production lines | |||||
| Soft Material Thickness (Cutting) | |||||
| Metal & Ceramics Marking | - | + | |||
| Metal Engraving | - | - | - | + |
Notes:
- The PLH3D-XF+ Water Cooling laser head has the same capabilities as the PLH3D-6W-XF+. The only difference is how the laser head is cooled.
| Name / Parameters | PLH3D-2W | PLH3D-6W-XF+ | PLH3D-XT-50 | PLH3D-XT-10 | PLH3D-15W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precise & hobby engraving, cutting thin materials | |||||
| Cutting Thin Materials (up to 8mm) | |||||
| Cutting Thick materials (from 8mm +) | / | / | |||
| Cutting Very Thick Foams (up to 40mm) | |||||
| Marking Stainless Steel, Titanium, Engraving Anodized Aluminum | |||||
| Engraving Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Anodized Aluminum | |||||
| Engraving with high resolution and high speed | / | ||||
| Engraving with extremely high resolution (3100 DPI) and cutting thin materials with ultra-thin lines.1 | |||||
| Compatible with High-Pressure Air Assist Nozzle | built-in | ||||
| Compatible with LaserDock |
Notes:
- Cutting speeds and maximum cut depths may again vary depending on the exact material being cut. The manufacturer, production process, and the exact material type/structure may introduce variations in cutting speed and the maximum depth of a cut.
- In general, for laser cutting thick materials, the best performance is obtained by laser cutting in several passes and lowering the laser after each pass.
| Name / Parameters | PLH3D-2W | PLH3D-6W-XF+ | PLH3D-XT-50 | PLH3D-XT-10 | PLH3D-15W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application Type | Cut/Engrave | Cut/Engrave | Cut/Engrave | Cut/Engrave | Cut/Engrave |
| Paper(such as bond, coated wrapping, packaging) | / | / | / | / | / |
| Textiles (natural and synthetic) | / | / | / | / | / |
| Foam(such as charcoal, latex, lux) | / | / | / | / | / |
| Polymer Foams | / | / | / | / | / |
| Cardboard (such as corrugated, mat, paper) | / | / | / | / | / |
| Balsa | / | / | / | / | / |
| Plywood (such as Structural, Hardwood)1 | / | / | / | / | / |
| Wood(such as Birch) | / | / | / | / | / |
| MDF | / | / | / | / | / |
| Bookbinding Paperboard | / | / | / | / | / |
| Stamp Rubber | / | / | / | / | / |
| PVC(flooring) | / | / | / | / | / |
| Plexiglass (color) | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Plastic (dark) | / | / | / | / | / |
| Artificial Leather | / | / | / | / | / |
| Natural Leather2 | / | / | / | / | / |
| Felt | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Glass Reinforced Foil3 | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Polycarbonate | not tested | / * | / * | not tested | / * |
| Thermal Pad (foam) | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Stretch Foil (dark) | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Lead Foil | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Kapton Foil | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| PCB laminate | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Carbon | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Glass (painted) | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Solid Granite (Dark) | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Blended Granite | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Stone | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Marble | / | / | / | not tested | / |
| Tool Steel | / | / | / | / | / |
| Carbon Steel | / | / | / | / | / |
| Stainless Steel | / | / | / | / | / |
| Titanium | / | / | / | / | / |
| Anodized Aluminum | / | / | / | / | / |
| Bare Aluminum | / | / | / | / | / |
| Copper | / | / | / | / | / |
| Brass | / | / | / | / | / |
Notes:
- The table above is a general guideline for laser engraving and cutting capabilities of different materials with our range of blue laser heads. The practical performance may however vary depending on the particular material’s manufacturer, material type (or alloy in the case of metals) as well as its production process, which influences its composition, thermal conductivity, and surface roughness among other important factors. Exact materials of interest should be tested for final verification. In addition, the material’s color is of great importance as well. Darker colors yield better results, while lighter or semi-transparent colors are worse. Blue colors might often be difficult and sometimes even impossible to laser cut or laser engrave. White-colored materials are often also impossible to be laser processed as white materials reflect blue light.
- It depends on the density of the glass threads and their thickness.