How we research
Quick answer
Every figure is labelled either a standard, meaning a published specification or physical relationship, or a convention, meaning a community rule of thumb. Where neither exists, the page returns no answer rather than inventing a figure.
The two labels
Every figure on this site carries one of two labels, and they mean specific things.
Standard is a published manufacturer specification, a material property, or a physical relationship that does not vary by opinion. Filament densities, laser wavelengths, the geometry of a scan line, and the relationship between airflow, velocity and duct area all sit here.
Convention is a widely used community rule of thumb. It is useful and defensible and it is not a specification. The quarter to three quarters layer height window, typical shrinkage percentages, laser power and speed settings, and duct transport velocities all sit here.
Laser settings are conventions, every one of them
Almost no machine manufacturer publishes settings for third party stock, so every power and speed figure on this site is a community starting point gathered from tested profiles. Optical power varies between machines sold at the same rating, lens focal length changes the spot size, air assist changes the result substantially, and plywood varies between sheets because the internal glue layers are uneven. Test on an offcut of the same sheet before committing a real workpiece.
Returning nothing rather than inventing something
A disclaimer makes general information safe to publish. It does not make a wrong number right. Where a combination has no defensible answer, the calculator refuses and explains why, and the reference tables show the combination as unachievable rather than filling the cell. Publishing a power setting for a job a machine cannot do would imply the job works, and someone would run it.
Where the product data comes from
The catalog holds 207 products, and every record came from a live retailer API response. Only factual fields are stored: identifier, title, brand, image, price, and pack weight where the product is sold by mass. No affiliate URL is stored, because links are assembled at render time, which means the tracking identifier lives in exactly one file.
Sourcing rejects more than it keeps in several categories. Products whose price falls far outside the sane band for their category are dropped, on the reasoning that a wild price almost always means the listing is not the product the query meant. Laser eyewear whose wavelength coverage cannot be read from the listing is rejected rather than guessed at, because the wrong glasses are worse than none. Near duplicate listings of the same machine are collapsed to the cheaper one.
What is on the site
| Type | Count | How it is produced |
|---|---|---|
| Calculators | 16 | Hand written formulas, each with its no-answer cases exercised by an automated self test |
| Reference tables | 256 | Calculated from the same material data the calculators use, so the two cannot disagree |
| Catalog products | 207 | Live retailer API, factual fields only |
Common questions
What is the difference between standard and convention?
A standard is a published specification, a material property or a physical relationship: PLA density of 1.24 g/cm3, a CO2 laser wavelength of 10.6 micrometres, or the fact that airflow equals velocity times cross sectional area. A convention is a widely used rule of thumb such as keeping layer height between a quarter and three quarters of the nozzle diameter. Both are useful, and knowing which you are relying on tells you what is safe to bend.
Why do some calculators refuse to answer?
Because some combinations have no correct answer, and a plausible looking number would be worse than none. A diode laser cannot cut clear acrylic at any power because the material is transparent at that wavelength. A spool weight of zero cannot yield a price per kilogram. In those cases the tool explains the limit and what to do instead.
Do you evaluate the equipment in person?
No, and no page here claims to. Recommendations are built from published manufacturer specifications, material data sheets and owner reports, compared against each other. Product titles, images and prices come from live retailer data rather than being typed in by hand, which removes a whole category of error.
How do you avoid recommending the wrong product?
Sourcing applies explicit rejection rules and records every rejection. Multipacks sold by mass carry their real pack weight so cost per kilogram is correct rather than being read as a single spool price. Laser safety glasses are split by wavelength, and any pair whose coverage cannot be read from the listing is rejected outright rather than guessed at.