I don't have a laser yet, but am trying to construct a business plan before jumping in. One of the objects I would like to engrave is more readily available in urea plastic than acrylic and I was wondering if anyone had experience with this material in a laser?
I searched the forum, and it seemed to be mixed opinion with little definitive fact on whether or not it released toxic gases when heated/burned.
I'm aware that "urea" is short hand for "urea-formaldehyde" which will release formaldehyde into the air until fully cured (and maybe more when heated/burned?).
I've also seen posts discussing cutting certain plywoods and MDF which contain urea-formaldehyde based glues. From what I've seen, most people seem to think this is okay as long as the ventilation is working properly and you're not breathing the fumes from it.
If that is the case, I would assume the same would be true for cutting/engraving urea-formaldehyde resin - though it may release a higher quantity of those fumes. Obviously, that's just an assumption though, so I was wondering if anyone had direct experience with it.
At the moment, I don't expect to be cutting it so much as engraving and color fillling it. Which leads to my next question for anyone that has direct experience. Aside from fumes, are there any forseeable problems with trying to engrave and colorfill this material?