I’m trying to cut a AmeriLux 0.220" x 20" x 32" Clear Acrylic Sheet. Can anyone help me with settings? I have a Longer ray5 10w laser.
Thanks in advance.
No, because you cannot cut anything clear with a visible light diode laser. The material must absorb the light, not pass it through or reflect it. You need a CO2 laser or a scroll saw.
There are tricks for marking it, using black card stock paper. Lots of YouTube videos for this are available.
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So here’s the deal: cutting clear acrylic with a 10W diode laser like the Ray5 is honestly kind of a pain. The laser beam is blue, and clear acrylic just laughs at that—it lets the light pass straight through like nothing’s there. It’s not you, it’s just how the material reacts.
But you’ve got a couple options if you really want to make it happen.
First, you need to trick the acrylic into absorbing that blue light. Easiest way? Spray a thin coat of black paint—something cheap like black acrylic or chalkboard paint—on the surface. Just enough to darken it. Let it dry all the way.
Then, flip it over so the painted side is on the bottom and you’re cutting from the top down. Focus your laser right at the surface. That paint layer will absorb the energy and heat up the acrylic underneath.
Start with something like:
- 100% power
- 100–200 mm/min speed
- 15 to 25 passes (yeah… it’s a lot)
- Definitely use air assist if you’ve got it
- Prop it up so there’s airflow underneath—acrylic needs to vent
It’s slow, it’s smoky, and it’s kind of a hack—but it can work. Just keep in mind: diode lasers and clear acrylic are never going to be best friends.
If you’re planning to do a lot of this, you might wanna switch to black acrylic or look into a CO₂ machine later down the road. That’s what acrylic actually wants to be cut with.