Call the police. I broke the law!

Finished Creations
1

Don’t try this at home. PVC kills (your machine and possibly you). I was testing something “special”.

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Now that I have your attention. I’ve seen people ask before, how do I know if an UNKNOWN material is safe to use in my laser. I learned of the Beilstein Test and wanted to make sure to share that with everyone. Here is a video of that process. It is very simple:

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And so I made my own to test the process. I had made that lasered PVC years ago. I don’t ever laser PVC now.

I just wanted to share the test with everyone. And hey look: here I’m am doing the test for you with that same piece:

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Of course, health is the most important but hydrochloric acid, which is released by overheating PVC, is also really bad at the machine. I have experience from the plastics industry otherwise I probably won’t take it that seriously.

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The point was just to share the information on the Beilstein Test as a method to help others identify if an unknown material should not be used in their laser.

6

Thanks for the video. Do you know if other colors can be indicators of good or bad for the laser?

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I don’t know if there’s any other indicator that would be needed other than the indication of this green flame color produced by the presence of organic halides:

  • Sodium chloride (NaCl)
  • Potassium chloride (KCl)
  • Potassium iodide (KI)
  • Lithium chloride (LiCl)
  • Copper(II) chloride (CuCl2)
  • Silver chloride (AgCl)
  • Calcium chloride (CaCl2)
  • Chlorine fluoride (ClF)
  • Bromomethane (CH3Br)
  • Iodoform (CHI3)
  • Hydrogen chloride (HCl)

Halogen refers to those elements in the seventeenth column of the periodic table, fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At). Halogenated refers to a chemical compound or mixture that contains halogen atoms. And finally, halide refers to the monoanionic (one negative charge) form of a halogen atom, specifically, fluoride (F-), chloride (Cl-), bromide (Br-) and iodide (I-).

Avoid the following Fluoropolymers and Chloropolymers:

  • PVC
  • Neoprene
  • Chlorinated Rubber
  • Chlorinated Polyethylene (UV Resistant???)
  • Teflon
  • Tefzel
  • Halar
  • CTFE
  • Tedlar
  • Kynar

In my research i also found that Trotec advises against the following materials:
Materials containing chromium (some leathers and fake leathers)

  • Carbon Fibers
  • PVB
  • Beryllium Oxide
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