[wolfau]

Just wondering if anyone has a favorite material they like using with there laser cutter?

[fishface]

My wife likes anything that I make out of 3mm clear acrylic because it provides function whilst being almost invisible. I personally hate working with the stuff due to the variability in its thickness even within the same piece. This makes interlocking pieces a right pain.

My favourite material is 3mm Beech plywood. It has the beauty of a natural product, is structurally stable and strong (not brittle like acrylic) and is cheap to buy. It can be stained, varnished, painted or just lightly sanded which is what I do most of the time. I make anything I can from this material.

[Melody-gweike]

I have many nice works photos by my customers for acrylic, wood, silicone, cloth... Engraving on glass really looks beautiful although it needs high operation skill of lasers. And the natural burn marks on wood also looks great.

[DavenUK]

I like any material that cuts cleanly at the speed it should

[wolfau]

I like any material that cuts cleanly at the speed it should

Like which ones?

[DavenUK]

Mainly mdf, ply or acrylic - I buy in small quantities so batch differences are a pain ;-)

Dave

[elzilcho21]

Hello, I have only cut with metals but my favorite of them is Stainless Steel. My machine cuts so nicely and if you have decent material that isn't scratched or mishandled any etchings on it come out perfect.

I also like to use 1mm aluminum and sand blast the material before etching, provides a good solid cutting surface unlike unsanded aluminum. Only problem is with the thinner aluminums you have to be careful of sandblasting for to long, you will end up warping the material.

[epilotdk]

I like MDF and acetal (delrin). I too hate the sloppy tolerances of acrylic and the smell it gives off when being cut. Plywood is OK but lately it has been difficult to get hold of decent quality laser ply.

[mondo50m]

I am a fan of 3mm plywood. The only problem I have is the fact that some of the wood being used varies in hardness. At times I can cut through the 3mm plywood with the settings on my 40w laser set to 8 speed and 23 power (about 8.5ma). At other times I have to slow down to 6 speed to cut the same thing out. It just varies too much. I also like to cut acrylic. It also cuts differently every time I use it. Bass wood us easy to cut, but it is much like balsa. I cut 3.2 mm basswood at 15 speed and 16 power. Pretty much cuts like balsa. I also use slate, or shale for doing photographs. If I make a mistake, I only need to sand it down and start over again, no wasted material.

Milt

[finkh]

My favorite materials: plastic laminate like Formica. It cuts very cleanly, holds very thin lines for silhouettes, and can be glued with white glue. The only problem is keeping it flat.

Corrugated Cardboard. It is a great material for prototyping: free, and widely available. Cuts very fast.

[Exsecratio]

It cuts very cleanly, holds very thin lines for silhouettes

It also gives off Formaldehyde and Ammonia fumes. Formalin isn't too bad but ammonia isn't good

best wishes

Dave

[Things]

Acrylic, by far, it's just so damn sexy lasercut.

Although next on my list would be engraving anodized aluminium, especially black, which is also quite sexy