Laser cutter/Materials
Introduction
This page is a list of materials that can be cut or engraved on the 'NEW' Nottinghack A0 laser cutter from Just Add Sharks, along with information on cutting speeds and power settings. Other useful information is also provided.
You can see a reasonably complete list of what is laser safe here and here.
The values on this page have been tested, but are guidelines. Always stay with the laser when it is running, and use your common sense!
DO NOT CUT
Vinyl, PVC - Contains chlorine, which generates glass and metal damaging acid fumes when burned!
Polycarbonate - clear polycarbonate looks looks just like acrylic!
Anything that produces fumes (eg; glued wood, many types of plastic).
Wood
Greyscale Engrave
Monoscale Engrave
Cutting
| Type | Power | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| 3mm birch ply | 65% | 55mm/s |
| 3mm birch ply | 65% | 55mm/s |
Veneer
Paper and Card
Go fast and run test cuts! Then help us by documenting what worked for you.
Plastic
Acrylic/Perspex
| Type | Power | Speed (mm/s) |
|---|---|---|
| 3mm Acrylic | 65% | (see whiteboard) |
| 5mm Acrylic | 65% | (see whiteboard) |
Metal
No info yet
Introduction
 |
This page is for the older red laser cutter and will be updated for the A0 laser cutter in due time. |
This page is a list of materials that can be cut or engraved on the Nottinghack laser cutter, along with information on cutting speeds and power settings. Other useful information is also provided.
This page is currently being updated as we now have the 000-999 dial for power settings. Always make sure the zero position is showing as 000, if not, adjust the below values accordingly.
The laser can do three things - cut, mono etch and grayscale etch. The settings below will be for a specific action. If you use another material of method, update this page with your findings!
The values on this page have been tested, but are guidelines. Always stay with the laser when it is running, and use your common sense!
Wood
3mm Birch Laser Ply
This is the plywood available by the laser cutter.
Cutting
350 power, 12 mm/s gives a nice clean cut. If there are knots in the ply it may not cut all the way through, you can reduce the speed to 14mm/s to compensate for this.
Mono Etching
Grayscale Etching
400 power, 200mm/s with Bottom Depth = 1 and Top Depth = 250 gives a nice image with a black depth of around 0.5mm and white depth of 0. This will require sanding afterwards.
At 350 power but all the other settings the same, the black depth is around 0.35mm. This will work fine for high contrast images.
3mm MDF
This is the MDF available by the laser cutter.
Veneer
Plain and coloured veneer available by the laser cutter.
Colours: Black, Light Blue, Light Green, Medium Green, Red, Brown, Blue, Medium Blue, Dark Green, Pink, Yellow, Hay Yellow, Grey, Orange, Dark Orange.
For coloured veneer, please consider free to use for small amounts. For larger cuts, please consider a donation to the space (rough cost of veneer: 15p per square inch).
Paper and Card
Thin Cardboard
- Cutting Speed: 30 mm/s
- Laser Current: 4mA
These values were found using with 160gsm black card. Other gsm values may require changes to the speed and power.
Plastic
Acrylic (e.g. Perspex) is the material most used. Available in clear and a wide range of colours. Other plastics, though they may look similar, and not necessarily suitable, and some are specifically not usable due to the release of poisonous (cyanide) or corrosive (damaging to the laser cutter itself) fumes. List of forbidden plastic materials: (to follow)