Good morning! I’m trying to make 2" circles from 3mm mirrored acrylic sheets. Engraving isn’t a problem but attempting to cut through is causing the acrylic to melt. I have an XTool D1 Pro 20w laser running the latest Lightburn software. I’ve tried adjusting the speed and power as well as the depth of the laser head. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you
If it melts it’s because is absorbing too much heat.
Assuming that you are using opaque acrylic try to speed up a little bit and check your laser are focused.
Thank you. I’ve been playing with the speed and power settings but will make more attempts
Visible light lasers cannot cut acrylic… if they could it, would work on clear acrylic.
It’s an indirect method of cutting where the whatever makes it dark heats up and some of that heat is transferred to the acrylic…
What color is the acrylic part…
Co2 works best on acrylic… I understand you don’t have one, but the right tool for the right job…
You best bet is to vary the speed and power, but it’s still the wrong tool. I can’t think of anything that would help with cutting… Acrylic cuts poorly with any air pressure.
Good luck
Even opaque acrylic? I am curious about this too…
I know that clear acrylic don’t cut with visible light but it happens the same with opaque acrylic?
Much appreciated for your info. Thank you
You are not exciting the acrylic, so you can’t cut it… You’re exciting what ever is not letting visible light through. The less of that in the acrylic the less energy will be absorbed.
To be useful with a laser, the laser frequency must be absorbed by the material… Acrylic is clear, so it passes visible light… if you want to make it darker, you have to add something to darken it… The more absorbent of visible light the more heat will be will created.
Same issue with white materials… it reflects visible light, more difficult to impossible to cut…
Make sense?
Only CAST acrylic I was able to cut when I was using a diode laser was, solid: Black/Red. I have since moved onto a 100watt CO2 and have had no acrylic cutting worries :).
Crystal cle,… or more suitable Acrylic clear!!! 
Thank you!
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