Decided to try some MDF on the 130w laser.
The MDF I bought is 3mm brown color, as I expected. ( or should I )
I see alot of folks on youtube using MDF, and wanted to try,.
Found that it takes a bit more to cut than say baltic birch, but was able to find the right cut settings.
What I had not seen mentioned is the fact that cutting MDF is a charring experience.
I was amazed at the burnt edges and the crap that kept wiping off…
Is this the fact I have some low grade MDF, or is it typical…
And forget about deep engraving, what a mess…
I have obviously walked done a rocky, road… anyone care to explain why I am getting these results or if thus is typical with MDF.
PS I cut about 50 pieces diff speeds, power and passes, none produced a clean cut free of charring… so for now MDF looks like a bust…
Unless…
I am curious: You say brown color, does that mean a dark brown almost like chocolate color? If so it is probably “hard board”. Totally nasty stuff.
Obviously MDF is brown but not necessarily dark. It comes in many different hardness although unless specified it may only be the advertised hardness in about 1mm from surface. More expensive and higher quality MDF will be hard further into the sheet of goods.
Soft MDF smokes a lot but is easier to cut/engrave. Hard surface MDF needs more power but tends to leave less char. Also: Experimenting with different speed and power settings is a boon to working with any natural material.
Is is chocolate color but not like darkbrown board sorry did not know MDF had varying colors other than the light brownish I’ve used as peg board over the years that get that ole familiar gray paint to hang tools up…
But I think I must have the nasty stuff…
Hate to give up on MDF after a first try…
They bleached out in the sun, so the next batch got painted. After those disintegrated during a year outdoors, the current batch is orange acrylic. I knew MDF wasn’t rated for The Great Outdoors, so they served as good practice.
It’s all from a big box of MDF cutoffs described as “perfect for laser cutting” and, by golly, they are!
Yea Ed… I’ve seem some good results on youtube from the users, and after a few hours of cutting and speed and power changes I got the same results…
Charred edges , and is the BLACK soot stuff… finger rubbing is pitch black.
So these sheets need to be used for something other than laser cutting…
oh well … Caveat Emptor !
thanks guys
I also have a small comment on this topic/material. I use MDF and HDF a lot for many different products and I love its conformity. Fast and uniform processing with almost no post-processing and the material is cheap.
I cut 3mm MDF with approx. 20-25mm/s and with 35-40% power, depending on whether it is the dark or light MDF. (60 Watt OMT)
My last experiment is with black solid-colored MDF, very fascinating, it almost looks like plastic or horn.
Sorry for the delay, I’m on a short vacation.
As standard I use 3, 5 and 6mm MDF, which is smooth/sealed on both sides and can be purchased at some DIY stores here in Denmark. It is standard material used for example back walls of cabinets or intermediate layers in floors and ceiling/wall coverings… If I can find it I prefer to choose HDF, it is especially suitable for mechanical parts such as gears or finger joints of boxes.
I have a dealer of laser material, (lasersupply.dk) who specializes in wood and plastic for us laser people. Here I buy my material because it is cut to my laser size, at the same price as I pay for the very large boards from the DIY stores, which I otherwise cut myself to fit. ($3.2 for 600x400)
I am sure it must be HDF… check it this morning… it is hard as hell … oh well…
nasty Stuff for sure…
just a quick peek at the I have
My drity finger is AFTER I wiped the pieces with a paper towel.
And when cutting, you can see the bright laser beam cutting , or trying…
as when it hits the honeycomb… Not a problem I have a friend that can make use
of this stuff, probably good for saw cutting…
Well this was fun…Can’t wait until I grow up and understand all the good laser stuff !
Decided to try some MDF on the 130w laser.
