I have a request for key rings made from plastic. I am thinking HDPE.
Would this be hazardous cutting with a laser?
Would this be best cut on a CNC? I want to use my laser due to a finer kerf for inlay.
Any other plastics available being a better choice?
Never worked with plastic previously.
Eric
Have fun
I’ve always heard that HDPE is not a good material for laser cutting, with attempts on a CO2 laser tending to be messy, smoky, and melty. (This is from actual humans on old reddit posts, other forums, etc.)
I personally have not tried cutting HDPE on my CO2 laser. I did use an HDPE cutting board as a worktable when I cut my wedding invitations on my Shapeoko using a diode laser. The laser did mark and melt just it a little while cutting the paper, but that may have been at least in part from the paper smoke enhancing the absorption of the diode laser light. I didn’t attempt to directly cut the HDPE, but it didn’t engrave like a wood board would in the same situation. (I think I tried directly lasering the HDPE cutting board, just to see what it would do, with the answer being mostly, “Well, it lights up nicely.”)
I’ve heard some people say ABS can be a decent material, and acrylic is practically made for lasers (assuming you have good fume extraction… and colored acrylic if you’re trying to use a diode laser). Thin EVA foam is dreamy, but not really appropriate for keyrings. 
Note the standard bold-print warning on any lasers-and-plastics thread: NEVER USE A LASER ON ANYTHING WITH HALOGENS!!! (i.e. chlorine, e.g. PVC, bromine compounds, etc.). On the one hand, they’ll eat your machine alive with “marooned at sea” levels of corrosion, and on the other hand, phosgene and friends are not kind to living things.
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