LASER Cutter Materials

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Revision as of 11:20, 18 October 2015 by Mike Doolittle (talk | contribs)
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Approved Organic Materials

If your material is not on the list, check with Mike

Name Engrave Cut Max thickness Notes WARNING
Acrylic (aka Lucite, Plexiglas, PMMA) x x 1/2" Cuts well, leaves a smooth polished edge. Higher powers can leave smoke/scorch marks along edges. Some people remove paper/plastic protection sheets before cutting.
Cardboard, cartons x x thicker Cuts well, can catch fire FIRE hazard!
Ceramic x
Cloth (cotton, felt, hemp) x x Cuts easily NO plastic coated or impregnated cloth!
Corian x x
Cork x x 1/4" Cuts nicely, the quality of the cut depends on the thickness and quality of the cork. Engineered cork has a lot of glue in it, may not cut nicely.
Delrin x x thin Comes in a number of shore strengths (hardness), the harder tends to work better. Great for gears!
Fiberglass x x
Glass x Has a sandblasted look, green glass works best
Leather, suede x x 1/8" Leather is very hard to cut, can be if thinner than a belt thickness
MDF, engineered woods x x 1/4" May experience a higher amount of charring when cut
Magnetic sheet x x Cuts easily
Marble x
Matte Board x x
Melamine x x
Mylar x x 1/16" Works well if it's thin. Thick mylar has a tendency to warp, bubble, and curl Gold coated mylar will not work
Paper, card stock x x thin
Plywood, composite woods x x 1/4" Contain glue, and may not cut as well as solid wood
Pressboard x x
NON-CHLORINE Rubber x x Beware chlorine-containing rubber! If you're not sure, assume you've got chlorinated rubber, and don't cut it.
Tile x
Wood x x 1/4" Avoid oily/resinous woods FIRE - Cutting oily woods, or very resinous woods can catch fire.
Wood Veneer x x 1/4" Contain glue, and may not cut as well as solid wood


Approved Metal Materials

Name Engrave Cut Notes
Anodized Aluminum x Vaporizes the anodized layer away
Bare Metals x
Brass x
Coated Metals x
Painted Metals x Vaporizes the paint away
Stainless Steel x
Titanium x
  • CO2 lasers will engrave metals when coated with an added metal marking solution.