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We should keep a list of good sources of materials to use in the laser. We should ALSO keep a good list of configuration settings to get specific results with various materials.

== Laserable materials sources ==
Please add more materials!

Sources of acrylic sheeting:
* [http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.aspx?catid=442&clickid=popcorn www.usplastic.com]
* [http://www.laserbits.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=159_175 www.laserbits.com]
* [http://www.estreetplastics.com www.estreetplastics.com] (significantly cheaper acrylic)

Sources of wood sheet for cutting:
* [http://www.laserbits.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=82_352 www.laserbits.com]
* [http://www.suregrave.com/woodsheets.html www.suregrave.com]
* [http://www.woodcraft.com/family/2004113/plywood.aspx www.woodcraft.com]
* [http://www.woodworkerssource.com/6_plywood.html www.woodworkerssource.com]

A lot of laser projects require screws to hold the project together (project cases, mechanical devices, etc). This is one of many sites that has socket head cap screws which look sexy and work well:
* [https://www.fastener-express.com www.fastener-express.com]


== Things you should not put in the laser cutter ==
'''[https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Lasercutter#Things_you_should_not_put_in_the_laser_cutter (from Noisebridge)]'''

'''WARNING''': Because many plastics are dangerous to cut, it is important to know what kind you are planning to use. Make has a How-To for identifying unknown plastics with [http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/09/identifying-unknown-plastics.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+makezineonline+%28MAKE%29&utm_content=Google+Reader a simple process]. 

{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center"
|-
! Material 
! DANGER! 
! Cause/Consequence
|-
| PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather/Moleskine notebooks
| '''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.
|-
| Thick ( >1mm ) 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.
|-
| ABS 
| 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).
|-
| HDPE/milk bottle plastic 
| Catches fire and melts 
| It melts. It gets gooey. Don't use it.
|-
| PolyStyrene Foam 
| Catches fire 
| It catches fire, 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.
|-
| 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 powder
|
| the compressed air will blow it away
|-
| Bare metal
|
| 
|-
| Animals
|
| 
|-
| People
|
| 
|-
| Butane lighters
|
| 
|-
| Gasoline or other liquids
|
| 
|}



== Laser settings ==
Imagine you want to cut through stickers but leave the backing intact. What power and dpi did you use for this last time? Lets keep that info here!

I directly stole this from NYC Resistor's laser page!

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" 
|-
! rowspan="2" | Material
! rowspan="2" | Focus*
! colspan="3" | Vector 
! colspan="3" | Raster
! rowspan="2" | Notes
|-
!                                Speed  !! Power !! Freq !! Speed !! Power !! DPI
|-
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#cccccc" | Cardboards
|-
| Bainbridge board "172"          ||   || 45    || 60    || 500  ||       ||       ||       || Slot width ~1.28mm
|-
| Card Stock 110 lb               ||   || 62|| 22 || 2500 || 100  || 5 ||   || 
|-
| Cardboard 1/8"                  ||  || 30    || 60    || 500  ||    50   ||   15    ||       || Conservative, try a speed of 35 or 40
|-
| Double-layer 1/4"              ||   || 20    || 60    || 500  ||       ||       ||       ||   
|-
| Foam Core <br> '''Fire risk--polystyrene foam'''                    ||     || 35 || 100 || 5000 ||    ||   ||   ||  Previously 60/90/2500 - didn't cut all the way through.
|-
| Staples Sticker Paper           ||    || 100 || 7 || 500 ||    ||   ||   ||  Cuts through sticker but not backing
|-
| USPS thin envelope              ||   || 95    || 20    || 500  ||       ||       ||       ||    
|-
| Fabriano 140lbs Watercolor Paper  ||   ||    ||    ||  ||  100     ||    60   ||       ||  Etches in very well, leaving clean paper underneath  
|-

! colspan="9" bgcolor="#cccccc" | Wood

|-
! rowspan="2" | Material
! rowspan="2" | Focus*
! colspan="3" | Vector 
! colspan="3" | Raster
! rowspan="2" | Notes
|-
!                                Speed  !! Power !! Freq !! Speed !! Power !! DPI

