laser capable of cutting 6mm white depron

[kwinters]

Hello folks - new member to your group.

Has anyone integrated a small laser into a plotter capable of cutting foam?  I design and scratchbuild rc planes constructed of white 6mm thick depron (close cell foam).  Tired of manually cutting it with an Xacto.  I like to build things, so I'm researching an automated way to do this.  If someone has already designed this can someone post a link?  

If not, can you advise what type of small pointer-type laser will emit enough energy to cut through a 6mm piece of white foam?

Thanks in advance.

Kevin

 

[k-shell]

depending on the thickness of the foam you may run into these scenarios:

#1 the beam is collimated and focused to infinity, but you may not have enough power to cut anyting

#2 the beam is focused to a spot twords the center of the foam, this will give you a wedge like bevel

#3 the beam is focused twords the top or bottom of the foam, this will give you an angled edge.

if its white foam then you will have to find a wavelength that the foam absorbes, otherwise it will just be reflected...

 

[k-shell]

also i just tried focusing my 120mw blu-ray (that can burn things) onto a styrofoam cup and it did nothing...

 

[diachi]

You could probably get away with 0.5-1.0W of 808nm IR ( best mW per dollar IMO ), if you want to cut at any sort of speed.

Someone here built a laser engrave from Lego IIRC, I think they used a 200mW IR 808nm diode.

-Adam

 

[ndrew2505]

you dont want a pointer laser anyway. your probably gonna need something like an infra red at a higher wavelength and higher power. dunno if it would melt or cut it b/c i dont work with foam...

these will kind of give you an idea on what to look for. youll still need a power supply and cooling system for them too:

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-CO2-Laser-T...ryZ31470QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-CO2-Laser-T...ryZ31470QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/60W-60Watt-60-W...ryZ42884QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


im thinking about adding at least a couple watt laser to my cnc table whenever i get it built.

 

[Switch]

Yea those are gonna cut it well enough, but I think you're better off with the Xacto knife ;D If it were black foam you could've used a 1-2W 808nm diode. :-/ But white....I would assume 2W of IR wouldn't even touch it.

 

[RA_pierce]

A CO2 laser is a little much. You can probably get away with a couple watts of 808. The only problem you would have is with the absorbency of the foam. If the light is not absorbed into the foam, it won't cut. But 2W should be enough since you are focusing it, and it should cut relatively quickly.
If the beam is focused correctly you shouldn't have much of a problem. A longer focal length would work better.

Since you're only dealing with 6mm of foam, the focal length shouldn't cause much of a problem.

EDIT:

Yea those are gonna cut it well enough, but I think you're better off with the Xacto knife ;D If it were black foam you could've used a 1-2W 808nm diode. :-/ But white....I would assume 2W of IR wouldn't even touch it.

I've burned white plastic with 100mW of focused green. I think 1500-2000mW should be sufficient for 6mm of white foam. Using a fine tip black marker to outline the cut would also help, but if you're gonna outline it you may as well cut it with that exacto knife.

 

[thesk8nmidget]

you are going to need a really strong laser to cut it quicker than an exacto knife

you may be better off doing it the boring way

 

[Switch]

I've burned white plastic with 100mW of focused green. I think 1500-2000mW should be sufficient for 6mm of white foam. Using a fine tip black marker to outline the cut would also help, but if you're gonna outline it you may as well cut it with that exacto knife.

Yea but it's not the same, green burns your skin too, while 1500mW IR might not even sting if your tone is white enough....It could be the same with the foam too. :-/

 

[kwinters]

Hmm...this may be harder than I thought. After surfing the 'net and seeing videos about folks modding their laser pointers, I figured this would be do-able.

Appreciate the commentary - keep it coming.

Kevin

 

[billg519]

I just ran a few of my lasers over some white foam. Please note that my foam isn't depron.

1 watt 808 nm - no effect on foam unless sharpied.
2 watt 808 nm - draws a line on foam surface.
4 watt 960 nm - minor penetration into foam, maybe 1 -3 mm, probably hitting dust on surface of foam.

Maybe instead of a laser head on the foam cutter, some kind of high rpm dremel type motor with a carbide cutting bit and an air hose to blow the dust away.

A CO2 laser, as mentioned, should work. This would be involved and somewhat expensive. A few members here own CO2 lasers, perhaps they can help.

 

[RA_pierce]

Use a jigsaw

 

[Cyparagon]

I would suggest an engraver regularly available on ebay (for <$2000 at times) if you can justify the expenditure. Even if it doesn't save you $2000 of time, you can engrave trinkets for friends as gifts or as a service on the side.

 

[Switch]

1 watt 808 nm - no effect on foam unless sharpied.
2 watt 808 nm - draws a line on foam surface.
4 watt 960 nm - minor penetration into foam, maybe 1 -3 mm, probably hitting dust on surface of foam.

Yea, that's pretty much what I pictured in my mind that would happen.

 

[laserlover]

i'd say your better off using the boring method as a laser setup would cost alot

 

[jimc1128]

My Sky 808nm +1600mW laser can create a flame on the white walls in my apartment.  I will try to cut a white styrofoam cup this weekend and let you know what happens. I hope it doesn't catch on fire . . . .