Best laser for cutting wood: plywood, MDF and hardwood
Wood is the one material where diodes genuinely compete with CO2 — up to a point. Below: what thickness and speed you get per class, and the machines we'd recommend for wood-first shops.
Speed on 3 mm birch plywood (one pass)
| Machine class | Speed | 100×60 mm part | Cuts up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 W diode (xTool D1 Pro 10 W, Ortur LM3) | ~4 mm/s | ~80 s | 4–5 mm (passes) |
| 20 W diode (D1 Pro 20 W, Atomstack A20) | ~6 mm/s | ~53 s | 8 mm (passes) |
| 40 W diode (xTool S1 40 W, Falcon2 40 W) | ~8–10 mm/s | ~35 s | 12–15 mm (passes) |
| 40–55 W CO2 (K40, Glowforge, P2S) | ~12–14 mm/s | ~25 s | 10–12 mm |
| 60–80 W CO2 (OMTech, Gweike) | ~20 mm/s | ~16 s | 15–20 mm |
| 100 W+ CO2 | ~24 mm/s | ~13 s | 20–25 mm |
Full per-machine tables: 3 mm · 6 mm · MDF 3 mm.
Our picks
- Hobby / thin wood: xTool D1 Pro 20 W (~€900) — cuts 3 mm in a pass, engraves beautifully.
- Serious diode: Creality Falcon2 40 W (~€1,500) or xTool S1 40 W (~€2,000, enclosed) — 6 mm ply in 2 passes.
- Small business cutting daily: OMTech 60 W (~€3,000) — 20 mm/s on 3 mm ply, 500 × 700 mm bed.
- Production / thick stock: 80–100 W CO2 (OMTech, Thunder Nova, Gweike) for 12–20 mm hardwood.
xTool D1 Pro 20 W: xTool store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
Creality Falcon2 40 W: Creality store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
OMTech 60 W CO2: OMTech store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
Wood-specific advice
- Birch ply cuts cleaner than poplar; "laser-grade" ply avoids glue voids that stop a cut dead.
- MDF cuts easily but chars and stinks — mask the face and extract properly.
- Hardwood: expect half the plywood speed and more char; slow down rather than max power.
- Burnt edges? See 7 fixes for burn marks.
FAQ
Can a diode laser cut 6 mm plywood?
A 20 W diode can, in 3–4 passes; a 40 W diode in 2 passes at ~3–4 mm/s. A 60 W CO2 does it in one pass at ~8 mm/s — much cleaner edge.
What's the thickest wood a 60 W CO2 can cut?
About 15 mm plywood or 18–20 mm softwood in a slow pass; quality drops above 12 mm. For 20 mm+ you want 100 W or more.
Best laser for wood engraving?
Any 10–20 W diode engraves wood excellently at ~250–400 mm/s; the xTool D1 Pro and S1 are the popular choices. CO2 engraves faster on large areas but gives a browner, less crisp mark on light wood.
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