|-
| Cork 3/32"                  || +2 || 70    || 100    || 5000  ||       ||       ||       || Works great. McMaster #9487K2
|-
| Luan 1/8                || +2 || 30  || 100    || 5000  ||       ||       ||       || Purchased from Dyke's Lumber off 3rd Avenue (speed of 25 might work better)
|-
| Luan 1/4                || +2 || 5  || 100    || 5000  ||       ||       ||       || Two passes. Purchased from Dyke's Lumber off 3rd Avenue - I THINK THIS IS WRONG - RB
|-
| Luan 1/4  || +2 || 16-18 || 100 || 5000 ||   ||   ||   ||  I got much better results with 16-18% speed, +2 focus, one pass on 12 Feb 2013 - but it left some attached fibers on the back side.  A second quick pass at +5 maybe? - RB
|-
| Poplar wood 1/4"                ||  || 17    || 100    || 500  ||       ||       ||       || Not sure about the frequency, seems to work at lower ones too   
|-
| MakerBot wood 5 mm               ||   || 7    || 100    || 500  ||       ||       ||       || Manual focus is key. Move the bed up until the metal focusing thing just touches the plywood surface. Then move the bed up by pressing the Up button five times. Hit Reset and then Go. Rock! Then move the bed up another five pushes and run again at 50% speed.

|-
| Plywood, birch, 1/8"  || || 25 || 60 || 80% Current || || || || even 1/8" plywood takes two passes.  Some charring.
|-
| Plywood, birch, 1/8"  || || 15 || 100 || 100% Current || || || || On the new 45W tube, 1/8" plywood, one pass, easily cuts through with no flames or charring, could probably go up to 20% speed
|-


! colspan="9" bgcolor="#cccccc" | Plastics

|-
! rowspan="2" | Material
! rowspan="2" | Focus*
! colspan="3" | Vector 
! colspan="3" | Raster
! rowspan="2" | Notes
|-
!                                Speed  !! Power !! Freq !! Speed !! Power !! DPI
|-

|-
| Acetal 0.02" White Sheeting     ||     || 20   || 60   || 500||       ||       ||       || Needs to be taped absolutely flat to cutting sheet, otherwise it won't cut through, higher settings incinerate the delrin.   
|-
| Acetal 0.93" Black              ||     || 8    || 100   || 500||       ||       ||       || Mcmaster, Delrin 150   
|-
| Acetal 3/16"                    ||     || 6    || 100   || 500||       ||       ||       ||    
|-
| Acetal 3/16"                      ||   || 10    || 100   || 500||       ||       ||       ||    Two passes with these settings works well
|-
| Acetal black, etching            ||  ||       ||       ||      || 100 || 70|| 300  || engraves 0.006" deep on black acetal
|-
|                                  ||  ||       ||       ||      || 100 || 100|| 300  || engraves 0.009" 
|-
|                                  ||  ||       ||       ||      || 60 || 100|| 300  || engraves 0.010" 
|-
|                                  ||  ||       ||       ||      || 10 || 100|| 300  || engraves 0.020" 
|-
|                                  ||  ||       ||       ||      || 7 || 100|| 300  || engraves 0.025" 
|-
|                                  ||  ||       ||       ||      || 5 || 100|| 300  || engraves 0.033" 
|-
|                                  ||  ||       ||       ||      || 3 || 100|| 300  || engraves 0.045", transient flames visible
|-
|                                  ||  ||       ||       ||      || 2 || 100|| 300  || engraves 0.060", transient flames visible
|-
| Acetal 5 mm"                      ||   || 3    || 100   || 500||       ||       ||       ||    
|-
| Acrylic (color) 1/8"            ||   || 12    || 100   || 5000 ||  100   ||  35 ||   600 || (SDC: 12 is fine for vector) Copied engraving settings from Nintendo DS - tested on colored acrylic, worked great 
|-
| Acrylic (clear) 1/4"             ||  || 8    || 100   || 5000 ||       ||       ||       || Book says 4%, 8% seems perfect after the new tube  
|-
|                                 ||  ||       ||       ||      || 30  || 80   || 300  || engraves 0.015" deep on clear acrylic
|- 
|                                 ||  ||       ||       ||      || 30  || 100  || 300  || engraves 0.02" deep at 1'06" per sq in
|- 
|                                 ||  ||       ||       ||      || 20  || 100  || 300  || engraves 0.03" deep 
|- 
|                                 ||  ||       ||       ||      || 10  || 100  || 300  || engraves 0.05" deep at 3'00" per sq in
|- 
|                                 ||  ||       ||       ||      || 5 || 100  || 300  || engraves 0.09" deep at 5'44" per sq in
|-
| Acrylic (clear) 5 mm            || || 7    || 100   || 5000 ||       ||       ||       ||  
|-
| ABS - Hammond MFG 1553D Enclosure           ||   || 12    || 100   || 5000 ||   100    ||    65   ||  600     ||  Raster settings a work in progress, based on acrylic; 75 too much for busy bitmaps, 55 too little detail. Weird results 'cuz of textured finish on enclosure
|-
| HDPE 1/8"                     ||  || 40    || 100   || auto||       ||       ||       ||   Takes about 4 passes, keeps melting together
|-
| Kapton 0.005"                     ||  ||    ||    || ||       ||       ||       || The settings for 4 mil Mylar only cut part way through
|-
| Mylar 0.005"                     ||   || 100   || 15   || 5000||       ||       ||       || Make sure the aluminum side is down.
|-
| Polyethylene foam 2.2 lb 1/4"        ||   || 60 || 100 || 5000||       ||       ||       || (via kellbot) [http://www.closedcellfoams.com/polyethylene.html]
|-

