Materials - Suitable, Unsuitable, Cutting Time and Thickness
Materials Suitable for Lasering.
Styrene
We can supply all thicknesses of styrene but only in nominal metric thicknesses (eg: 0.25mm (approx: 0.010"), 0.5mm (approx 0.020"), 0.75mm (approx 0.030"), 1mm (approx 0.040"), etc). If you wish us to laser cut material in imperial thicknesses (eg: 0.015”) then you will need to supply your own styrene. Note that styrene thickness' are only approximate and can vary by a few tenths of a mm (up to 3-4 thousands of an inch).
Plywood
We have some plywood thicknesses in stock. If we don’t have it in stock we can obtain it but there may be an extra charge for doing so. If you wish to supply your own plywood then you should send us a sample for test lasering. Not all plywood can be lasered satisfactorily.
Acrylic (Perspex)
We have 3mm thick acrylic in clear and a range of different colours available. Other
thicknesses can be obtained. We also have 2mm clear acrylic.
Laserable Plastic
This is available in 3 thicknesses and a variety of colours (a thin layer of colour on a base colour). Some is held in stock.
MDF
The smaller thicknesses are normally held in stock (eg: 2mm, 3mm, 6mm and 9mm).
Wood
This is not normally held in stock but limited supplies of pine and hardwood may be available in some thicknesses.
Other materials
You will need to supply these. However, some materials cannot be cut (eg: metals and any PVC based plastic).
Thickness of Cut.
This depends on the properties and thickness of the material being cut. However, using the right material extremely fine cutting, rastering or engraving is possible. For example we can engrave numbers that are almost too small to read with the naked eye. For more information on cut thickness or width see Requirements for Custom Laser Cutting.
Cutting Time.
Cutting time (and hence the cost) depends on a large number of variables (such as thickness of material, rastering or vectoring, the characteristics of the material itself, etc). These are hard to estimate without actually doing a "dummy" cut (running the laser cutter without actually cutting any material) or actually cutting the material. To give you a rough idea of costing the GWR Siphon takes about 13 minutes to cut excluding the roof (this is in 7mm/ft scale and is 200mm long, 55mm wide and 40mm high and consists of two layers of styrene glued together to produce the sides).
Materials that Cannot be Lasered.
Some materials cannot be lasered for a number of reasons such as: the production of noxious gases; gases that could effect the laser equipment itself; contain ingredients that inhibit the ability of the laser to cut cleanly (eg: waterproof ply). Please be aware that you should not send material to us for lasering until we have approved it or have tested a sample.