Has any had success with cutting dollar Tree foam board with a 5.5 w lasor with air assists. I can cut tge first layer of paper. I can also write on it
Do you know if that material is laser safe? A lot of plastics emit toxic or caustic fumes when burned.
If this is the typical foam board with white foam I’ve tried this and found it practically impossible.
The white foam scattered the beam and made a mess of the whole thing.
David,
Diode lasers (445nm) can’t handle the white foam… wrong wavelength, as @berainlb has offered up. CO2 lasers can cut acceptably, but with some degree of foam melting or undercutting between the paper layers… FliteTest RC plane speed-build kits are produced this way.
If you’re “handy” and into DIY, an inexpensive (< $25 or so) needle cutter can be built for cutting foam sheets, using parts that you probably already have on hand, that will produce clean and accurate cuts with little or no debris… and can be attached to most any 3-axis CNC. Jump to the 22 minute mark in the video to see a typical needle cutter in action…
CNC Needle Cutter for Depron Foam Board RC Airplanes
If interested I can point you to lengthy threads that will provide much more information.
– David
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