Notes:

• ABS has good elasticity and toughness, so it can bend a lot before cracking or breaking, and it will not crack or break easily if dropped or impacted.
• It is easily machined with hand tools.
• Our stocked ABS has a haircell textured front surface, which hides fingerprints and scuffs well. The backside of the material is smooth and glossy, but since it does not come with masking, this surface is prone to scratches and markings. We might be able to special order ABS that with smooth surfaces on both sides on request.
• We can UV print on both the smooth and haircell surfaces, but UV printing does not cover up the haircell texture. We expect most prints will look better on the smooth side and will print there by default unless you specify otherwise.
• ABS smells very bad when laser cut, so you might have to wash or air out the parts out upon receiving them to get rid of the smell.

Notes:

• Acetal, is also know as Polyoxymethylene (POM) or by the brand name Delrin®.
• Acetal is a very rigid, tough, and slippery material that resists new warping and deformation well, but we often receive and cut parts from large sheets with slight warping which can be difficult to flatten.
• It has smooth, glossy surfaces that often have scratches since it does not come with masking.
• The slick surfaces are difficult to adhere to without sanding.
• Acetal and is commonly used to make gears.
• Acetal is the most expensive plastic that we stock.

Notes:

• Acrylic, also known as Plexiglas®, Lucite, and PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), is our favorite material to work with.
• RoHS compliance documentation for colored acrylic sheets are generally unavailable due to constantly changing pigment materials.
• For more in-depth information on acrylic, please see the More information about acrylic section.
• We usually stock larger sheets of common colors (black, white, and clear). Large sheets of other acrylic colors can sometimes be special ordered, but may have expensive freight costs.
• Two-tone acrylics are typically only available up to 24″×48″ (61×122 cm).

Notes:

• HDPE edges melt badly and produce a lot of dust that sticks to the parts when cut.

Notes:

• Kapton is also known as polyimide film.
• Kapton chars badly when cut. Cutting adhesive-backed sheets increases the charring, and also causes the parts to be sticky.

Notes:

• Mylar is also known as polyester film.
• This is the same material used as transparency sheets with overhead projectors.
• We cut stocked Mylar from 40″ (102 cm) wide rolls, so the largest layout we can cut from stocked material 39.5″ × 47.5″ (100 × 121 cm).
• Also available with adhesive backing through suppliers like McMaster-Carr.

Notes:

• Nylon edges melt, smell, and discolor badly when cut.

Notes:

• PETG has good elasticity, so it can bend a lot before cracking or breaking.
• PETG smells very bad when cut, so you might have to wash or air out the parts out upon receiving them to get rid of the smell.
• The edges tend to melt and turn yellow from laser cutting even though sheets come with a film masking on both sides.

Notes:

• PE melts badly when cut.

Notes:

• PP melts somewhat when cut.

Notes:

• Styrene and has good elasticity, so it can bend a lot before cracking or breaking.
• It is easily machined with hand tools.
• Styrene smells very bad when cut, so you might have to wash or air out the parts out upon receiving them to get rid of the smell.
• Its edges melt somewhat when cut.
• Styrene is not as glossy as acrylic.

Notes:

• Teflon melts somewhat when cut.

Notes:

• The 5052 Aluminum we stock is easily weldable and bendable.
• See our general notes about metals.

Notes:

• See our general notes about metals.

Notes:

• See our general notes about metals.

Notes:

• The 1018 steel we stock is also commonly called mild steel, low-carbon steel, or cold-rolled steel.
• 1018 steel is easily weldable, formable, and machinable.
• Some rust might affect the surface of mild steel parts, and they are vulnerable to further rust or corrosion.
• See our general notes about metals.

Through-cutting, vector etching, and raster engraving on mild steel.

Notes:

• See our general notes about metals.

Through-cutting, vector etching, and raster engraving on spring steel.

Notes:

• The 304 stainless steel we stock is strong and weldable.
• Stainless steel parts are resistant to corrosion and rust.
• 304 stainless steel is not magnetic, but there are other types of stainless steel that are.
• See our general notes about metals.

Through-cutting, vector etching, and raster engraving on stainless steel.

Notes:

• Birch plywood is a popular, eco-friendly plywood that is great for laser cutting.
• Stocked 1/8″ and thicker sheets are BB/BB grade.
• Small patches, light mineral streaks, and tight pin knots might affect both surfaces of the wood.
• The thickness of stocked sheets varies significantly.
• See our general notes about woods.

Notes:

• See our general notes about woods.

Notes:

• Cardboard has a slight smell when laser cut.
• Primer is usually unnecessary for UV printing on cardboard since it is porous, though you can still add it to maximize adhesion strength.
• Corrugated cardboard sheets have a fluted center layer that makes bending/folding parts easier when the fold line is parallel to the flute direction. If that is important for your parts, please specify the flute direction in your file.
  • For the cardboard we stock, the flutes are parallel with the 40″ edges.

Notes:

• We can laser cut cardstock and paper, but it is usually more cost-effective to plot/die cut it instead.
• Laser cutting cardstock/paper might leave light burn marks. Darker colors are better at hiding burn marks.

Notes:

• We have successfully laser cut various types of fabrics including acrylic, canvas, cordura, cotton, nylon, polyester, and wool.
• Edges of laser cut fabrics become cauterized (which helps prevent the fabric from fraying), but might have slight discoloration depending on the color.
• Fabric can be sent on a roll to avoid wrinkling.

Notes:

• Synthetic leathers must be vinyl-free.
• All leather (both natural and synthetic) smells very bad when laser cut, so you might have to air the parts out once you receive them.
• Edges of laser cut leather will have noticeable char/soot on them. We ship parts as cut without dusting or cleaning them.