The OMTech MOPA 60W Split is a serious machine. You get 60 watts of JPT M7 power, a frequency range that covers everything from dark blacks on anodised aluminium to the full colour spectrum on stainless steel, and the Split form factor gives you genuine workspace flexibility that the compact models can't match. If you've just unboxed one, this guide gets you from cable-connected to colour-marked in a single session.
What you'll need: the OMTech MOPA 60W Split connected and powered on, LightBurn installed (1.6 or later recommended), a piece of 304 stainless steel for test burns, and about 30–45 minutes.
What "Split" actually means — and why it matters
On an integrated MOPA machine, the controller electronics and the galvo head live in the same housing. On the Split, they're in separate boxes joined by a cable harness. The galvo head sits on an adjustable column above the work platform, and the controller sits beside your machine.
That sounds like more cables to manage, and it is. But the payoff is workspace height flexibility. You can raise the galvo head higher off the platform to accommodate taller objects, or lower it for precision work on flat stock. The 6.9 × 6.9 inch (175 × 175 mm) work area stays the same regardless — what changes is how much z-clearance you have underneath the head.
Both machines have adjustable height — the Split's taller column gives significantly more vertical travel. The Integrated routes its signal cable internally from the base controller up through the column to the galvo head.
Create your device profile in LightBurn
Open LightBurn and go to Devices → Find My Laser. LightBurn will scan for connected controllers. The OMTech MOPA 60W Split uses a BJJCZ controller board, which LightBurn recognises as a Galvo/Fiber device.
If auto-detection doesn't find it, add it manually: choose Create Manually → BJJCZ (Galvo). Set the work area to 175 × 175 mm. Leave the controller IP as the default unless you've changed it.
Enable Q-Pulse Width first. In your device settings (Edit → Device Settings), find the Q-Pulse Width toggle and turn it on. Without this, you won't see the pulse width field in your cut layers — and without pulse width control, you cannot do colour marking. This is the single most-missed setup step.
Also confirm:
- Galvo 2 is X axis — check this if your marks come out rotated 90°
- Max Frequency: 4000 kHz
- Min Frequency: 1 kHz
Set your focus height
The OMTech 60W Split uses manual focus. Correct focus is arguably the most important variable for colour marking — a few millimetres off and your colours will be washed out, patchy, or missing entirely.
The standard 60W Split ships with an F163 lens (163 mm focal length). To set focus:
- Loosen the column height locking knob
- Lower the head until the included focus gauge sits flush between the bottom of the lens and your material surface
- Retighten the lock — do not touch again during your job unless you change material thickness
- Run the red dot border preview in LightBurn to confirm alignment before firing the laser
Pro tip: put a small piece of scrap stainless at your working position and do a very low-power single-line mark. If it leaves a crisp, fine line, focus is good. If it leaves a wide, faint mark, you're defocused.
Import your MOPA Color Studio layers
MOPA Color Studio gives you a pre-built LightBurn layer file with 28 colour layers already named and organised. Instead of building your layer structure from scratch, you import it and start experimenting with parameters immediately.
- Go to MOPA Color Studio and open the studio
- Configure your layers and export the .lbrn file
- In LightBurn: File → Open, select your exported file
- Your 28 colour layers appear in the Cuts/Layers panel, ready to assign to artwork
The base parameters in the exported file are calibrated for a 30W source. Before marking with a 60W machine, you'll need to scale them — Step 4 covers exactly how to do this.
Scale your parameters for 60W
More wattage doesn't mean better colour — it means faster colour, or larger area colour, at the same energy per unit area. To get the same oxide layer thickness with a 60W source as you'd get with a 30W, you need to compensate:
Frequency and pulse width stay the same — those control which colour you're producing, and that relationship doesn't change with wattage. What changes is the power and speed needed to hit the right energy density.
