Laser Cutter/Materials
This is a general list of materials usable on the Laser Cutter. This list does not include all materials that can be cut or should not be cut.
| Generally Usable Materials | Notes |
|---|---|
| Acrylic/Lucite/Plexiglas/PMMA | Cuts very well and consistently. |
| Most woods | Avoid oily/resinous woods Be very careful about cutting oily woods, or very resinous woods as they also may catch fire. |
| MDF/Engineered woods | These are okay to use but may experience a higher amount of charring when cut. |
| Plywood/Composite woods | These contain glue, and may not laser cut as well as solid wood. Some plywood contains materials that won't cut. |
| Paper, card stock | Cuts very well on the laser cutter, and also very quickly. |
| Cardboard, carton, Boxboard | Cuts well, but may catch fire. Beware of coatings. |
| Cork | Cuts nicely, Engineered cork has a lot of glue in it, and may not cut as well. |
| ABS Plastic | Allow to vent prior to opening cutter. |
| Delrin (POM) | Harder Delrin tends to work better. |
| Kapton tape (Polyimide) | Works well, in thin sheets and strips like tape. |
| Mylar | Thick mylar has a tendency to warp, bubble, and curl, gold coated won't cut. |
| Magnetic Sheet | Cuts well. |
| Teflon (PTFE) | Cuts OK in thin sheets. Don't breath fumes. |
| Coroplast ('corrugated plastic') | Not recommended, shape makes it difficult to cut. |
| Engravable Materials | |
| All the above "cuttable" materials can be etched, results may vary. | |
| In addition, you can etch slightly: | |
| Glass | |
| Ceramic tile | |
| Anodized aluminum | Burns the Anodization away. |
| Painted/coated metals | Burns the paint away. |
| Stone | |
| Special Materials | These require some practice/experience to produce good results |
| High density polyethylene (HDPE) | Melts/Burns |
| Nylon | Melts |
| PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol) | Melts |
| Polyethylene (PE) | Melts |
| Polypropylene (PP) | Melts |
| Styrene | Melts/burns, Laser needs to be cleaned after cutting produces significant dust. |
| Carbon fiber mats/weave | |
| Leather/Suede | Leather is very hard to cut well, but can be if it's thinner than a belt (call it 1/8"), engraving can produce mixed results . |
| Thin Polycarbonate Sheeting | (<1mm) Can be cut, but melts and discolors easily |
| Depron foam | Must be constantly monitored very flammable. Used a lot for hobby, RC aircraft, architectural models, and toys. |
| 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. Lasers can be used in lace-making. Not plastic coated or impregnated cloth! |
| NON-CHLORINE-containing rubber | Fine for cutting, can melt. |
| Mirrored/reflective Surfaces | laser can reflect and damage lens/eyes if doors are open. |
| Do Not Cut | |
| Polycarbonate (PC, Lexan) | Very poor cut |
| Any material containing chlorine | Burning releases Chlorine Gas will damage parts of the machine |
| PVC (Cintra) (KYDEX)– contains chlorine | Burning releases Chlorine Gas will damage parts of the machine |
| Vinyl | Burning releases Chlorine Gas will damage parts of the machine |
| Pleather or artificial leather | Burning releases Chlorine Gas will damage parts of the machine |
| Coated Carbon fiber | Caustic Fumes |
| Epoxy or things containing Epoxy | Will not Cut effectively and Caustic Fumes |
| Treated wood | Caustic Fumes |