===== CNSI Microfluidics Laser Cutting Data =====

====Material====

Always check materials list BEFORE attempting to cut/engrave a material. If unsure contact IW Staff.

__**Allowed Materials**__

Plastics:
  * ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
  * Acrylic (also known as Plexiglas, Lucite, PMMA)
  * Delrin (POM, acetal) — **Must use nitrogen assist when cutting delrin**
  * Kapton tape (Polyimide)
  * Mylar (polyester)
  * Nylon (melts badly)
  * PDMS
  * PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol)
  * Polypropylene (PP) — melts somewhat
  * Styrene
  * Two-tone acrylic — top color different than core material

Foam:
  * Depron foam (often used for RC planes)
  * EPM
  * Gator foam (foam core gets burned and eaten away compared to the top and bottom hard shell)

Other:
  * Cloths (leather, suede, felt, hemp, cotton)
  * