We have a Boss Laser LS-1630. It is a 105-watt CO2 laser cutter/engraver with a 16" x 30" bed, pass-through slots, and an 8" Z-axis height. We have a Boss Mod, their rotary tool for engraving on curved surfaces (pint glasses, water bottles, rolling pins, etc).
Documentation
- Installation of LightBurn for LS Machines
- BossMod User Manual & Setup for LS & HP Machines
- Operators Manual for LS Series
- LS Series Quick Start Guide
Material Safety
Some materials cannot be used in the laser because they make a mess or are a fire hazard, while others will literally create poisonous gasses that will destroy the machine and the lungs of anyone standing around it.
Just because a material isn't forbidden here, does not mean it is safe to use in the laser! On the flip side, just because a material isn't listed here as laser-safe, doesn't mean it's dangerous. When it doubt, do some research!
NEVER CUT THESE MATERIALS
This list tries to be inclusive, but is by no means exhaustive. As other dangerous materials are brought to our attention, they will be listed here. As always, if you are ever in doubt as to whether a given material can be safely lasered, do some research!
Warning
Because many plastics are dangerous to cut, it is important to know what kind you are planning to use. Makezine has a nifty guide to Identifying Unknown Plastics.
| Material | DANGER! | Cause/Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather | Emits chlorine gas when cut! | Don't ever cut this material as it will ruin the optics, causes the metal of the machine to corrode as chlorine is released and ruins the motion control system. |
| Thick ( >1mm ) Polycarbonate/Lexan | Cuts very poorly, discolors, catches fire | Polycarbonate is often found as flat, sheet material. The window of the laser cutter is made of Polycarbonate because ''polycarbonate strongly absorbs infrared radiation!'' This is the frequency of light the laser cutter uses to cut materials, so it is very ineffective at cutting polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a poor choice for laser cutting. It creates long stringy clouds of soot that float up, ruin the optics and mess up the machine. |
| ABS | Melts / Cyanide | ABS does not cut well in a laser cutter. It tends to melt rather than vaporize, and has a higher chance of catching on fire and leaving behind melted gooey deposits on the vector cutting grid. It also does not engrave well (again, tends to melt). Cutting ABS plastic emits hydrogen cyanide, which is unsafe at any concentration. |
| HDPE/milk bottle plastic | Catches fire and melts | It melts. It gets gooey. It catches fire. Don't use it. |
| PolyStyrene Foam | Catches fire | It catches fire quickly, burns rapidly, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!! |
| PolyPropylene Foam | Catches fire | Like PolyStyrene, it melts, catches fire, and the melted drops continue to burn and turn into rock-hard drips and pebbles. |
| Epoxy | burn / smoke | Epoxy is an aliphatic resin, strongly cross-linked carbon chains. A CO2 laser can't cut it, and the resulting burned mess creates toxic fumes ( like cyanide! ). Items coated in Epoxy, or cast Epoxy resins must not be used in the laser cutter. ( see Fiberglass ) |
| Fiberglass | Emits fumes | It's a mix of two materials that cant' be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes) |
| Coated Carbon Fiber | Emits noxious fumes | A mix of two materials. Thin carbon fiber mat can be cut, with some fraying - but not when coated. |
| Any foodstuff ( such as meat, seaweed 'nori' sheets, cookie dough, bread, tortillas... ) | The laser is not designed to cut food, and people cut things that create poisonous/noxious substances such as wood smoke and acrylic smoke. | If you want to cut foodstuffs, consider sponsoring a food-only laser cutter for the space that is kept as clean as a commercial kitchen would require. |
| Material with Sticky Glue Backing | Coats lens, cracks lens | There are many '''normally''' laserable items such as thin wood laminates that you can purchase that become un-cuttable when the manufacturer adds a layer of peel-off glue on the bottom to attach them to surfaces. Examples include cork tiles, thin wood laminate, acrylic tiles, and paper stickers. Never cut these materials in the laser cutter if they have this backing. The glue will vaporize forming a coating on the lens that will coat it, cloud it, heat it, and then potentially crack the lens. The glue residue is worse than resin, and can't be removed without risking damage to the lens ... requiring a lens replacement. |
Laser-safe materials
Here is a list of materials that are generally recognized as safe for use inside our laser.
| Material | Notes (AKA) |
|---|---|
| Plastics | |
| Acrylic | (Plexiglas, Lucite, PMMA) |
| Delrin | (POM, Acetal) |
| Kapton Tape | (Polyimide) |
| Mylar | (Polyester) |
| Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol | (PETG) |
| Two-Toned Acrylic | Two-layer colored acrylic, top layer is a different color than the base color. Used for signs, plaques, and instrumentation panels. |
| Foams | |
| Depron | Often used for RC planes |
| Ethylene Vinyl Acetate | (EVA) |
| Gator Foam | Hard shell of gator foam does well but, the foam core gets burned and eaten away. |
| Textiles & Others | |
| Cloth | Felt, hemp, cotton |
| Leather/Suede | Must be actual, genuine leather. Faux leathers contain PVC, which is a no go. |
| Paper | Cardstock, cardboard |
| Plywood | Hobby/craft grade preferred. Low-quality or construction-grade plywood contains a lot of glue and doesn't cut well. |
| Rubber | These can only be used if they do not contain chlorine! |
| Teflon | (PTFE, Polytetrafluoroethylene) |
| Woods | MDF, balsam, birch, poplar, red oak, cherry, holly, etc. |
Material Settings
These settings were taken directly from Boss Laser.
Cut Settings
| Material | Power (%) | Speed (mm/s) | Interval (mm) | Thickness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic | 75 | 15 | N/A | 1/4" |
| Balsa Wood | 55 | 25 | N/A | 1/8" |
| Bass Wood | 55 | 25 | N/A | 1/8" |
| Birch Wood | 70 | 15 | N/A | 1/4" |
| Birch Plywood | 75 | 15 | N/A | 1/4" |
| Cardboard | 60 | 15 | N/A | 1/4" |
| Leather | 75 | 12 | N/A | 1/8" |
| Paper | 15 | 20 | N/A | 1/100" |
| Rubber | 75 | 12 | N/A | 1/8" |
| Foam | 55 | 25 | N/A | 1/4" |
Engrave Settings
| Material | Power (%) | Speed (mm/s) | Interval (mm) | Thickness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic | 20 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Anodized Aluminum | 20 | 325 | .065 | Any |
| Balsa Wood | 20 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Bass Wood | 25 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Birch Wood | 25 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Birch Plywood | 25 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Cardboard | 20 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Ceramic | 40 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Glass | 25 | 325 | .065 | Any |
| Granite | 25 | 275 | .065 | Any |
| Leather | 18 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Powder-coated Metal | 20 | 325 | .065 | Any |
| Mirror – Back-side | 20 | 325 | .065 | Any |
| Rowmark | 20 | 350 | .065 | Any |
| Rubber | 20 | 350 | .065 | Any |