NEVER CUT THESE MATERIALS
| Material | DANGER! | Cause/Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| PVC |
Emits chlorine gas | 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, ruin the optics and mess 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 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) |
| 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. |
| Material with Sticky Glue Backing | Coats lens, cracks lens | Never cut these materials in the laser cutter if they have this backing. The glue will vaporize forming a coating on the lens that will coat it, cloud it, heat it, and then potentially crack the lens. The glue residue is worse than resin, and can’t be removed without risking damage to the lens, requiring a lens replacement. |
Safe Materials
Cutting
| Material | Thickness | Notes | WARNINGS! |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Wood | 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 | 1/4″ | These are okay to use but may experience a higher amount of charring and high levels of smoke when cut. | |
| Paper card stock | Thin | Cuts very well on the laser cutter, and also very quickly. | Watch for fire. |
| Cardboard | Thick | Cuts well but may catch fire. | Watch for fire. |
| Cork | 1/8″ | Thin cork can be cut, 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 cutting thicker cork (5mm). Engraves well, cuts poorly. |
| Acrylic Lucite Plexiglas PMMA | <= 1/2″ | 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. | 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. they are made of PVC. |
| Magnetic Sheet | Cuts beautifully. | ||
| NON-CHLORINE-containing rubber | Fine for cutting. | Beware of chlorine-containing rubber! | |
| Teflon (PTFE) | Thin | Cuts okay in thin sheets. Use proper ventilation. | |
| 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. High power and multiple passes needed. | |
Etching
| Material | Notes | COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| Glass | Green seems to work best | Flat glass can be engraved in your regular hobby laser. Round or cylindrical objects like bottles or glasses will have distortion and need to be etched on a rotary device. |
| Ceramic tile | ||
| Anodized aluminum | Vaporizes the anodization away. | |
| Painted coated metals | Vaporizes the paint away. | |
| Stone Marble Granite, Soapstone Onyx | Gets a white “textured” look when etched. | High power, slow speed works well for etching. |
Do you have a link to a downloadable test grid for speed and power ? I am looking at the genmitsu le-1620 5.5 watt as a beginner to get started