[Swansea Hackspace] lasor cutter capabilities,

[Justin Mitchell]

On Tue, 2017-08-01 at 16:14 +0100, Alex Duffield wrote:
> i have two upcoming projects that use 4mm polycarbonate as eye
> projection for airsoft maskes, i have two a4 size sheets so size
> shouldnt be a problem but can the lasor cutter cut through 4mm
> polycarbonate eventually? 

I don't know of anyone that has tried polycarbonate, and the internet
seems a little confused on the issues around it.

from what i can see it will :
a) it will stink & possibly produce coloured smoke, so vent well.
b) it does not cut cleanly with a co2 laser. unless its really thin,
expect discolouration and/or rough edges around the cut.

i would try some small offcuts first to see what results you get, you
should always do this anyway to get power and speed settings right for
your material.

> what format would i need to make the designs in?
technically any format that Inkscape can handle,
but do try to follow our guidelines to save yourself a lot of time and
effort on the day: http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/Equipment/LaserPrep