I am thinking of getting the Falcon 5W unit (all I can afford)… But I am interested in cutting 3mm white acrylic that has been painted (so black undercoat and brown top coat).
Is the 5W good enough to do this? I read that it will cut with multiple passes so I am hoping this may do the job for me.
Regards,
AlexB
Yes for 3mm the 5W should be sufficient (clear acrylic might be not so easy to cut though). Maybe you can get the 10W or 12W on sale with a coupon? Often the 10W on sale is not much more expensive than the 5W. Depends a bit on the country though where you want to buy it.
Thank you for the advice, unfortunately the 10W is not often reduced in Australia. I managed to get $20 off the 5W so I bought one… maybe I can buy a 10W module later and swap modules on my machine for different uses.
I am now looking for the best settings for LaserGRBL and Lightburn for the 5W and maybe some info on cutting/engraving settings…
There appears to be quite a bit on the CO2 and 10W units but not so much on the 5W unit…
Story of my life… Ha Ha!
AlexB
Oh there are sales sometimes, I could have asked.
There’s also a new Creality software for the laser engravers coming which is more advanced than LaserGRBL, in case you don’t want to buy LightBurn (but you can use the 30 day trial for now).
I dont think a 5 watt or a 10 watt will cut white acrylic as it will reflect all colours of light and not absorb the laser to create heat to cut the acrylic. It will be able to cut 3mm black acrylic and maybe after several passes red acrylic. But I would bet money you wont be able to cut white or clear acrylic at all. Best wishes on what ever laser you decide to purchase just do a bit more research… Oddly enough I would be buying a laser pretty much to cut acrylic more than wood, so I will be limiting myself to mostly Black, Red, and perhaps Yellow acrylic for cutting. Cheers. 
I Currently have a 5.5 watt laser on a home made frame. Definately need an upgrade.