Starting parameters for stainless steel at 60W
These are research-based starting points. Your machine, lens, and material finish will all affect results — run a test grid before committing to a project.
| Target Colour | Frequency | Pulse Width | Speed | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark gold / brown | 200–300 kHz | 100–200 ns | 600–900 mm/s | 30–40% |
| Yellow / gold | 300–500 kHz | 30–60 ns | 800–1200 mm/s | 25–35% |
| Orange / copper | 400–600 kHz | 20–30 ns | 900–1400 mm/s | 22–32% |
| Red / magenta | 600–900 kHz | 9–15 ns | 1000–1500 mm/s | 20–30% |
| Blue / indigo | 500–800 kHz | 4–6 ns | 800–1200 mm/s | 22–32% |
| Cyan / teal | 700–1000 kHz | 4 ns | 1000–1600 mm/s | 18–28% |
| Purple / violet | 1000–1500 kHz | 2–4 ns | 1200–1800 mm/s | 18–26% |
| Dark black | 20–60 kHz | 200–500 ns | 400–700 mm/s | 50–70% |
100–200 ns
30–60 ns
20–30 ns
9–15 ns
4–6 ns
4 ns
2–4 ns
200–500 ns
These are starting points, not recipes. Surface finish, steel grade, lens, and ambient temperature all shift the results. A brushed 304 piece behaves very differently from a mirror-polished 316L. Always test.
Run your first test — the colour grid
Don't jump straight into a project. Your first job on any new machine should be a colour test grid — a systematic matrix of marks that shows you exactly what your machine produces at different parameter combinations.
A colour grid maps frequency (columns) against speed (rows) at a fixed power and pulse width. Each cell shows you what colour that combination produces on your specific machine and material.
To build your grid in LightBurn:
- Create a set of small filled squares (about 8 × 8 mm) on different layers
- Assign different frequency and speed combinations to each layer
- Keep power at 28% and pulse width at 4 ns for the first run
- Mark on a clean piece of 304 stainless and photograph the results
- Use your best results as the baseline for production work
Save your test grid file. Label each layer with the exact parameters used. Three months from now, when you can't remember why that blue was so vivid, you'll thank yourself.
Common first-run problems
If your first marks don't look right, one of these is almost certainly the culprit.
Does the OMTech MOPA 60W Split work with LightBurn?
Yes. The OMTech MOPA 60W Split is fully LightBurn compatible. You set it up as a Galvo/Fiber device using the BJJCZ controller. Enable Q-Pulse Width in device settings to unlock pulse width control for colour marking — this is the step most people miss.
What is the difference between the 60W Split and the integrated model?
The Split has the controller and galvo head in separate units connected by cables, mounted on a tall column. This gives you more workspace height flexibility and makes it easier to mark taller or irregular objects. The integrated model is more compact but the head and controller are one unit with less height clearance.
What starting parameters should I use for colour on stainless steel?
A safe starting point for blues with a 60W JPT M7 is: frequency 500–800 kHz, pulse width 4 ns, speed 800–1200 mm/s, power 25–35%. Yellows and golds typically need lower frequency (200–400 kHz) and slightly more power. The parameter table in Step 4 of this guide covers the full colour range.
Do I need EzCad2 or can I use LightBurn only?
LightBurn is all you need for colour marking workflows. The machine ships with EzCad2 on the USB drive, but LightBurn's galvo/fiber support covers everything in this guide. Most users switch to LightBurn and don't look back — it's a much more capable design environment.
Why does the 60W need different parameters than a 30W?
More power means more energy delivered per pulse. To get the same oxide layer thickness — and therefore the same colour — you need to either increase speed, reduce power percentage, or both. Frequency and pulse width stay the same because those control which colour you produce, not how much energy you're delivering. See Step 4 for the three scaling options.
Can I use MOPA Color Studio layers with this machine?
Yes — that's exactly what MOPA Color Studio is built for. Import the .lbrn layer file into LightBurn, then scale the parameters to your 60W source using the guidance in Step 4 of this guide. The MOPA Parameter Explorer utility can also help you find the right frequency and pulse width combinations for specific colours.