Glowforge laser cutter

The glowforge is the laser cutter we use in the crafty fox makerspace. This is more notes than an actual lesson plan, but I figured I'd make my notes available.

You can access the glowforge at https://app.glowforge.com. The glowforge relies on that app in order to do anything, and they can pretty much decide they don't want to keep doing business with us for any reason. Live in constant fear, don't violate the ToS, etc.

Glowforge laser cutter
Materials
- 3mm baltic birch plywood
Material compatibility
- NEVER CUT THESE MATERIALS

Materials

3mm baltic birch plywood

We normally just treat it like "medium basswood plywood". But here are some more specific settings.

Rough cut

power: full, speed: 190,

Material compatibility

Some materials will emit deadly chlorine gas when exposed to the laser cutter. If it's not a material we sell in the store, talk to Alex about material testing. For some materials from a known supplier we can skip testing.

Taken from The atx hackerpace's page on material compatibility and reproduced here. There are a ton other useful hints on that page.

NEVER CUT THESE MATERIALS

WARNING : Because many plastics are dangerous to cut, it is important to know what kind you are planning to use. Make has a How-To for identifying unknown plastics with a simple process.

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.

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.

Outside Context Solutions

Glowforge laser cutter

Materials

3mm baltic birch plywood

Material compatibility

NEVER CUT THESE MATERIALS