Lasercutting foam board
- Thread starter Nerd
- Start date
It depends on the type of Laser Cutter you are talking about. If you are talking about a Co2 Laser it is different from the cheap visible light low power Lasers. The Chinese low power Lasers will not cut all the way through. They cut the top paper and melt the foam down about 1mm. This does leave you a nice small line to follow with a Razor!
You will have to convert the plans from .PDF to .DXF and then edit them to setup for cutting!
You will have to convert the plans from .PDF to .DXF and then edit them to setup for cutting!
moebeast
Member
Check out the "Cutting Foam with a Needle" thread for a cheaper, simpler, and in some aspects better way for the home-gamer to CNC cut foam board.
smithhayward
Large Child
My local makerspace has an 80W CO2 laser that I use to cut mine out. Yes, I import the PDF into LibreCAD, clean it up and export to DXF. If I color the lines right then when it gets imported into LaserCut5.3 (the software our laser uses) it will set those paths to separate "layers" then each layer can be set for power and speed. I use it to write on the paper as well as etch the paper for future cuts, and of course the through-cuts. The through cuts should be two-part. The insides and the outsides. Any part that has holes (i.e. servo mount holes, part insert slots, etc.) needs to have the hole cut first and then the outside perimeter should be cut. Otherwise if you try to cut the inside holes after the part's been cut things will 99.9% likely not be lined up right - things shift once cut out entirely.
You can optionally close off the paths that they have on the PDF plans. Out of the box the lines don't connect everywhere which allows the board to stay intact with the parts not falling out. I don't mind collecting the parts from inside the laser cutter, but if you want to cut them and then store/transport them easier you can leave these little connections between the part and the frame.
It all comes down to the laser cutter and the software required.
If there's interest I can try to do a video on how I import the PDF and turn it into a multi-colored DXF for what I do.
You can optionally close off the paths that they have on the PDF plans. Out of the box the lines don't connect everywhere which allows the board to stay intact with the parts not falling out. I don't mind collecting the parts from inside the laser cutter, but if you want to cut them and then store/transport them easier you can leave these little connections between the part and the frame.
It all comes down to the laser cutter and the software required.
If there's interest I can try to do a video on how I import the PDF and turn it into a multi-colored DXF for what I do.
OceanicOpps
New member
Do you have a cheap Chinese cnc laser cutter you have successfully done this with?
blackkrystal73
Member
Laser cutting is really expensive, you need near 40 watts to cut white foam. you can cut dark poster board with 3 watts. there are just many cheaper ways to do it. i use a spindle, but there are many good options out there.
Kevin
Kevin
What Kevin said.
Though Kevin I'm surprised you an only cut dark poster board with a 3w laser. I have a 2.8w and cut white poster board with it all the time. I run it full power at about 100mm/min (IIRC - I don't have my settings on this computer to check...I may have my units mixed up.) The edges do get brown - but that's pretty unavoidable with a laser. And a gentle air assist keeps the brown only on the edges instead of letting the smoke stain around the edges.
Foam board of course is a no go. Craft foam in dark colors cuts like a dream (I use it for battery pads on my multis). Balsa up to about 1/4" cuts great. And I've etched some anodized aluminum (full power, very slow - and depends strongly on how good the anodizing was.)
The laser is a handy tool. I really like it for cutting poster board. For ~$100 (closer to $200 with the nice safety glasses I got to go with it!) it's a little harder to justify than a spindle or needle cutter - but still very handy to have in my arsenal
Though Kevin I'm surprised you an only cut dark poster board with a 3w laser. I have a 2.8w and cut white poster board with it all the time. I run it full power at about 100mm/min (IIRC - I don't have my settings on this computer to check...I may have my units mixed up.) The edges do get brown - but that's pretty unavoidable with a laser. And a gentle air assist keeps the brown only on the edges instead of letting the smoke stain around the edges.
Foam board of course is a no go. Craft foam in dark colors cuts like a dream (I use it for battery pads on my multis). Balsa up to about 1/4" cuts great. And I've etched some anodized aluminum (full power, very slow - and depends strongly on how good the anodizing was.)
The laser is a handy tool. I really like it for cutting poster board. For ~$100 (closer to $200 with the nice safety glasses I got to go with it!) it's a little harder to justify than a spindle or needle cutter - but still very handy to have in my arsenal
Settings?
Hey Smith,
What power, speed and frequency settings are you using with your 80W laser. I too have an 80W laser and want to give this a try.
Cheers,
Todd
Hey Smith,
What power, speed and frequency settings are you using with your 80W laser. I too have an 80W laser and want to give this a try.
Cheers,
Todd
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I am test cutting some Adam's white board right now. 100w laser. Just a few short tests, but I've found that:
-500mm/s at 12% power (about 9W, according to my power chart for my laser) will barely cut through the paper alone (paper removed from foam for this test).
-500mm/s 15% power (about 9.5-10w), I reliably cut through the paper.
-500mm/s, 8% power (around 5w) will leave a light mark on the paper. It seems my laser won't fire below 8% power.
I'm trying to cut through the foam and paper now. I'm test cutting a 1" star. I'm having trouble cutting through the foam on the straights, without melting the foam at the corners.
