Acrylic is one of the most popular materials for desktop CO₂ lasers — it engraves cleanly, looks premium, and is perfect for signs, gifts, keychains and light panels. But if the settings are off by just a little bit, you get melted edges, yellowing, or shallow, dusty marks.
This guide shares a real factory-tested settings chart for engraving acrylic from 0.1–3 mm depth with an 80 W and 130 W CO₂ laser — based on the same data we use internally for the GWEIKE Cloud and M-Series.
How Acrylic Behaves Under a CO₂ Laser
Before we dive into numbers, it helps to understand why acrylic is both easy and tricky to engrave:
- High absorption at 10.6 µm: CO₂ laser light is absorbed efficiently, so even low power will mark the surface.
- Thermoplastic: acrylic melts and re-flows when overheated — this causes rounded edges, gloss variations, or bubbles.
- Different colors react differently: opaque white or colored sheets absorb faster than clear cast acrylic.
The whole point of good settings is to hit a sweet spot where the surface is vaporized, not just softened and melted.
The 4 Variables That Matter for Acrylic Engraving
Every engraving recipe in this article is built around four variables:
- Engraving power (%): how much of the laser’s rated power you use.
- Speed (mm/s): we provide both a “high speed” (800 mm/s) and a “best quality” (400 mm/s) option.
- Air pressure (bar): mild air assist (1–2 bar) is enough to clear fumes without over-cooling.
- Engraving depth (mm): from surface frosted effects (0.1 mm) up to deep 3 mm pockets.
The chart below assumes a standard focus lens (≈50–63.5 mm) and well-aligned optics on a clean machine.
Acrylic Engraving Settings Chart (0.1–3 mm)
These settings are based on real engraving tests with 80 W and 130 W CO₂ lasers. Use the “Best quality” column when you care about maximum detail, and the “High speed” column when you need faster throughput.
| Depth (mm) |
80 W CO₂ laser | 130 W CO₂ laser | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power (%) | High speed (mm/s) |
Best quality (mm/s) |
Power (%) | High speed (mm/s) |
Best quality (mm/s) |
|
| 0.1 mm | 12–14% | 800 | 400 | 10–12% | 800 | 400 |
| 0.2 mm | 14–16% | 800 | 400 | 12–14% | 800 | 400 |
| 0.5 mm | 22–24% | 800 | 400 | 18–20% | 800 | 400 |
| 1.0 mm | 24–26% | 800 | 400 | 20–22% | 800 | 400 |
| 2.0 mm | 30–35% | 800 | 400 | 25–30% | 800 | 400 |
| 3.0 mm | 35–40% | 800 | 400 | 30–35% | 800 | 400 |
Air pressure for all rows: 1–2 bar light air assist, just enough to clear fumes and dust.
What Each Depth Range Is Good For
Once you have the numbers, it’s easier to decide how deep you really need to engrave:
0.1–0.2 mm – Frosted surface marking
Ideal for:
- Fine text and logos on acrylic plaques
- Back-engraved LED signs
- Photo engraving (with dithering)
Use the low-end of the power range above; you want a clean, frosted surface without visible grooves.
0.5–1.0 mm – Standard logo & text depth
This is the “everyday” engraving depth for:
- Gift items, keychains, awards
- Back-filled paint inlays
- Acrylic front panels with labeled buttons
Most GWEIKE Cloud users will live in this 0.5–1.0 mm band. If you see melting or edge rounding, lower power 2–3% and run a second pass.
2.0–3.0 mm – Deep engraving and pockets
Use these settings when you need:
- Deep pockets for resin inlays
- 3D relief style engraving
- Mechanical features (e.g. shallow recesses)
For 3 mm depth, we recommend:
- Start around the lower end of the power range
- Engrave with 2–3 passes instead of one extremely hot pass
- Brush and clean between passes to remove melted chips
Practical Tips to Avoid Melting and Yellowing
Even with a perfect chart, acrylic can be unforgiving. These tips make your life easier:
Tip 1 – Use multiple shallow passes
Instead of jumping straight to the highest power for 3 mm, start with 2–3 lighter passes. The surface stays cooler, and edges remain sharp instead of rounded.
Tip 2 – Keep air assist low
1–2 bar is enough. Too much air can cool the surface unevenly and blow melted acrylic around, creating rough textures or streaks.
Tip 3 – Focus and bed leveling
Acrylic depth is sensitive to focus. Check that your bed is level and re-focus whenever you switch thickness or change lenses.
Tip 4 – Cast vs extruded acrylic
Cast acrylic engraves with a whiter, frosted look; extruded often appears more transparent. For extruded sheets you may need +2–3% extra power.
Conclusion
Acrylic is beginner-friendly but sensitive to heat. With the right combination of power, speed, and air assist, you can get crisp, frosted engravings from 0.1 mm surface marks up to 3 mm deep pockets.
Start from the chart above, run a small test grid on your actual acrylic, then save your own presets inside the GWEIKE control software.