Can I Laser Cut Hdpe

High speed and high power might give one result low speed and low power another.

Can i laser cut hdpe.

Molten plastic on the surface each side of the cut can be a problem particularly if the air assist blows it around. It also does not engrave well again tends to melt. 1 point 8 years ago. Cutting of polyethylene can be performed with a co.

Hdpe ldpe llpe mdpe and uhmw. From my experience hdpe machines beautifully with cnc but when it comes to laser cutting that s another story. It tends to melt rather than vaporize and has a higher chance of catching on fire and leaving behind melted gooey deposits on the vector cutting grid. Hdpe melts rather than cuts and i needed a lot of air assist to remove the melt then the final cut looked a bit like it had been cut with a plasma torch.

Be interested to hear others results with this. Polyethylene can be processed with a 9 3 or 10 6 micron co 2 laser without an appreciable difference in process quality. Abs does not cut well in a laser cutter. I chalked this up as a failure and decided hdpe and lasers are not good friends.

Laser marking cutting with a co2 laser at least has 2 variables speed and power. Some of the common forms of polyethylene are. Consider masking tape but unless it sticks to the plastic really well then pull it all off again as loose tape encourages fire. Polyethylene does not readily absorb the energy of a 1 06 micron fiber laser.

So if you re not needing to mass produce these you should be able to cut it pretty cleanly maybe some minor melting at the edges. Polyethylene pe is a thermoplastic commonly referred to as a polyolefin. Hdpe mi lk bottle plastic catches fire and melts it melts.