LASER Cutter Materials
From MakeICT Wiki
NEVER CUT THESE MATERIALS
WARNING: Because many plastics are dangerous to cut, it is important to know what kind you are planning to use.
- ...put image here of yellow material...
- Detailed information to test unknown material testing
- Identifying Unknown Plastics
- Watch this video Polymer Identification by Burnination
- You should read this (pdf) chemistry lab written by [David A. Katz] to learn how to identify what type of plastic it is
- ...and read this on Density Column Using Recyclable Plastics
| Name | DANGER | WARNING |
|---|---|---|
| ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) | Emits cyanide gas and tends to melt | ABS does not cut well in a laser cutter. It tends to melt rather than vaporize, and has a higher chance of catching on fire and leaving behind melted gooey deposits on the vector cutting grid. It also does not engrave well (again, tends to melt). |
| Chlorinated plastics (PVC/Poly Vinyl Chloride, vinyl/pleather/artificial leather) | Emits pure chlorine gas when cut! | Don't ever cut this material as it will ruin the optics, cause the metal of the machine to corrode, and ruin the motion control system. Bubbles yellow, smokes alot, STINKS!!!!! |
| Coated Carbon Fiber | Emits noxious fumes | A mix of two materials. Thin carbon fiber mat can be cut, with some fraying - but not when coated |
| Fiberglass | Emits fumes | It's a mix of two materials that cant' be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes) |
| Galvanized metal | Emits dangerous fumes | Zinc fumes are poisonous. Galvanized metal should never be super heated (so don't weld on it either). |
| Milk bottles/HDPE | Catches fire and melts | It melts, gets gooey. DON'T. Someone has to clean the hex worktable. |
| Mirrored surfaces | Will not cut, reflects laser beam | Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam, damaging the cutter's interior components. Some mirrored materials can be placed reflective-side down and cut. |
| Polycarbonate/Lexan | Cut very poorly, discolor, catch fire | Polycarbonate is often found as flat, sheet material. The window of the laser cutter is made of Polycarbonate because polycarbonate strongly absorbs infrared radiation! This is the frequency of light the laser cutter uses to cut materials, so it is very ineffective at cutting polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a poor choice for laser cutting. |
| PolyPropylene Foam | Catches fire | Like PolyStyrene, it melts, catches fire, and the melted drops continue to burn and turn into rock-hard drips and pebbles. |
| PolyStyrene Foam | Catches fire | Like PolyPropylene. It catches fire, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!! |
| Pressure treated wood | Emits dangerous fumes | Should never be burned -- not in your fireplace, and definitely not in our LASER |
Approved Materials
Organics and Plastics
NOTE: 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 | Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam | |||
| 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. | |
| Coroplast (corrugated plastic) | x | x | 1/4" | Difficult to cut through cleanly, due to the ribs. Multiple passes are usually needed. | |
| 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 | Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam | ||
| 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 | Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam | |||
| 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 | DO NOT CUT unless the rubber compound has been tested | Beware chlorine-containing rubber! If you're not sure, assume you've got chlorinated rubber, and don't cut it. | |
| Tile | x | Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam | |||
| 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 |
Metals
| 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
Suppliers
Under construction
