Cutting Acrylic Canvas Fabric, what type laser should I use?

[umgeni]

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum but been looking around ot for some time,

I've been searching for an answer to my question for some time but can't find a simple definative answer so looking for help!

I'm in the process of designing a large fabric cutting cnc table and looking at laser as it heat seals the edges which is needed for the fabric i will be cutting.

The fabric is acrylic canvas max thickness around 1mm and will only be cut in single layers.

I have looked at the option of a CO2 laser and no doubt will be able to cut what I need, but also looking at the relatively cheap diode lasers on ebay such as a 5500mw laser module.
Obviously they will be much less powerful than a CO2 laser, but like the idea of simplicity and safety of not having to bounce the beam over the length of the table (which will be around 1.8m wide by 4m long).

Will one of these lasers be able to cut through fabric, and if so what sort of cutting speed would you be able to achieve?
Any other options which I may have missed?

Any help would be appreciated!

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[Dean448]

I don’t think a laser is a good choice for this material. First off the size makes the machine design custom because you would have to carry the tube with the carriage. So diode solves that but will it cut 1mm? Then you always have to deal with smoke which would be difficult to capture. Then will the air blowing mess up the canvas? Will burnt material contaminate either surfaces? How fast will it cut? Testing could help answer some of this.
I wonder if you should considered a cnc knife or cutting wheel?


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[umgeni]

Thanks for your reply Dean,
I have looked into these issues you mentioned, one thing I was lokking at was trying to combine a vaccum table with an extration system.

I would like to use a cutting wheel arrangement but it seems very difficult to find information on the cutters for the 'diyer' as information I've found seems to be aimed at industrial users.

[grawley]

Thanks for your reply Dean,
I have looked into these issues you mentioned, one thing I was lokking at was trying to combine a vaccum table with an extration system.

I would like to use a cutting wheel arrangement but it seems very difficult to find information on the cutters for the 'diyer' as information I've found seems to be aimed at industrial users.

You can submit your fabric (material) to the companies that sell the tools, and have them recommend the best tool.

For example, you can contact Synrad lasers then they will run your sample per your requirements and recommend the laser power (for example, 25 watts), air/gas assist required (for example, Nitrogen as 8 psi), and the focus lens (for example, 2.5 inch focal length). You could, go to a laser machinery company to do it, but in my experience, many are not trained other than adjusting speed and power--so your results may be questionable. If you want to start by doing online research then check out Synrad's application labs reports for fabrics.

You could submit your material sample with requirements to an ultrasonic knife manufacturer (such as Branson ultrasonics), because ultrasonics can cut and seal fabrics simultaneously.