Advice and experiences please.

Lasers
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1

Advice and experiences please. Do you cut acrylic with or without the surface protection it comes with?

2

I cut without and no air assist. I presume the plastic protection would melt and catch light.

3

I also cut without the protective layer.

4

Some acrylic comes with a paper cover - I leave that on for cuts to prevent flashback burning. If I’m engraving, I take it off the top and clean up any smoke residue with denatured alcohol after it’s done - faster than weeding. If it’s a plastic coating I take it off.

5

@Jim_Hatch Where do you get your acrylic - what kind do you buy and what thickness works well?

6

@Joel_Brondos I tend to get my standard colors from Amazon. Usually use 3mm or 6mm (1/8" or 1/4"). Also get standoffs there too. It’s cast acrylic which I find lasers better than extruded. You can actually find a variety of thicknesses if your project requires it - I sometimes use thinner (.118") for the “glass” in lanterns & tea lights. For exotic styles or colors - two-color or golds/metalluces, etc I go with Inventables, Johnson Plastics or Rowmark.