Cutting Acrylic with a Laser Cutter

Tim shows me how to use a laser cutter to make clean cuts from an Adobe Illustrator file in acrylic (plexiglass). This video was taken at the James Madison University's X-Labs.

[@haworthluke]

Little tips like that dish soap one are absolutely priceless

[@M6Individual]

The voice of the cameraman seems to be Mike Mackenzie of C.E.M. There were 2 useful takeaways for me in this video: 1) Use full power to cut fast enough to not heat the rest of the material (which causes deformation/ridging) and 2) applying dishwashing soap to both sides and letting it dry before lasering. I will try "clearcoat" sheeting (which isn't clear BTW) instead as this also provided a barrier and avoids the evenness and drying issues of soap.

[@BarryBernau]

Great tip with the dish soap.

[@meranberwyck7775]

Love the demo, thanks

[@elmerfudd835]

What are the specs for laser?

[@jamiekhari6651]

What thickness acrylic should you buy to make windows for an architectural model? Does any acrylic work?

[@ramakrishnamishra8179]

Tim is awesome

[@GeraldCrochet]

What wattage laser is this? And presuming CO2?

[@maevelyncaampued5418]

What type of machine is this and where to buy

[@Sriraisender]

Can we cut rubber slipper sheets like this? Faster

[@pcstixp6034]

thanks! very useful!! I'll try

[@syedsulaiman8380]

What is the name of the laser a d can we buy the laser module separately

[@estradababy2402]

Very helpful

[@davepeck4637]

Hello. Was there an assist gas being utilized? Or shop air?

[@MorganBenton]

No, but there is an exhaust fan that vents the fumes to the outside

[@Kelly-lo6cz]

Where can I buy a laser cutter? Does a small one exist? I am just wanting one to make small pieces of jewelry with acrylic and I don't know where to begin. Thanks

[@MorganBenton]

glowforge.com/our-products

[@cski68]

Great video, I was wondering if you could help me with a few questions. My intentions are to create what looks like a cut in Acrylic but is more closer to just an internal scar that is foggy and glows like a ribbon in the Acrylic when lit. Can this be accomplished with less power and faster speeds? If this is not possible how thin can the laser cut be so it is almost invisible when viewed from the cut direction yet will glow when light is shown in the Acrylic. Thanks

[@MorganBenton]

Great question! I have no idea what the answer is, but I'm super curious to find out.

[@cski68]

@@MorganBenton Thanks for the reply, I've been looking into it for about a week still no answers. Do you have any ideas on who to ask?

[@seeigecannon]

There are 2 kinds of acrylic; cast and extruded. Cast acrylic engraves white while extruded engraves clear.
You can raster the acrylic for the image, and use cast or extruded for the visual effect.

[@patrickalvarado7687]

Not sure if I missed it in the video, but how thick is the material you're cutting?

[@MorganBenton]

It's been awhile but I think it's 1/8" in (3.175 mm)

[@patrickalvarado7687]

@@MorganBenton thanks a lot! I’m surprised you answered so quickly

[@MorganBenton]

Haha, I get notified whenever anyone comments 😄

[@ascaniofiori6528]

Hi, thanks for the video.
Which kind of laser is ? Diode ? CO2 ? thanks a lot.

[@MorganBenton]

90W CO2

[@ascaniofiori6528]

Morgan Benton thanks !

[@3rdsty]

is this co2 or fiber laser?

[@jessicaliu7424]

CO2

[@patrickalvarado7687]

90W CO2 laser

[@jessicaliu7424]

@@patrickalvarado7687 Hello, dear friend, if you are interested in CO2 laser machine, please add my Whatsapp:[phone]
I will give you the machine details and a quote

[@ndbiet]

What a fine mustache you got there

[@leerichardscountry]

That's a right tash.

[@zerosugarmatcha7348]

3:08 there is a piece of peanut or something at the upper left corner, I'm wondering someone dropped it or a mouse brought it there.

[@irmods]

lol, it's actually a lump of white grease.

[@noisefekt]

Why there’s a macaroni and some melted cheese inside the machine? :D

[@KayRoepke]

"This video was taken at the James Madison University's X-Labs." :D

[@kgleatherworks1497]

Pu

[@macciebuilds]

didn't he use coreldraw?

[@MorganBenton]

Yes, that's the software on the computer attached to the laser cutter. However, I drew the designs on Illustrator at home before bringing them to the lab.

[@macciebuilds]

@@MorganBenton I see thank you so much for answering. :)

[@jamesking425]

Hey I was wondering could I get you to do a little project for out of acrylic

[@waldner62]

Thanks for the video, but what is the secret at the end, you speak to fast for me, I'm german.

[@MorganBenton]

waldner62 The "secret" mentioned is to cover the acrylic in dish soap before you cut it to prevent it from getting cloudy. You can then wash it after you're done.

[@waldner62]

Thank you very much for the fast information, I will try it.

[@alexdorand]

you have food in the machine

[@irmods]

french fries lol

[@riyadhzulkifli49]

viva la dirt league?