Ok, this is an old video but very interesting. I'd love to know more about cutting different types of acrylic. On this video, what kind of acrylic are you using? Cass vs Extruded? I have an xTool D1 cutter but have not been able to cut many acrylics. Really, so far only black. So, if you can give me some hints, I will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
This laser hack will work with any kind of acrylic; cast or extruded as well as any laser cuttable non acrylic plastic with any thickness that a laser has enough wattage to cut.
This is our TroWood Veneer in Walnut: shop.troteclaser.com/s/category/laser-material/laser-wood/trowood-veneer-duo/0ZG4I000000GmluWAC?language=en_US&c__results_layout_state=%7B%7D
We used TroGlass Mirror with the following settings: Laser: Trotec Speedy 360 FLEXX (CO2 and Fiber) - 80w CO2 Engraving: 65 power, 100 speed, -0.12 z-offset Fiber Engraving: 40 power, 100 speed CO2 Cutting: 100 power, 0.8 speed
We used TroGlass Mirror with the following settings: Laser: Trotec Speedy 360 FLEXX (CO2 and Fiber) - 80w CO2 Engraving: 65 power, 100 speed, -0.12 z-offset Fiber Engraving: 40 power, 100 speed CO2 Cutting: 100 power, 0.8 speed
In this video we are using our 3mm veneered wood: shop.troteclaser.com/s/category/laser-material/laser-wood/trowood-veneer-duo/0ZG4I000000GmluWAC?language=en_IE&c__results_layout_state=%7B%7D
I recently developed an alternative method,seeing that I usually cut half inch acrylic letters that take up the entire bed size of our Speedy 360,and can take upwards of two hours per sheet. Instead of putting the wet paper towel on the bed, I actually use it directly on top of the acrylic.It has to be drenched and completely smoothed out without any gaps of air between the towel and the board. This is better,imo,because I keep a spray bottle full of water on hand,and when it starts to dry out,I can always pause the machine and re-wet the towel. This would be completely impossible for me to do if the towel were underneath the acrylic.
Yes polycarbonate can be cut with a laser but the quality will be poor due to the makeup of this material see this link: ru-vid.comvqQLlS_5U_0?si=HyjkmoZLNh-eBge7&t=1909
Wow!!! Cutting 20mm thick acrylic at 100mm/s is more than impressive with 80 watts. Is there some magical power/effect that allows an RF laser beam to defeat the laws of pyhsics and chemistry? 2 or 3mm/s would be a more realistic speed Did I miss the bit that indicated that the video was greatly speeded up or is the close up demonstration slowed down. VERY confusing.
We are sorry for the confusion; this video is designed to showcase how to reduce flare, and yes, the video clips are time-lapsed to save time, as the cut speeds are not discussed. All samples are cut with this wattage in the video using this laser hack.
Nice! It's my understanding that Trotec is using a CO2 laser in this presentation. Am wondering if this technique would even work with diode laser, which has a shorter wavelength and is therefore less permeable. I know Trotec recommend CO2 for acrylic, but was wondering if Trotec already knows the answer to this?
I have four acrylic barstools, expensive acrylic barstools oops, too tall by about one inch how can i cut the legs down the diameter of the leg is a approx. one and a quarter please help thanks
i can confirm a variant of this method works very well for 3mm plywood, blue tape on the top surface and sopping wet paper towel underneath i've never had cuts this clean and we're talking bottom of the barrel bunnings plywood
This is brilliant! Thank you SO much for sharing this laser nugget of technique! I wish you and Trotec continued growth and success in helping others to bring in abundance from their creations they provide in service to their customers! We all win!
Newby here, cutting 0.125" acrylic on ULS carbon dioxide laser at a maker space, dark acrylics have flame marks on back, the maker space insists we use this elevated expanded-mesh underlayment base, wherever the laser hits the steel rack, I get white burn marks on my acrylic cuts. I tried wet shop towels on top of foam board to keep the towels from sagging between the mesh openings on the underlayment, well, now I got much bigger STEAM BURNS on the backsides, I'm making jewelry components for earrings, this technique didn't seem to help my problem, it now looks like dull clouds on what started out as a shiny back, any ideas out there to help me? Thanks!
Diode lasers operate at wavelength around 455 nanometers. This wavelength does not react with transparent materials. CO2 lasers operate at 10500 nanometers. That is perfect for transparent acrylics.
