Junctionmad Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Dave The CO2 laser cuts acrylic like paper, and leaves a lovely smoothed edge, but many of the plastics don't cut so well. Plasticard re-joins behind the beam, and some others give off 'orrible smells & worse. Not sure how good the LED lasers with it. A number of people have had success with the Silhouette Cameo on thin plasticard. Nick Bastable got some very thin MDF, 1mm IIRC, and I think I recall he got some thin plastic that lasered well too. Trotec do sell laser able plastic material. I'm starting to think in terms of card modelling however - layers of paper & card are as easily glued as plasticard, and when sealed, are nigh on as strong, and much less susceptible to sunlight. Hth Simon Thanks , I was wondering if I could avoid buying a Cameo and do everything with a laser, dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 (edited) Hi newbie question, can lasers like this be used to cut abs sheet or plasticard, or is there a material that acts like plasticard but can be lasered. I'm looking at very thin materials like 20 thou etc Thanks Dave Hi Dave, I've not had any luck with plasticard/styrene. I had a quick go and all I ended up with, no matter what combination of power/speed and so on that I tried was just a rough-cut smoky mess, covered in black soot. I was worried what effect it would have on the lens cleanliness so abandoned the attempts. As I said early on in the thread I don't use plastic in my 'normal' modelling so it was no great disappointment. One material that I have found to be great - and which I willl use for things like window frames, iron lacework and so on - is a kind of 'metalized; or 'plasticised' card, available from art suppliers or Ebay, A local (to me!) example is here. It seems a great compromise because it has the ease of cutting that cardboard has, but it also lets you snap out bits that aren't quite cut through - like plastic - and doesn't leave little tufts or tear like normal card. PVA/spray glue glues it fine and it comes in a variety of thicknesses, not sure the imperial equivalent but basically from photocopy paper thickness to thin card of 0.4mm. The darker colours seem to laser better in that they can be done at a lesser speed and power, but the light colours are fine too. I haven't tried painting it yet but imagine should hold paint ok after spraying with primer - say Tamiya or similar. Gaz, those coaches are brilliant! Edited September 12, 2016 by monkeysarefun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted September 15, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 15, 2016 Here you go, a non-Emblaser post about lasers I've recently got to know a gentleman about half a km away from me who has a Southern Pacific 0 gauge layout. The owner of the layout is in his mid-80s and, well you would think he was 10 years younger. After looking around his layout room (and a section of garden layout) he asked me what I was up to. I explained about the laser cutter and how I was using it. I didn't get too technical. While he was out grabbing some water I noticed some patents on the wall behind where he had been stood. It seems that during his career he invented a method for laser switching, a laser apparatus with laser rod birefringence insensitive polarized cavity, a solid state laser apparatus with auxiliary intra-gravity mirror elements, and laser incorporating time variable reflectivity. He's a smashing person, and gracious enough not to interrupt me while I was explaining basic lasers to him. And it turns out he worked on the space shuttle program, which makes him a rocket scientist in my book. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ngtrains.com Posted September 16, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2016 I've not had any luck with plasticard/styrene. I had a quick go and all I ended up with, no matter what combination of power/speed and so on that I tried was just a rough-cut smoky mess, covered in black soot. I was worried what effect it would have on the lens cleanliness so abandoned the attempts. As I said early on in the thread I don't use plastic in my 'normal' modelling so it was no great disappointment. I am sure its been mentioned in this forum before but be very careful with styrene/plastilkard in a laser - or more accurately, don't do it It doesn't cut, it melts It gives of poisonous fumes whilst doing so It is for these reasons you need some equivalent such as Rowmark and why this forum has plenty of examples of people looking for a cheap alternative as Rowmark isnt cheap 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonME46 Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Gas those coaches are stunning. What bogies are you using? And did you make the roof out of card as well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 (edited) To add to Paul's advice above, the MSDS is below. Overheating causes... Hazardous decomposition products formed under fire conditions: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, toxic fumes. Exposure of polystyrene to extremely high temperatures (315°C or higher) for extended periods of time may cause partial decomposition. Chemicals that may be released include styrene monomer, benzene, and other hydrocarbons. And it's flammable, as are the decomposition products, but at least it doesn't contain chlorine or other halogens, so it won't corrode your laser, so that's all right then... http://www.totalrefiningchemicals.