Foam tube cutter

Does anyone know where I can get a 1W red laser module w/ diode and optics to convert the dot into a line?

The purpose of this setup will be to cut 1" diameter foam tubes. If this laser will not be powerful enough to cut the tube, please let me know. I'm just not sure if it will be powerful enough after being spread into a line. Of course it will be at close range, so it should still be focused somewhat.

A line will spread out the power, and if your foam isn't black-colored or something absorptive, it won't burn much. You might want to try something like a blue or violet laser, but a dot.

Still, a better solution would be a heated wire or, hell, a band-saw or something like that. These lasers aren't really that great for burning stuff on an industrial scale. For that kind of laser work you'd want a CO2 laser.

If you make a line instead of a dot, the power will have to be a LOT greater, probably not enough to cut very quickly if at all. You would be better moving the laser in a jig to cut it.

The other problem will be that the focus length will change from one side of the tube to the other, but at high power levels that shouldn't matter too much, I can melt plastic or foam from zero to a metre away with my 1.8W 445nm laser.

1W red would be expensive, you would be better off with 1W of infra red at 808nm or 850nm as these are available relatively cheaply. 1W of 445nm may be better depending on the colour of the tubes and what colour light they will absorb or reflect.

You can get line modules for lasers on ebay but they are acrylic and only for low power stuff.

Don't forget that at that power level you will need eye protection too.

If you are just cutting foam, make a simple foam hot knife with a power-source and some nichrome wire.

Mrcrouse said:

If you are just cutting foam, make a simple foam hot knife with a power-source and some nichrome wire.

Click to expand...

Yeah, aside from novelty, it's not really worth the time to cut foam tubes with a laser.

Agreed. The rest of the world uses hot wire for this sort of thing because it's simple, cheap, and effective. It's also much safer than using a laser.

I actually built a hot wire cutter for foam at work. I've heard that nichrome gets brittle after a while so I used stainless steel lockwire. Attach it to a variable transformer and viola!

Am I the only one who's used jumper cables, a coat hanger, and a '76 El Camino w/ a 660CCA diesel tractor battery to make a hotwire??