[Frameworks] Laser Cutter Recs

[William Randall]

Kelsey,

Paper cuts perfectly fine in a CO2 laser cutter. Polycarbonate won't cut
well and will catch fire. ABS and PVC release potentially lethal gases.

This document has material safety notes on pp. 2-4:
https://engineering.tamu.edu/media/1949485/laser-cutting-fact-sheet-pki.pdf

Each laser cutter has its own safety notes to check, but these are broadly
applicable for CO2 lasers.(There are also fiber laser cutters, but I
haven't used one. They use a different wavelength to cut, mainly for sheet
metal.)

I used to cut a lot of paper, cardboard, and clear acrylic in school. If I
got the settings wrong sometimes the paper charred along the cut, and
sometimes the air pockets in cardboard would make these little flame bursts
around the laser. No big deal, you have to keep an eye on it and test for
each material. I cut in two different labs, each with different
recommendations and workflows balanced between speed & power. If I cut
paper that needed extra care (like with a drawing on it, or that was extra
thick) I would do a run-through on low power so as not to burn it and then
run the same sequence again to cut all the way through.

But because of fumes, burn danger, and how much of a pain it is to
ventilate and maintain them, I recommend not getting a home model and
instead finding a makerspace with a laser. If they have one, they'll have
someone who can walk you through using it and save you a lot of time. There
are also little fab shops on the outskirts of a lot of cities that do
small-scale jobs.

Best,
WR



On Sat, Sep 21, 2019 at 9:44 PM Kelsey Velez <kelsvelez at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello listserv,
>
> I’m looking for recommendations for affordable, compact laser cutters.
> I’ll be cutting through poster board. I know ya’ll use ‘em for burning off
> emulsion. Also any advice about using a laser cutter is welcome.
>
> Thanks,
> Kelsey
> _______________________________________________
> FrameWorks mailing list
> FrameWorks at jonasmekasfilms.com
> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/pipermail/frameworks/attachments/20190923/6b0902ff/attachment.html>