Laser cut vinyl?

[stoneandtle]

Can you attach vinyl to an acrylic substrate and then laser cut it without affecting the vinyl?

 

[John L]

I can't say it cannot be done. But our experiment did not turn out well. Melted the translucent vinyl back away from the edge a little which didnt work for our needs on the particular job.

I'm the router guy here and I was traveling at the time, so we had a local laser guy try it.

Ended up finishing the job with the router when I got back.

 

[astro8]

Yes you can, method varied depending on the vinyl and thickness of the acrylic, power of the laser. Thin acrylic 1/8" - 3/16" can be cut with the vinyl already applied with a 50w laser. 1600w can cut up to 25mm with the vinyl already applied.

Thicker stuff on a 50w (where the laser would slow and do what John L mentions) I mainly cut the acrylic then apply the vinyl right on top of it dry while it's still on on the laser bed. Another fast pass to cut the vinyl.

 

[CanuckSigns]

it can be done but there are a few things you have to do, first off any PVC product (like vinyl) can harm the inner workings of your laser when cutting, I wouldn't reccomend doing any large amount of this.

second, I would mask the vinyl with transfer tape and cut in multiple passes so you don't heat up the vinyl too much.

 

[CES020]

I agree with the above post. It can be done, it works well, it could destroy the inside of your laser if you did a lot of it (cutting vinyl releases chloride gas, I think that's what it is), which is corrosive and deadly.

I also agree that you should mask it with application tape before doing it.

If your laser is under warranty, I wouldn't publicly say you are doing it, as it voids all warranties from most all major laser manufacturers due to the corrosive gas.

I've seen photos of the inside of a laser that cut PVC. It wasn't pretty. Not how I'd like to treat a $20,000 or $30,000 machine, it looked like the inside had been exposed to salt water. Completely rusted and corroded so much it looked like nothing would move.

 

[stoneandtle]

Hmmm. Interesting. Thanks for the comments.

 

[jiarby]

cutting pvc (like sintra, etc..) and cutting vinyl now & then is completely different!

If you are cutting so much vinyl that it messes up your printer then you need to buy a vinyl cutter!

The acrylic smoke will kill your lens alot faster than the thin later of vinyl will.

 

[CES020]

I did say "if you cut a lot of it"

 

[V-ENGRAVE]

It is actually safe to cut polyester based vinyl. Stay away from PVC as mentioned above. It is harmful to you and laser if used frequently.