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Safety%20Datasheet%20Documents/sds_us_polystyrene.pdf Like I said, it works well with card... Best Simon Edited September 17, 2016 by Simond Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 (edited) Like I said, it works well with card... Best Simon And 3mm ply! I appreciate the hazard information, for those reasons I've always used the emblaser outside, preferably when the wind is a nor-wester to disperse anything toxic towards the neighbour I don't like! Edited September 17, 2016 by monkeysarefun 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted September 17, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 17, 2016 Same here - I laser cut when it's not raining. I've a quick question, I've been looking at file formats to import into Cut2D. I've noticed that converting an SVG file to a DXF file in Inkscape changes Bezier curves to very short line segments as per the image below. I was also able to save as an Adobe Illustrator file, and the Bezier curves come out ok The reason I'm writing is that, with my setup, I've found that all of those short line segments really slow down the burn speed and can cause overburn. It's like the cutter has to pause very slightly at the end of each segment, and that when there are very few you can't tell, but when there are load as per the DXF file, this can cause a problem. Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just me? Also, I've noticed on the Cut2D website that the software either did, or aspires to open SVG files. I do hope that they are able to do this. cheers Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 It is a common problem, in any cad file conversion. A bezier curve is a spline (in dxf terms). I would hope the conversion for a pure arc works OK, but for a spline, inkscape most likely can't work backwards from the line drawn in svg, to work out the correct relative short arc lengths/centres, so it will trace the curved line with a number of short straight lines. I believe that dxf may only be able to represent beziers by polylines, anyway (https://pythonhosted.org/dxfwrite/entities/bezier.html). There may be a setting to define the number of lines desired (but I do not use the software you are using, so that facility may not be present). One hack, would be for you to manually over-draw the svg curve with straight lines, (and delete the original curve) but do not use as many straight lines as seems to be automatically assigned. The reason for the slowing down, is that each time a stepper starts and stops, it has to accelerate and decelerate again. There may be a machine setting somewhere to minimise deceleration/acceleration times, but then you may get other problems, and I would hope the machine software would have that set to the minimum. It may be possible to reduce the laser power as it decelerates, instead of keeping on full power until it stops moving. Best wishes, Ray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted September 18, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 18, 2016 Thanks Ray, I was making sure it wasn't just me, and this makes perfect sense. Luckily for work I have Illustrator, and can save as a .ai file, but hopefully Cut2D will indeed one day accept SVG files as Illustrator isn't an option for many people. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 The problem is mostly solved with those nasty, slow curves by (on Cut2Dlaser) using a tool in the EDIT OBJECTS section, third row down, third in (if I can count....). This will smooth it out and reduce the number of points dramatically. Have a play. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Re the hazard info, if you have any manufactured material, it should (AFAIK legally "must") be possible to find an MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheet for it. Most are relatively easy to find, some are more challenging. Certainly worth a look if you're planning to have something potentially hazardous in your home. There are lots of sources on the www, here's a starter. http://www.msds.com Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted September 18, 2016 Author Share Posted September 18, 2016 (edited) Re the hazard info, if you have any manufactured material, it should (AFAIK legally "must") be possible to find an MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheet for it. Most are relatively easy to find, some are more challenging. Certainly worth a look if you're planning to have something potentially hazardous in your home. There are lots of sources on the www, here's a starter. http://www.msds.com Best Simon Hi somon, I agree fully with what you are saying - and it is wise counsel! Just reminiscing here on a Sunday evening, but I remember back in the early '70's when backyard incinerators were part of everyones (at least here in Australia) childhood. Meant for burning leaves and so on but back in that innocent time well before hazardous information websites so much other stuff got thrown in - plastics, aerosol cans, paint tins.... and we kids would sit around it , especially when weird plastics and aerosols got thrown in because the flames would be amazing colours Also, the guy flying the crop duster plane dusting the crops across the road from our school would apparently find it hilarious if we were out playing sport when his crop dusting run was scheduled because he'd open the taps right on top of us, and we'd wonder, as we were standing around on the softball field, where the funny tasting rain was coming from. If I now come down with a weird tumour, I won't have any idea who to sue! Edited September 18, 2016 by monkeysarefun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JCL Posted November 10, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 10, 2016 (edited) I've put this on my Wainfleet thread, but I thought I'd do a quick update here as I've finally got something to show. As a test for going on to design and cut a 6 wheel carriage I've had a go at a GNR fruit van. The main body is something called butterboard - 1mm thick card, the roof is cereal packet card, and I've done some metal "strapping" by cutting a label. The whole lot is put together using slots and tabs which make it very square and