Air assist does two jobs: it clears smoke out of the beam path, so more power reaches the material, and it blows flame off the surface. Both matter, but how much air you want depends on the material.
Material by material
- Plywood, MDF, hardwood — plenty of air. Cleaner cuts, less charring, and it often takes you from two passes to one.
- Cast acrylic — gentle. A hard blast cools the cut edge and gives you a frosty, cloudy finish instead of flame-polished clarity. Low flow, just enough to keep flame off.
- Leather, cork, card — moderate, mainly for fire safety.
- Wet-paper-masked glass — off. Airflow dries the mask mid-job and you get a hard line where it stopped working.
Fit an inline valve so you can change flow without changing hardware. Full for wood, a whisper for acrylic, off for masked glass.
If airflow drops
Check the nozzle for debris first — it's the usual culprit and it looks exactly like a power problem, because smoke in the beam path is a power problem. Then check the line for kinks and the pump inlet filter for dust.
LaserPecker publish their own documentation on this topic — worth reading alongside these community notes.
Official article