Choose Materials
Plastic
Clear Acrylic – is available in 0.5, 0.75, 1.5, 2, 3, 4.5, 6, 8 and 10mm. It has a neat, flame-polished edge. There is some taper on cut especially in thicker material.
White & Black Acrylic – is available in 2, 3, 4.5, 6 and 10mm. It has a neat, flame-polished edge. There is some taper on cut especially in thicker material.
Matt black is also available in 2, 3, 4.5 and 6mm, while matt white is only available in 3mm thickness. Both have one matt and one glossy side.
Coloured Acrylic – only available in 3mm thickness. See tab below for colours
Most colours are kept in stock but larger quantities may need to be ordered in (allow for an extra two days).
Modified Acrylic – only available in 0.8 & 1.6mm thickness. Cuts and scores well, and is flexible and strong. We stock white plus red, blue, green and yellow colours, but larger quantities may need to be ordered in (extra two days).
Polypropylene – 0.6mm and 0.8mm Polypropylene is available in translucent and solid colours. Cut edge is satisfactory, and heavy scoring works well, allowing for folding. Mechanical fixing only, as gluing this material is not effective.
Timber
Bamboo Plywood – is available in coffee or natural colour. It cuts nicely, but burnt edges are evident. We suggest requesting use of protective paper
Basswood – Most popular laser-cutting plywood. It cuts nicely with a dark edge. Note: Sheets are only 300mm x 900mm
Birch Plywood – is the highest quality plywood available. It is imported from Finland and sustainably grown and harvested.
It cuts nicely, but burnt edges are evident especially on the 2.5mm.
Hoop Plywood – is a high quality plywood. It is sustainably grown, harvested and produced in Australia. It cuts nicely with a dark edge.
Lauan Plywood – is a mid-quality cheap plywood with one medium quality face and one rough side. Only available in 3.5mm thickness. It cuts nicely, but burnt edges are evident.
Poplar Plywood – is available in 3mm and 6mm. This plywood is cheap and light weight with a good quality front and back face. It cuts very quickly with a dark edge.
Premium Plywoods – these plywoods consist of Jarrah, Sassafras, Walnut, Fijian Cedar and Beech species. They comes in various thicknesses - Please refer to our list of materials to find out which thicknesses are available.
Cork Sheet – is a natural material produced from granulated cork and binder available in 0.8, 2 and 3mm. It has a black edge when cut.
MDF Sheet – is available in 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9 and 12mm. It has a nice clean cut with a brown/black edge. This is highest Australian standard E0 grade
Card
Grey Boxboard – is available in 0.5, 1.0, 1.75, 2.5 and 3.0mm thicknesses.
It cuts nicely with slightly burnt edge.
White Screenboard – is available in 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0mm. Cuts nicely, with slightly discoloured edge.
Black Screenboard – is available in 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0mm. Cuts nicely, with barely noticeable discoloured edge.
Corrugated Box - is available in 4mm thickness only, with two smooth faces
Cuts nicely with a slight burn. Larger sizes are available
Note – to optimise material use and minimise cost, we request that our 750 x 450mm template be used for card cutting instead of our regular size. Please call to discuss if full bed-size cutting is required.
Bring Your Own
You are welcome to supply your own material, but we may need to do a test to ascertain suitability and laser settings. Please supply extra material to allow for re-cuts/cutting errors.
We can also cut (but do not stock) the following materials.
Cloth & Fabrics – of varying thickness. It will generally have good clean edge. Some polyesters may melt slightly. Note that extra labour is generally required prior to cutting to keep material flat, and use of a sacrificial mdf or card backing may also be required. We cannot cut PVC based fabrics.
Leather – with a thickness 0.5-4mm. It will generally have a nice cut with dark or burnt edge depending on thickness. Note that extra labour is generally required prior to cutting to keep material flat, and use of a sacrificial mdf or card backing may also be required. We recommend use of protective paper.
Solid Timber & Veneers – with a thickness less than 5mm. It will usually have a burnt, dark or black edge. Cut quality and cutting cost depends on the timber species and thickness. Engraving into solid timber block is also quite popular.
note – we do not laser cut Styrene, PVC, Foamcore, Blue Foam, Glass, Carbon Fibre and Polycarbonates, due to noxious fumes produced when these materials are cut by the laser beam. Additionally our lasers are not able to cut any form of metal.
Extras
Protective Paper – is available and is recommended for all materials where the appearance of the cut surface is paramount. It will help to prevent flaring and smoke marks. It can also be used to protect card surfaces. When scored with the laser, the paper can be used as a paint mask by peeling up sections to be painted.
Note – acrylic already comes with a protective film. We remove the front layer to avoid burning and melt-marking prior to cutting, but the top surface of acrylic is not particularly affected by flaring.
Double Sided Tape (DST) – is available and can be applied before laser cutting. It is especially useful when laminating layers of material as in a contour model.
Tip – consider how your pieces will be assembled as part of the design process, rather than as an afterthought. Avoid messy glue joins by integrating tabs and slots on your pieces or use double-sided tape rather than liquid adhesives.