strong. There are a few more photos on my Wainfleet thread in my signature. I have to say that I'm still very impressed with the Emblaser. Oh, and I've been in the UK recently and managed to pick up some 1mm and 1.5mm MDF from 4D Models in Londin - which is exciting. I'll be sure to cut it outside though. Sorry, I meant to add this list of settings I've put together that work for me. It's an update of the one I did on page 15(ish). Butterboard is called something different in the UK, but it's basically 1mm card used by architects to build models. Peterborough is a brand of matt card. card types mm inches x2 cut score67lb 0.222 0.009 0.444 20 80 1110lb 0.261 0.010 0.522 20 80 1red folder 0.298 0.012 0.597 20 80 1$store black 0.368 0.014 0.735 10 50 1 20 80 1branflake packets 0.620 0.024 1.240 15 100 1 20 80 1Michaels craft mdf 1.000 0.039 2.000 5 100 3 10 100 1butterboard 1.090 0.043 2.180 10 90 2 20 80 1Peterborough mat card 1.500 0.059 3.000 10 90 5 20 80 1Basswood 1.580 0.062 10 90 2 20 80 1Basswood 2.500 0.098 10 90 5 20 80 1Basswood 3.175 0.125 10 100 7 20 80 1label only 10 50 1 label and backing 10 90 1 Hope it helps someone. update: hmm, this site doesn't do formatting very well... Edited November 10, 2016 by JCL 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted November 10, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 10, 2016 nice work sir Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Not railway related at all, but I also use mine for work. I (amongst other things) design strange things for Theatre - for orchestra pit lifts, flying systems, auditoria..... The RSC need seats that instantly disappear down into the auditorium floor, and I've designed 'boxes' to achieve this. Here are two of the types - just the bare boxes - not the lift mechanisms themselves...... They are in reality fabricated from 8mm laser cut steel, and making a 1:10 model in acrylic is brilliant for first testing that all the components fit as they should, and secondly for communication with the Client and manufacturer. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted November 12, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 12, 2016 making a 1:10 model in acrylic please tell me more about the acrylic, its thickness, colour where did you get it and what the cuttings settings are thanks Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted November 12, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 12, 2016 Not railway related at all, but I also use mine for work. I (amongst other things) design strange things for Theatre - for orchestra pit lifts, flying systems, auditoria..... The RSC need seats that instantly disappear down into the auditorium floor, and I've designed 'boxes' to achieve this. Here are two of the types - just the bare boxes - not the lift mechanisms themselves...... They are in reality fabricated from 8mm laser cut steel, and making a 1:10 model in acrylic is brilliant for first testing that all the components fit as they should, and secondly for communication with the Client and manufacturer. Love it. But I thought it was a carriage for a Roller Coaster! Kev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Nick, There are lots of suppliers, but if you want a small bit to try out, it might be worth visiting your local Wickes/B&Q and asking for a broken or chipped sheet. They seem to stock 1.2mm for cold frame/shed/greenhouse glazing, but it's available in an astonishing variety of thicknesses and colours, as it's a staple for the signwriting trade. You could always try the local signwriter's for offcuts too. It does seem difficult to get very thin stuff, but I believe it is available from specialists. It cuts like a dream on the CO2 laser - looks like Giles has found the settings for the Emblaser too! Best Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 I didn't mean to confuse! This is Trotec (like Rowmark) which is acrylic based, not clear acrylic sheet...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted November 12, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 12, 2016 I didn't mean to confuse! This is Trotec (like Rowmark) which is acrylic based, not clear acrylic sheet...! thanks although I have yet to manage to source Trotec Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Trotec comes from Trotec in Sunderland (I think) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveNCB7754 Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 thanks although I have yet to manage to source Trotec Nick Web searches seem to bring up on-line suppliers for etch/cutting machines and associatedsupplies, so sales of this material is probably only to trade. This material; TroLase ADA Signage ...looks like it might be the stuff, try a search on that to see what I mean. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Web searches seem to bring up on-line suppliers for etch/cutting machines and associatedsupplies, so sales of this material is probably only to trade. This material; TroLase ADA Signage As you have found this is the supplier for Trotec, https://www.engraving-supplies.co.uk/laser-materials.html . They will sell to individuals as they sold me some sheets, although you will need to create an account to order stuff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium nick_bastable Posted November 12, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 12, 2016 As you have found this is the supplier for Trotec, https://www.engraving-supplies.co.uk/laser-materials.html . They will sell to individuals as they sold me some sheets, although you will need to create an account to order stuff. which one did you use from the range offered think thats when I gave up looking in the past as looks like a test sheet is going to be huge and expensive Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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