Prohibited Materials
| Prohibited Materials
|
| Material
|
DANGER!
|
Cause/Consequence
|
| PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather
|
Emits chlorine gas when cut!
|
Don't ever cut this material as it will ruin the optics, causes the metal of the machine to corrode as chlorine is released and ruins the motion control system.
|
| Thick ( >1mm ) Polycarbonate/Lexan
|
Cuts very poorly discolors, catches 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. It creates long stringy clouds of soot that float up, ruins the optics and messes up the machine.
|
| ABS
|
Melts / Cyanide
|
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). Cutting ABS plastic emits hydrogen cyanide, which is unsafe at any concentration.
|
| HDPE/milk bottle plastic
|
Catches fire and melts
|
It melts. It gets gooey. It catches fire. Don't use it.
|
| PolyStyrene Foam
|
Catches fire
|
It catches fire quickly, burns rapidly, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!!
|
| 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.
|
| Epoxy
|
burn/smoke
|
Epoxy is an aliphatic resin, strongly cross-linked carbon chains. A CO2 laser can't cut it, and the resulting burned mess creates toxic fumes ( like cyanide! ). Items coated in Epoxy, or cast Epoxy resins must not be used in the laser cutter. ( see Fiberglass )
|
| Fiberglass
|
Emits fumes
|
It's a mix of two materials that cant' be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes)
|
| 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.
|
| Any foodstuff ( such as meat, seaweed 'nori' sheets, cookie dough, bread, tortillas... )
|
The laser is not designed to cut food, and people cut things that create poisonous/noxious substances such as wood smoke and acrylic smoke.
|
If you want to cut foodstuffs, consider sponsoring a food-only laser cutter for the space that is kept as clean as a commercial kitchen would require.
|
Vector Cutting
| Vector Cutting
|
| Material
|
Max Thickness
|
Speed
|
Power
|
Current
|
Passes
|
Notes/Warnings
|
| Most Woods
|
1/4"
|
30
|
70 - 80
|
35 - 40
|
2 - 3
|
Avoid oily/resinous woods
|
| Acrylics
|
1/2"
|
80
|
35
|
100
|
6 - 9
|
These numbers are intentionally low. With less power and more passes the better the cut will turn out. Higher power/current will cut with fewer passes, however, the acrylic may overheat and chip along the cut line. If you find yourself with small chips along the cut, lower the power/current and up the passes.
|
| Paper
|
< 0.1 mm
|
100
|
Like, 1
|
50
|
1
|
Cuts nice and quickly.
|
Raster Cutting
| Blank's Raster settings in beta
|
| Material
|
Texture
|
Power
|
Speed
|
Blur
|
Edge
|
One Passes
|
Notes/Warnings
|
| Most Woods
|
almost smooth
|
30
|
70 - 80
|
35 - 40
|
2 - 3
|
Avoid oily/resinous woods
|
| Cork
|
Not burned
|
10 (15 if not dark enough)
|
100
|
-
|
-
|
|
| Glass etching
|
Looks good during condensation
|
45
|
80
|
-
|
-
|
|
| Leather
|
Black etch
|
30
|
100
|
-
|
-
|
Note: A material testing project file, as well as other files, can be found on the UAS file share in the Laser folder.