Anybody cut .030" thick clear Lexan with their laser? This would be for flexible paint stencils.
TIA,
Neal
Anybody cut .030" thick clear Lexan with their laser? This would be for flexible paint stencils.
TIA,
Neal
Neal Schlee
Machines:
ULS X2-660 120 watt SuperSpeed
Multicam Pro 102 Dual Z CNC Router & Multicam 44 Plus Dual Z CNC Router
Shop Built Custom CNC Machines
Mutoh VJ 1204 Wide Format Printer
55" Laminator
Graphtec 54" Vinyl Cutter
Sublimation Equipment
Sand Blasting Equipment
Various Woodworking Equipment
Software:
Aspire, Enroute, Flexi Pro 10.5, CorelDraw X6 to name a few!
Go to Michael's (8571 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage) see if they have Martha Stewart Stencil corner...... Package of 3 11 x 17 material... works great... Lexan melts/. not sure about .030 but I know Marthas works great.
Mark
In the Great Northwest!
Trotec Speedy C25, Newing-Hall 350 (AMC I & HPGL), NH-CG-30 (Carbide Cutter Sharpener)
Sawgrass 400 Gel Ink Printer, CS5, 5/9/x6 CorelDraw
Don't try and cut it in one pass, it will melt and leave an ugly sticky edge. For stencils I use PETG, and comes up a treat at reasonable speeds too.
If for whatever reason you want to keep using Lexan, try two or three passes on a lower power but it will still melt, just less.
I never had a problem cutting .03, or ,0625. When I cut 1/16 to 1/4" I get yellow smoke, which is somewhat disconcerting, and it does take more than one pass for a decent edge.
Sammamish, WA
Epilog Legend 24TT 45W, had a sign business for 17 years, now just doing laser work on the side.
"One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher
"The handyman's secret weapon - Duct Tape" R. Green
No problem cutting/engraving with my 60 watt lasers. I have been cutting 1/16th for the last several days with no issues, yes it does yellow the edges slightly but for a stencil this should be no problem. FYI on 60 watt settings are 35s 80pwr and 2500 freq.
Epilog Fusion Fiber 30 watt
Epilog 36 EXT 75 watt
Epilog 36 EXT 60watt x 2
Epilog 32Ex 60watt (new tube, putting out 72 watts)
Epilog Summit 25watt x2
IL-60 2 x 100 watts 60" x 120"
Corel X6
Adobe CS6 Master Edition
"http://www.sawmillcreek.org/friends.php?id=128
I have cut .030" Lexan (polycarbonate) and it produced a decent edge which is gold in color. But the smoke will discolor the surface - if you are selling these it will not look that great unless the material is masked. I know it wouldn't matter for the intended use but it just looks bad if unmasked. If they are for yourself, then no issues.
Beyond .030" I get progressively worse carbonization of the edge - rough, porous edges which turn black from the carbon. I have cut some .090 which were used as a window in a control panel - since the edge was embedded in adhesive it did not matter. Of course I masked the material though.
If you can get the polycarbonate with paper mask I'd go that route.
Thanks all!
Neal
Neal Schlee
Machines:
ULS X2-660 120 watt SuperSpeed
Multicam Pro 102 Dual Z CNC Router & Multicam 44 Plus Dual Z CNC Router
Shop Built Custom CNC Machines
Mutoh VJ 1204 Wide Format Printer
55" Laminator
Graphtec 54" Vinyl Cutter
Sublimation Equipment
Sand Blasting Equipment
Various Woodworking Equipment
Software:
Aspire, Enroute, Flexi Pro 10.5, CorelDraw X6 to name a few!