I think you will need a lot more power than that to get a crisp edge. Too little power just burns the resin.
The bottom line, of course, is try it and see
Good luck,
Tweakie.
Hello, I have a 120 watt co2 laser and would like to cut thin C.F. thickness would be 1/16" or thinner.
1. can it be done?
2. do I need any additives (pastes)?
3. what is the finish like?
4. any other advise?
I have a router but don't want to use it due to the hazardous dust that is made.
Necessity is the mother of all invention (unknown)
My club home page www.lhmac.org
I think you will need a lot more power than that to get a crisp edge. Too little power just burns the resin.
The bottom line, of course, is try it and see
Good luck,
Tweakie.
CNC is only limited by our imagination.
Thanks tweakie, I was hoping to find others who have done this before I blow $50 on something I can't cut. I don't have ant c.f. that would work laying around.
Necessity is the mother of all invention (unknown)
My club home page www.lhmac.org
Has anyone done this?
Necessity is the mother of all invention (unknown)
My club home page www.lhmac.org
Most laser-cutting shops will quickly back away from a job to laser-cut any carbon fiber products, because it is very difficult. After all, the material is ALREADY carbon, so you can't oxidize it any further (which is what a laser does). It takes a high-powered pulsed laser system, and the beam splatters significantly at less than 1/8" of depth.
btw, the dust from machining cured CF products is not "hazardous" in the sense of poisons or solvents, it is ultra-fine dust which is chemically inert to the human body. The problem is the inertness, because your body won't "reject" it, so breathing it can cause "miner's lung" disease - lungs filled with charcoal (carbon) dust.
Thanks for the info Dorsal. I found some flat c.f. 6mm x 1.0mm and figured I'd see if I could cut it. Sure enough, it cut real nice and left a smooth edge. here is a link to the product.
http://rcfoam.com/cart.php?target=pr...category_id=96
I only used 50% power also.
Necessity is the mother of all invention (unknown)
My club home page www.lhmac.org