I wish people would get one of Russ' Doohickeys to calibrate their lasers, and give power readings in Watts. Watts can be spoken universally across all lasers (once you have a calibration chart for yours). The % power number is essentially worthless, though. Not only due to the power of the lasers (40w, 80w, 100w, etc), but due to the wildy inaccurate power supplies/power readings in the lasers.
-500mm/s at 12% power (about 9W, according to my power chart for my laser) will barely cut through the paper alone (paper removed from foam for this test).
-500mm/s 15% power (about 9.5-10w), I reliably cut through the paper.
-500mm/s, 8% power (around 5w) will leave a light mark on the paper. It seems my laser won't fire below 8% power.
I'm trying to cut through the foam and paper now. I'm test cutting a 1" star. I'm having trouble cutting through the foam on the straights, without melting the foam at the corners.
I wish people would get one of Russ' Doohickeys to calibrate their lasers, and give power readings in Watts. Watts can be spoken universally across all lasers (once you have a calibration chart for yours). The % power number is essentially worthless, though. Not only due to the power of the lasers (40w, 80w, 100w, etc), but due to the wildy inaccurate power supplies/power readings in the lasers.
kilroy07
Legendary member
I see you found my other post. I'll copy it here for others. (my laser is 60 watts, and barely fires at the Mark setting (Your Results May Vary.)
If you are using RDWorksV8, here are the settings I use (2 passes for each run, that minimizes the cutback from the foam core.);
FoamCut Speed 80, Power 20
FoamMark Speed 100, Power 12
FoamEtch Speed 100, Power 15
For heavy foamboard (Elmers etc) I use; Speed 60, Power 30
In your CAD program you can assign colors and RDWorks will use those colors to assign the levels and power/speed combinations (import the DXF)
I also suggest having a 500x700mm Box on a color/level that doesn't cut to layout the pieces and when you import there will be no scaling issues.
Cut cuts through the foam
Etch cuts the top layer of paper and mostly through the foam
Mark simply discolors (burns slightly) the top layer of paper.
If you are using RDWorksV8, here are the settings I use (2 passes for each run, that minimizes the cutback from the foam core.);
FoamCut Speed 80, Power 20
FoamMark Speed 100, Power 12
FoamEtch Speed 100, Power 15
For heavy foamboard (Elmers etc) I use; Speed 60, Power 30
In your CAD program you can assign colors and RDWorks will use those colors to assign the levels and power/speed combinations (import the DXF)
I also suggest having a 500x700mm Box on a color/level that doesn't cut to layout the pieces and when you import there will be no scaling issues.
Cut cuts through the foam
Etch cuts the top layer of paper and mostly through the foam
Mark simply discolors (burns slightly) the top layer of paper.
Dead_Donkey
New member
Hi - Thought I would add my experiences of cutting foamboard using a CO2 laser cutter.
Mine is a fairly generic 40w Chinese affair using modified 3d printer brains. I can cut 5mm foamboard at 100% power and 2000mm/m. I score lines at 20% power and 3000mm/m. I do find, however, that I get a fair amount of foam recession on the cut edges, maybe as much as 1mm.
Mine is a fairly generic 40w Chinese affair using modified 3d printer brains. I can cut 5mm foamboard at 100% power and 2000mm/m. I score lines at 20% power and 3000mm/m. I do find, however, that I get a fair amount of foam recession on the cut edges, maybe as much as 1mm.
paulororke
New member
I have a cheap Chinese 15W visible light engraver/cutter and while it won't cut the white foam board with the water proof brown paper from Flight Test (sadness) I found it does cut black board from Staples.
It's not fast, and trial and error and more than a few fires later I find that 2 passes at 150mm/min will cut the paper then U must speed it up to >200mm/min on the foam itself to avoid melting. 3 to 5 passes gets through the black foam to the second lower sheet of paper then it gets problematic. If I run slower than 200mm/min I risk getting large melted areas but even though it cuts the top sheet at that speed the bottom sheet seems more resistant. maybe because of the residual melted foam being a bit too reflective. I'm not sure. I'm still experimenting. Maybe again because of the melted foam on the bottom sheet even cutting it out with an Olfa blade seems to rip the paper and result in a messy finish. The top looks great though.
\
I tweak the downloaded PDF files using the PDF-XChange Editor and use InkScape with the JTech Photonics free plugin.
It's not fast, and trial and error and more than a few fires later I find that 2 passes at 150mm/min will cut the paper then U must speed it up to >200mm/min on the foam itself to avoid melting. 3 to 5 passes gets through the black foam to the second lower sheet of paper then it gets problematic. If I run slower than 200mm/min I risk getting large melted areas but even though it cuts the top sheet at that speed the bottom sheet seems more resistant. maybe because of the residual melted foam being a bit too reflective. I'm not sure. I'm still experimenting. Maybe again because of the melted foam on the bottom sheet even cutting it out with an Olfa blade seems to rip the paper and result in a messy finish. The top looks great though.
\I tweak the downloaded PDF files using the PDF-XChange Editor and use InkScape with the JTech Photonics free plugin.
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kilroy07
Legendary member
I LIKE (Love) what I see on that cutting board!
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