! colspan="9" bgcolor="#cccccc" | Other

|-
! rowspan="2" | Material
! rowspan="2" | Focus*
! colspan="3" | Vector 
! colspan="3" | Raster
! rowspan="2" | Notes
|-
!                                Speed  !! Power !! Freq !! Speed !! Power !! DPI
|-


|-
| Chocolate     ||  ||  ||  ||  || 100 || 30    || 300   || It melts. Don't cut! (via [http://www.instructables.com/id/Pure-Decadence---Laser-Etched-Chocolate-Bar Squid Labs])
|-
| Compressed Sponge                ||  || 100   || 100    || 1000 ||       ||       ||       ||
|-
| Leather (1-2mm)                ||  || 40   || 50    || 1000 ||       ||       ||       || Leather can be pressed by ironing the backside with a layer of tissue between the iron and the leather.  Masking tape on the backside also helps it lay flat.  Smells bad.
|-
| Leather (3-4mm)                ||  || 40   || 50    || 1000 ||       ||       ||       || Needs two passes.  Depending on the tanning process, you may have burned edges.
|-
| Neoprene (2mm)       ||      || 30 || 100 || 1000 || || || || Like BUTTAH. Not sure about toxicity. We'll see if I survive.
|-
| Cotton (will darken) ||      || ||        ||      || 60  || 20    || 200   ||
|-
| Buffalo Horn (5mm) ||  || 6    || 100   || 5000 ||       ||       ||       ||  Same settings as 1/4" acrylic, depending on depth, may work faster speed, smells pretty awful
|-
| HP Laptop - ETCH                 ||  || 100   || 23     || 2500 ||       ||       ||       || Vector etch pattern, probably could have been slightly lower-power
|-
| iPhone rev 1.0                   ||  ||       ||        ||      || 100   || 40    || 600   ||
|-
| Mini Moleskins ( cardboard brown )|| ||       ||        ||      || 100   || 69    || 600   ||
|-
| Nintendo DS 1st Ed.              ||  ||       ||        ||      || 100   || 35    || 600   ||
|-
| Quartz(?) rocks                  ||  ||       ||        ||      || 20    || 100   ||       ||   
|-
| Acrylic felt (black)                ||    || 40      || 50     || 800   ||     ||     ||     || Felt is porous; needed a cardboard or masking tape backing so the laser could focus. Also, these settings cut a wide kerf. Experimenter recommends a faster speed (maybe 100) and lower power.  May help to iron the felt with a fabric iron first, so it's nice and flat.
|-
| 100% Wool felt (beige)                ||    || 40      || 50     || 800   ||     ||     ||     || May help to iron the felt with a fabric iron first, so it's nice and flat, then aid focus and flatness by applying masking tape to the back of the felt.  Tape also prevents burn schmutz from sticking to felt. Smells nasty, bring a ziplock bag to transfer your cutouts into.
|-
| NiAg 752 "german silver"               ||    ||         ||        ||       ||     ||     ||     || Doesn't work at all, even for etching.  save yourself from the frustration :P
|-
| Speedball Speedy-Cut Easy (rubber stamps)||  ||       ||        ||      || 80    || 100   ||       || Very noxious, would not cut again. Created large amounts of debris, not good. Otherwise cutting was good, 2 passes at these settings. 
|-
| Low-oder laserable rubber (rubber stamps)||  ||       ||        ||      || 50    || 100   ||       || Odor is tolerable but very noticeable. Rastering for stamp making is good (good depth), 1 pass. Do not vector cut, use scissors.
|-
| Mirror ~ glass side                 ||  ||    ||     ||    ||    35   ||   100    ||       || Do not vector cut. Raster makes pretty pictures on glass.
|-
| iPhone5                 ||  ||    ||     ||    ||    90   ||   100    ||       || Did 3 passes at these settings, could have probably done 40% speed in 1 pass as the iPhone 1 listed up above...
|-
| Denim                 ||  ||    ||  100   ||    ||    18   ||   22    ||       || Iron first. For vector use speed 100%, pwr? Different types of denim react differently, test first on less important piece.
|}



== Kerf ==

Kerf is 0.009mm.
For 1/8" Birch, average kerf is ~0.233mm

[[Category:Laser]]