The falcon 22w machine with diode laser can cut 3mm HIPS sheet? (not foam)
https://www.polymershapes.com/product/high-impact-polystyrene-hips/
I searched the entire forum but only found references to polystyrene foam , not the high impact sheets.
Thank you!
Gibran
You’re right, there isn’t much out there about this form of polystyrene… I did find this site for commercial use of regular polystyrene with a laser and they recommend a 10.6um laser frequency…
There is also a quick (< 1 minute) video on youtube with a co2 laser
Don’t know how it will react to a visible light laser… they claim not too well as it doesn’t absorb it…
Have you tried it?
Let us know about your use of HIPS polystyrene… got my curiosity up…
Good luck…
Hi Jack
Thank you for you reply. This is my first week on my own laser journey.
I had some 3mm HIPS cut by a local service with CO2.
A little bit melted around the edges . But without the refinement to get a better cut if that were possible.
The person who cut it also said:
" it gives off a lot of smoke and it was toxic and could corrode metal parts over time."
To tell the truth, the workforce here is not very well informed and ends up passing on information that they do not know if it is true. Rumors go far.
And here my search begins. That’s why I decided to open this thread on the forum.
I’m waiting for the honey comb to arrive to carry out the first tests.
I don’t want to cut a soft melting material on a flat sheet of metal.
I’ll update the results here.
If you are trying to cut clear polystyrene with a visible light diode laser I doubt you can achieve it with that material thickness.
I realised that you can engrave masking the polystyrene sheet. I choose tempera paint for that because is realy easy to clean.
I leave you the link in case you are interested.
Hi
I just did a test cut.
used a thin piece of wood that came with the machine and placed the 3mm black HIPS on top.
Follow the result.
The negatives burned the back of the pieces
The positive was better cut, clean and didn’t melt the material behind.
The others did not come off the piece
Another time I will carry out another test narrowing the speed and power margins around 32.5% of power and 100 mm/m of speed
A little smoke comes out when cutting with a plastic smell. But nothing a good ventilation can’t fix.
Hi Kuth
Thanks for the link.
I´m trying to cut a black HIPS.
This is a very poor cut… It should be clean, so his speeds/feeds are not correct. HIPS seems to cut very well with a co2… as can be seen in the video… The hole isn’t even round…?
I tossed out my honeycomb bed within a week of the machines arrival… coughed up about $12 for a sheet of rolled steel… That is my bed now… I have alignment holes in it for my jigs…
If I need to cut something, I have 5mm magnets I place under the material to lift it up so the debris can flow towards the rear and out the ventilation… I have the front of the machine cracked about an inch for air flow…
Honeycomb is difficult to clean without immersing it in a solvent… I can wipe down the steel sheet relatively quickly… Also where the debris sticks is inside the honeycomb… that’s where fires start…
Good luck
Hi guys.
Sorry for the delay.
I was waiting for the honeycomb, and I really liked the final cut.
Material : 3mm HIPS (PSAI in my country)
A little bit of fume , nothing to worry about.
Just apply some ventilation in the room.
I had to retouch the image, brightness, contrast, sharpness to make it more readable.
I hope I have contributed something.
It really doesn’t work like you think it works…
It seems like the ventilation would be good but it’s not… not to mention all fires I’ve heard of go back to the honeycomb bed.
I know you’re is a dpssl laser, but the same idea applies, as to the material also.
Here is a 3 minute video acrylic cutting with a honeycomb bed…
Here is a more detailed video… if you’re interested. You can see it from the top in this video if you to about 2:30 into the video, it’s pretty clear how bad honeycomb really is… The whole thing is actually a good video…
Hi JK
I will watch the videos.
thank you for sharing.
Did it help you at all?
I removed the honeycomb within a day and the steel place cut me a replacement rolled steel plate that is now the bottom of my machine… It has holes in it for alignment jigs…
When I cut, it condenses on the metal plate and the airflow goes out the back… I can use a little solvent and wipe it clean… not so with the honeycomb. It was also aluminum, so magnets were no help.
YES !!!
Very useful info.
I will do more tests with honeycomb and just the metal sheet that came with it (40x40cm).
Thank you.
With these, you kind of have to do what works for you… it’s nice when someone shows you a better way…
Good luck
many thanks!
Hi, Gibran.
I am also planning to cut a 3mm black HIPS (PSAI).
I have a Creality Falcon 2 22W laser machine, but searching on internet I read that Polystyrene is a very flammable material. So I’m afraid of putting fire on. I don’t know if the rigid PS is flammable too or only the foam type. Have you experienced any firing problems?
Also, could you tell me from which website are you buying the HIPS? I am looking for some good supplier.
Thank you.
Lasers inherently generate temperatures that are well into the flammable range…
I always suggest people purchase co2 type extinguishers, not the dry type.
Most of these, are precision machines and the electronics should generally remain clean for cooling.
Laying down a powder on this isn’t the best option in case of fire. This would destroy not only the mechanical, but can be very detrimental to the operation of the electronics… This also applies to anything in the surrounding area the get contaminated from it’s use…
I picked up a 5lb for my co2 a couple years back for about $120 US… Smaller machine, smaller size needed…
Hi Renan and JKW
My machine is falcon22 too.
I haven’t made many cuts yet, just small objects.
Definitely no flames yet , just a light smoke
I used to buy on Mercado Livre, I don’t have a fixed supplier.
Looking at the purchases, most were from CLCRIL
I watched the JKW’s videos and I intend to do a test here by raising the screen and filming how the laser behaves after crossing the material.
As soon as i do i will post here.
I’ve been making very precise cuts and depending on the footage, I decide whether to continue or not using HIPS.
Thanks again JKW for the excellent videos and explanations.
In material test, you can lower power or increase the speed the text or label field so it doesn’t cut through. All you really need is a very shallow engraving of the labels…
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
