Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What material can a laser process?
These materials include:
- Acrylic
- Acrylonittrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
- Aluminum
- Brass
- Brick
- Cardboard
- Ceramic
- Chromium
- Copper
- Cork
- Fabric
- Foam (PVBC free)
- Food
- Glass
- Leather
- Mirror
- Paper
- Polyamide (PA)
- Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- Polyester (PES)
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- Polymide (PI)
- Polyoxymethylene (POM)
- Polyphenyiene sulfide (PPS)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polystyrene (PUR)
- Rubber
- Stainless Steel
- Stone
- Titanium
- Wood
What materials are unsafe to cut or engrave with a laser?
Processing these materials creates dangerous gases or dust. These materials include:
- Leather and artificial leather that contains chromium (VI)
- Carbon fibers (Carbon)
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Polyvinyl butyrale (PVB)
- Polytetrafluoroethylenes (PTFE /Teflon)
- Beryllium oxide
- Any materials containing halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine), epoxy or phenolic resins
- Materials containing Hydrogen Chloride and Vinyl Chloride
What type of photographs are best for engraving?
- The quality of the photograph greatly impacts the quality of the engraving.
- While most photos are suitable for engraving, some are not.
- Images that do not typically yield favorable results are those that are faded, have low detail, or have shadowing.
- Higher detail and better contrast yield the best results.
- The primary image formats accepted include: PSD, PDF, AI, JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, & TIF.