The short answer
Plywood up to 6 mm, MDF up to 5 mm, solid wood up to 4 mm, veneer from 0.4 mm. Those are the figures we work with at the Think Tank — and they describe a clean average, not the one attempt where it just about worked.
Why the species matters more than the thickness
A diode laser works with blue light at 450 nanometres. Dark and organic surfaces absorb that wavelength well — and wood is both. But wood is not simply wood.
Poplar or birch plywood is the best case: even density, thin glue lines, no surprises. Up to 4 mm we cut in one pass, up to 6 mm in several. The edge browns slightly — that belongs to the process and can be taken back with a sanding sponge.
MDF cuts up to about 5 mm with remarkable accuracy — it has no grain and therefore no preferred direction. The edge does go much darker than on plywood, almost black, and it smells strongly. We only cut uncoated MDF: without a data sheet nobody knows what sits on a coated board, and PVC-based coatings belong in no laser.
Solid wood is the least predictable case. Lime, alder and balsa work well up to 4 mm; as soon as a knot or a resinous patch sits in the cut path the depth goes uneven. On a one-off that is forgiving — for a series we plan a second pass.
Veneer between 0.4 and 2 mm gives the finest results. Anyone after inlays or delicate ornaments is in the right place here.
Why the back face goes darker
The beam enters from above and widens towards the bottom while removing material. At the exit it has more time to brown the wood. In practice: put the face you will see later on top. Just tell us — we orient the workpiece accordingly.
When the CO2 laser is the better choice
As soon as it has to be thicker than 6 mm, as soon as the edge has to be especially clean, or as soon as large areas have to be engraved evenly. The CO2 laser cuts plywood up to 8 mm with a squarer edge and works faster. We have both machines — we pick the right one, you do not have to decide.
What to bring
- An SVG or DXF file, 1:1 in millimetres, cut lines as hairlines in red
- The material declaration — or an offcut for a test cut
- The intended quantity, because the nesting on the sheet follows from it
Everything else on materials, limits and file requirements is on the laser cutting page.