General Laser Engraving Parameters
A laser setting is a coordinated recipe, not a collection of independent numbers. Each parameter changes how laser energy is delivered, distributed, or repeated across the material. Useful parameter ranges depend on the laser source, lens, focus, material, and intended result.
Operation mode
Operation mode controls how LightBurn processes the geometry, such as following a vector path, scanning the interior of a filled region, or using another supported processing strategy. All About Operation Mode explains how Line, Fill, Offset Fill, and image-processing modes work and when each is appropriate.
Power
Power controls the commanded laser output, usually as a percentage of the source's available power. All About Laser Power explains maximum and minimum power, heat input, and why the same percentage does not represent equivalent delivered power across different machines.
Speed
Scanning speed controls how quickly the laser beam moves across the material. When the other settings remain unchanged, slower scanning generally increases the laser exposure delivered to each part of the material. All About Engraving Speed explains exposure, interaction time, corner behavior, and practical testing strategies.
Frequency
Pulse frequency controls how often pulses are produced by a pulsed laser source. When scanning speed remains fixed, pulse frequency changes the distance between successive pulses. When average power remains fixed, changing pulse frequency also changes the available energy per pulse. All About Laser Frequency explains how pulse frequency interacts with scanning speed and pulse duration.
Pulse width
Pulse width, also called pulse duration, controls how long each laser pulse lasts and is an especially important adjustable parameter on MOPA fiber lasers. All About Pulse Width explains how pulse duration relates to peak power, thermal interaction with the material, and different engraving and marking processes.
Line interval
Line interval controls the distance between adjacent laser scan lines in a filled engraving. All About Line Interval explains how scan-line spacing affects line density, spot overlap, visible detail, engraving time, and banding.
Pass count
Pass count controls how many times LightBurn repeats the selected engraving or cutting operation. Multiple passes can gradually increase engraving depth or divide material removal across repeated operations, but they can also accumulate heat and registration error. All About Engraving Passes explains staged processing, repeated material removal, and cleanup-pass workflows.
Scan angle and crosshatch
Scan angle controls the direction the laser's fill paths travel across the workpiece, while crosshatching adds another set of scan lines in an additional direction. All About Scan Angle and Crosshatch explains directional texture, edge appearance, heat distribution, crosshatching, and changing scan angles between passes.