Co2 laser and plastics

[richpsr]

Hi all. I am looking to cut polycarbonate and petg on a co2 laser to develop our capacity.

A machine supplier was a bit non committal about cutting these materials.

Can I get some feedback on this? I.e ease of use, problems raised etc.

Tia

Rich.

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[Blackened]

Edge quality is pretty poor with laser cut polycarbonate. Also the smoke is horrible. I've never tried petg though.

[awerby]

I think polycarbonate is on the "don't try this at home" list for laser cutters. PetG is better; here's some information on cutting it: On the Cutting Edge with PETG and Lasers: Plastic Distributor & Fabricator

[automationtechinc]

Yes. Very horrible smoke. It is not suggested to cut polycarbonate

https://www.automationtechnologiesin...ser-engraving/

[Polishmafiaboss]

PolyCarb is definitely on the "DO NOT EVER LASER CUT" due to the toxicity of the smoke/off-gas. (The off-gas is in the Chlorine gas family and very toxic.) PETG will laser cut with a beautiful edge. It looks polished and very smooth. (We cut it at about 150 IPM with a 200W CO2 laser for .080 - .177" thick material.) If you have a CNC Router, it is best to use that for processing the PolyCarb. We use a Onsrud 56-625L 1/4" double "O" for processing Acrylics, PETG, and PolyCarb. Speed & Feed is dependent on material thickness. (I do a lot of .080 to .177 thick Acrylic & PC @ about 275 IPM / 20,000RPM)

**Note: I am replying to this in case anyone else reads this and may wonder the same thing. I realize this is an older post.**

[richpsr]

Thanks for the feedback guys, Greatly appreciated.

[rodw]

For what its worth, I am getting some parts in 1.5mm rubber sheet being cut by a rubber supplier using a water jet machine at an absolutely ridiculous (cheap) price. I'm only getting 2 parts x 2 designs (4 total). So cheap its not worth my while getting them done by my supplier in China and cheaper than if I tried to cut them by hand out of sheet rubber. Costing me AUD $29 including our GST tax.

[richpsr]

HI Rod,

Thanks for the message. I use a water jet company for some items we produce. Waterjetting can be cheap, but the outlay for the machines is high (approx £250,000 per machine). I am looking at developing another production stream for our engineering business and I can see fab and forming of PETG in particular to be a great area to develop.

all the best,
Rich.

[Polishmafiaboss]

Rich,

If you have a choice between PolyCarb or PETG, stick with PETG. Your finishing options are greater, since you can laser cut PETG along with a number of other mechanical methods. My only suggestion is get a supplier that will provide you with "good" material. We mirror ours using vacuum deposition, so the quality of the initial product is quite important. We also use it for some unmirrored parts that are formed and whenever I have gotten "cheap" stuff, I can tell the difference in surface quality every time. Price difference is minimal and you may have to get on the supplier once in awhile if they try to substitute grades.

Ray