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| Type | Material | Toxic Gas | Fire/Smoke | Burns/Melts | Damages Equipment | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabric | Felt, Fleece (Wool) | Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | |||||
| Artificial, Acetate, Nylon, Cellophane, Viscose, Rayon, Spandex, etc. | Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | ||||||
| Food | Any | Both | Both | Even cutting approved materials results in the laser cutters being an unsafe environment for food, in addition to the damage that laser cutting food could cause. | |||
| Metal | Any Unlisted | Optics, Motion-Control System | Our C02 laser cutters can etch certain coated metals; they cannot cut metal. | ||||
| Plastic/Polymer | ABS (Stratasys 3D Prints) | Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | Fire | Both | Cutting Grid, Bed | ||
| Carbon Fiber | Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | Both | Both | ||||
| Epoxy, Resin, Fiberglass, Ecoresin | Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | Both | Both | ||||
| Polycarbonate, Lexan | Chlorine (Cl2) | Both | Both | The window on the laser cutter is made from this due to its resistance against radiation and being laser-cut. The material will melt and turn brown instead of cutting, etching, or engraving. | |||
| Polyethylene (HPDE, PETG), Tyvek, Polyester, Fleece (Artificial) | Formaldehyde (CH2O) | Fire | Both | Cutting Grid, Bed | |||
| Polytetrafluoroethylene (PFTE), Teflon | Carbonyl Fluoride (COF2), Fluoroform(CHF3) | ||||||
| Polyoxymethylene, Delrin | Formaldehyde (CH2O), Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) | ||||||
| Polypropylene | Fire | Both | Cutting Grid, Bed | ||||
| Polyurethane | Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | ||||||
| PVC (polyvinyl chloride), Vinyl, Pleather/Faux Leather, PVB (polyvinyl butyrale), materials containing halogens | Chlorine (Cl2), Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | Optics, Motion-Control System | Please note that the Co-op sells material that looks like acrylic but is made of PVC and styrene. There is an entire shelf of banned materials in the Co-op. | ||||
| Self-adhesive, or material with sticky or glue backing | Optics | Examples include cork tiles, thin wood laminate, acrylic tiles, and paper stickers. | |||||
| Rubber, Elastomer | Carbonyl Fluoride (COF2),, Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) | ||||||
| Styrene, Polystyrene, foamboard, Foam Core, styrofoam, Depron foam, Gator foam | Benzene (C6H6) | Fire | Both | Optics | The main cause of laser cutter fires. Please note that the Co-op sells material that looks like acrylic but is made of PVC and styrene. | Formica, Materials containing formaldehyde | Formaldehyde (CH2O) |
| Wood* | Coniferous, Oily, Exotic | Both | Examples: pine, spruce, teak. Their hardness varies, so they can't be cut consistently. | ||||
| MDF, HDF, Engineered | Formaldehyde (CH2O) | Both | Extreme charring. | ||||
| Adhesive/Resin-Filled | Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) | Both | Optics | Baltic Birch plywood is an example. |
*Some types of wood are approved, but the specific ones listed above are prohibited.
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