Cutting HDPE and Acetal sheets with a CO2 laser ?

Hello,

I'm planning to cut some 1mm to 3mm thick HDPE and acetal sheets for some various projects with my 50W CO2 laser.

Is there anybody here with some experience with those materials ?

I know some materials are melting, while other are very toxic and dangerous (PCV) when cut with a CO2 laser, hence my questions...

Thanks!

Nicolas.

I haven't played with acetal, but HDPE melts like a crayon... messy and nasty to cut. You might be okay cutting very fast through thin stuff, but it just made a gooey mess when I tried it.

Dave

I cut some 0.030" acetal with a 50W epilog last week and didn't have any trouble.
I can probably look up the %speed and %power if you need it but I do remember the frequency was around 600.

I also tried to cut some 0.5" acetal a couple weeks ago and i was able to get through it in about 4 passes (although I decided to mill the rest of the parts) at 3%speed 85% power and 600 freq.

Thanks for your answers.

I'll cut some acetal sheets and keep the HDPE sheets for milling then!

Have fun.

Nicolas.