We just received a Boss laser cutter. We primarily want to use it to create prototypes and promotional materials (name tags, etched items). What materials do you use and do you have a preferred source.
Is MDF the best material for prototypes? If so, what thickness do you use?
Thanks,
John Hajel
What is the wattage on your laser that will determine what you can cut through.
Unless you have proper ventilation for plastics you want to stick to mostly Acrylic although they can cut Polycarb and other plastics @AllenGregoryIV has a lot about this in the Spectrum 2022 build blog.
For wood MDF is fine depending on your laser you can go up to 1/2" but most likely the most you’ll be able to do that still looks nice is gonna be 1/4" same w the plastics.
A hidden benefit with lasers is cutting stuff out of cardboard before committing to more permanent materials to prove fit then using MDF to prove function then making out of aluminum or plastic for “final”
Here is our materials list for our ~100W CO2 laser
Prototypes:
Production parts:
We’ve also had some success with polyethylene foam and acrylic for non-robot applications.
I hope that helps.
We have a 105w laser.
Oh nice! then 1/4 is cake not sure how it would handle 1/2, can always do some guess and check work and report back id love to know how yall end up using your laser!
Do yall have software for it already?
We have a copy of LightBurn but we haven’t installed it yet.
Just repeating, polycarbonate has very bad fumes, research your materials before cutting anything.
If we properly vent the fumes, it should be ok, right?
maybe its not exactly advisable i certainly wouldnt feel safe doing it
Yes. Keyword: Properly.
Not particularly difficult but must be done right.
Hi John, we have a Boss 100 Watt as well (3 years now… I think).
We use ours for prototyping, making tool holders, Christmas ornaments, school projects, and “fun” marketing stuff.
Materials: paper, cardboard, plywood, lumber, acrylic (not for the robot!), delrin, HDPE.
You CAN cut polycarb if it is thin and you ventilate like crazy, but it will bubble/discolor/catch fire very easily.
Source: Local source is best. We have eplastics nearby https://www.eplastics.com/ and they have a “bargain bin” of scrap at $2/pound.
We have found that quality plywood cuts MUCH better than cheap plywood (the plywood glue pockets in the cheap stuff tend to ignite).
Personally, I cannot stand cutting MDF. Smells bad, doesn’t cut particularly well.
Speaking of - we built a fume extractor, as we don’t have any sort of ventilation in our workshop. Lots of smoke from cutting wood, and the smell of acrylic being laser cut is pretty awful.
Please look up laser-safe materials. Hint - anything with the word “chloride” in it is generally very, very bad (pvc = poly vinyl chloride, releases chlorine gas when laser cut. Bad for the laser, not good for you).
Thanks for the response.
Can you describe this fume extractor more? Did the 6" exhaust and fan that comes with the laser cutter not do the trick? We were thinking of hanging the 6" hose out of a window.
That’s what we did. We used this fan from Harbor Freight (pulled off the filter and piped it straight outside). On the exhaust side of the fan you should use solid ducting and tape the seams (flexible ducting can develop pin hole leaks). Note also that most building codes ask that there are no openable windows above the exhaust.
As far as I’m concerned burning any type of plastic (even wood) makes health-hazardous fumes and particles. There’s no such thing as too much ventilation for these things.
I tend to use cardboard or chipboard (the stuff on the back of notebooks) for very early prototypes. Later prototypes are typically plywood.
I’ve been really happy with baltic birch plywood from Ocooch Hardwoods. The results have been really consistent and the wood has been good quality each time I’ve ordered.
We’re in San Diego, where we keep the garage door open all the time.
There’s no window that would work, so we built a fume extractor box, with a hefty fan and a series of HVAC filters (18"x18" seemed to be cheapest) so we designed the fume extractor around that.
The little air pump the Boss lasers come with is junk. I used this compressor which was a noticable improvement. Even a bit more air would be even better. https://www.harborfreight.com/2-gallon-135-psi-ultra-quiet-hand-carry-jobsite-air-compressor-64596.html
Paging @Cory, I believe he had some good information about cutting polycarb last time this subject was broached. Has anyone found a decent PC alternative that doesn’t end up scorched on the edges? Can holes just be drilled out to size for a better finish?
The little gold one is funny. Got the smaller Kobalt, but kids kept stealing it for riveting and the CNC.
Got the big Kobalt, put an in-line air filter/dryer, and it’s been great. Has a 3 year warranty, and ours started to go at…. Exactly 3 years. This is our second.
Petg is what I want to try for robot parts, based on a tip from @JamesCH95
We did a bunch of very thin petg during covid and that was fine, just got white stringy stuff all over the laser.
I have now accidentally cut a clear plastic that I think was PC on our laser once, and extremely do not recommend it to anyone. It made a really nasty green smoke that our ventilation didn’t catch all of, that smelled like death through my kn95.
(I am also not sure it was PC, because I couldn’t get a good cut with a circular saw - it kept trying to shatter on me - which is why I tentatively identified it as acrylic and put it on the laser… But the end result looked like another teams results in PC. Reinforced why to NEVER laser something you haven’t positively identified through sales receipts level traceability)
Edit: … probably clear PVC, based on feedback below 
