Thunder Laser Bolt vs K40 CO2: Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 5 shared materials.

Thunder Laser Bolt vs K40 CO2: $399: prices as of 2026, check retailer for current pricing.

Which one should you buy?

Pick the Thunder Laser Bolt if you want: native LightBurn support (industry-standard).

Pick the K40 CO2 if you want: more cutting power (35W vs 30W).

Where to buy

Thunder Laser Bolt: check current price & availability

See price on Amazon →

Affiliate link: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Where to buy

K40 CO2: check current price & availability

See price on Amazon →

Affiliate link: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Thunder Laser Bolt

Power
30W

Laser Type
co2

Work Area
500×300mm

Software

LightBurn

Buy Thunder Laser Bolt →

K40 CO2

Price
$399

Power
35W

Laser Type
co2

Buy K40 CO2 →

9 settings for Thunder Laser Bolt79 settings for K40 CO2

Settings Comparison

Material · Operation	Thunder Laser Bolt	K40 CO2
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut	-	18 mm/s · 80% · 2× passes · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut	20 mm/s · 40% · air assist	20 mm/s · 55%
3mm Black Acryliccut	-	10 mm/s · 60%
3mm Clear Acryliccut	12 mm/s · 55% · air assist	6 mm/s · 90% · air assist
3mm MDFcut	15 mm/s · 48% · air assist	12 mm/s · 65%
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut	-	16 mm/s · 72%
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut	-	10 mm/s · 85% · 2× passes
6mm MDFcut	-	8 mm/s · 88% · 2× passes
Acrylic Feltcut	-	55 mm/s · 28%
Bamboo 3mmcut	-	18 mm/s · 68% · air assist
Bamboocut	-	16 mm/s · 85% · 2× passes · air assist
Basswoodcut	-	22 mm/s · 70% · air assist
Cardboardcut	-	25 mm/s · 40%
Cardstock 160gsmcut	-	50 mm/s · 12%
Cardstock 300gsmcut	-	85 mm/s · 18%
Cardstockcut	-	30 mm/s · 25%
Chipboard 2mmcut	-	28 mm/s · 58% · air assist
Copy Paper 80gsmcut	-	100 mm/s · 12%
Cork 3mmcut	-	28 mm/s · 35% · air assist
Corkcut	-	30 mm/s · 40%
Corrugated Cardboardcut	-	35 mm/s · 45%
Cotton Fabriccut	-	15 mm/s · 45–50% · air assist
Denim Fabriccut	-	17 mm/s · 50–55% · air assist
EVA Foam 6mmcut	-	45 mm/s · 32%
Faux Leathercut	-	35 mm/s · 45% · air assist
Foam Board 5mmcut	-	42 mm/s · 35%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)cut	-	25 mm/s · 50–60% · air assist
Genuine Leathercut	11 mm/s · 70–75% · air assist	10 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
HTV Vinylcut	-	90 mm/s · 12%
Kraft Papercut	-	105 mm/s · 8%
Leathercut	-	22 mm/s · 65% · air assist
Maplecut	-	10 mm/s · 70–80% · 2× passes
Mylar Stencil 7.5milcut	-	68 mm/s · 18%
Plywoodcut	-	16 mm/s · 85% · 2× passes · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut	-	11 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Materialcut	-	7 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist
Walnutcut	-	10 mm/s · 70–80% · 2× passes
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave	300 mm/s · 30%	200 mm/s · 30%
3mm Black Acrylicengrave	-	150 mm/s · 15–20%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave	-	390 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave	200 mm/s · 15–20%	100 mm/s · 25–30%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave	-	360 mm/min
3mm MDFengrave	250 mm/s · 10–15%	200 mm/s · 15–20%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave	-	360 mm/min
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave	-	350 mm/s · 20%
Acrylic Feltengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–10%
Anodized Aluminumengrave	-	250 mm/s · 25%
Bamboo 3mmengrave	-	250 mm/s · 15–20%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave	-	220 mm/s · 28%
Cardstock 160gsmengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cardstock 300gsmengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Ceramic Tileengrave	-	220 mm/s · 55%
Chipboard 2mmengrave	-	400 mm/s · 15–20%
Copy Paper 80gsmengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cork 3mmengrave	-	250 mm/s · 20%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave	-	500 mm/s · 10–15%
Cotton Fabricengrave	-	280 mm/s · 16%
Denim Fabricengrave	-	300 mm/s · 18%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–10%
Faux Leatherengrave	-	500 mm/s · 10–15%
Foam Board 5mmengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–10%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave	-	280 mm/s · 15–22% · air assist
Genuine Leatherengrave	200 mm/s · 25%	180 mm/s · 22%
Glassengrave	-	250 mm/s · 25%
HTV Vinylengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Kraft Paperengrave	-	500 mm/s · 8%
Leatherengrave	-	200 mm/s · 18% · 22× passes · air assist
Mapleengrave	-	220 mm/s · 22–28%
Marble Tileengrave	-	80 mm/s · 55%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milengrave	-	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave	-	200 mm/s · 22%
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave	-	120 mm/s · 45%
Slate (coaster)engrave	-	320 mm/s · 18–25%
Slateengrave	250 mm/s · 65%	200 mm/s · 65%
Stainless Steelengrave	-	200 mm/s · 65%
Walnutengrave	-	220 mm/s · 22–28%

All Thunder Laser Bolt settings →All K40 CO2 settings →

Shopping for a Thunder Laser Bolt? Check the current price.

See price on Amazon →

Shopping for a K40 CO2? Check the current price.

See price on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the Thunder Laser Bolt or K40 CO2?

It depends on your use case. Thunder Laser Bolt is 30W co2 with 500×300mm bed. K40 CO2 is 35W co2. See the decision guide and side-by-side specs above.

What materials can both the Thunder Laser Bolt and K40 CO2 cut or engrave?

Both machines have community-tested settings for 5 shared materials. The settings table above lists every material with side-by-side speed, power, passes, and air assist values for direct comparison.

Is the Thunder Laser Bolt or K40 CO2 compatible with LightBurn?

The Thunder Laser Bolt works natively with LightBurn. The K40 CO2 uses . LightBurn compatibility may be possible via a community device profile but is not officially supported.

Is the K40 CO2 (35W) much faster than the Thunder Laser Bolt (30W)?

Higher wattage typically means faster cutting and the ability to cut thicker material in fewer passes. The K40 CO2 (35W) cuts thicker material in single passes and engraves at higher speeds than the Thunder Laser Bolt (30W). For raster engraving the difference is smaller because surface engraving is limited by mechanical scan speed.

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Settings are community-contributed and may not reflect your exact machine configuration or material batch. Always test on scrap first. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What Makers Say

★★★★★5.0· 6 reviews

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★★★★★

"Used it with a Glowforge: engraved beautifully with no changes. I will be purchasing more digital downloads from this shop."

: Anna

★★★★★

"I was struggling with lining up my NFC business cards. I was able to not only line them up much better but also do multiple cards at once: making that job so much easier."

: Camp

★★★★★

"Excellent quality and design. Cut clean and neat!"

: LYNN

★★★★★

"Great jigs. Appreciate the time saved not having to build this from scratch!"

: Bruce

★★★★★

"Excellent quality. Item as described. Expectations exceeded."

: Michael

★★★★★

"This template made my slate coasters so much easier. 4×4 coasters from Michaels drop in easily and are easy to remove. Def worth it."

: chris

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