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areas:lasers:whattolaser
| Material | Max Thickness | Notes | WARNINGS! |
|---|---|---|---|
| Many woods | 1/4“ | Avoid oily/resinous woods | Be very careful about cutting oily woods, or very resinous woods as they also may catch fire. |
| Plywood/Composite woods | 1/4” | These contain glue, and may not laser cut as well as solid wood. | |
| MDF/Engineered woods | 1/4“ | These are okay to use but may experience a higher amount of charring when cut. | Please make sure you clean the laser very well |
| Paper, card stock | thin | Cuts very well on the laser cutter, and also very quickly. | Use higher speeds and make sure you watch the laser |
| Cardboard, carton | thicker | Cuts well but may catch fire. | Watch for fire. |
| Cork | 1/4” | Cuts nicely, but the quality of the cut depends on the thickness and quality of the cork. Engineered cork has a lot of glue in it, and may not cut as well. | Avoid thicker cork. |
| Acrylic/Lucite/Plexiglas/PMMA | 1/4“ | Cuts extremely well leaving a beautifully polished edge. | |
| Thin Polycarbonate Sheeting (<1mm) | <1mm | Very thin polycarbonate can be cut, but tends to discolor badly. Extremely thin sheets (0.5mm and less) may cut with yellowed/discolored edges. Polycarbonate absorbs IR strongly, and is a poor material to use in the laser cutter. | Watch for smoking/burning |
| Delrin (POM) | thin | Delrin comes in a number of shore strengths (hardness) and the harder Delrin tends to work better. Great for gears! | |
| Kapton tape (Polyimide) | 1/16” | Works well, in thin sheets and strips like tape. | |
| Mylar | 1/16“ | Works well if it's thin. Thick mylar has a tendency to warp, bubble, and curl | Gold coated mylar will not work. |
| Solid Styrene | 1/16” | Smokes a lot when cut, but can be cut. | Keep it thin. |
| Depron foam | 1/4“ | Used a lot for hobby, RC aircraft, architectural models, and toys. 1/4” cuts nicely, with a smooth edge. | Must be constantly monitored. |
| Gator foam | Foam core gets burned and eaten away compared to the top and bottom hard paper shell. | Not a fantastic thing to cut, but it can be cut if watched. |
|
| Cloth/felt/hemp/cotton | They all cut well. Our “advanced” laser training class teaches lacemaking. | Not plastic coated or impregnated cloth! |
|
| Leather/Suede | 1/8“ | Leather is very hard to cut, but can be if it's thinner than a belt (call it 1/8”). Our “Advanced” laser training class covers this. | Real leather only! Not 'pleather' or other imitations! |
| Magnetic Sheet | Cuts beautifully | ||
| NON-CHLORINE-containing rubber | Fine for cutting. | Beware chlorinecontaining rubber! | |
| Teflon (PTFE) | thin | Cuts OK in thin sheets | |
| Carbon fiber mats/weave that has not had epoxy applied | Can be cut, very slowly. | You must not cut carbon fiber that has been coated!! |
|
| Coroplast ('corrugated plastic') | 1/4“ | Difficult because of the vertical strips. Three passes at 80% power, 7% speed, and it will be slightly connected still at the bottom from the vertical strips. | Will leave a white residue on honecomb. Please use transfer tape to cover the honeycomb |
| PLA | VERY melty. Use at an extremely low power setting | You can do PLA in the lasers, but use an extremely low power setting and a medium speed and do multiple passes. ONLY use left shark for this as it is easier to clean out the bottom of the machine. Watch your work constantly |
areas/lasers/whattolaser.txt · Last modified: 2024/03/16 23:10 by wildapricot-kirch_anna
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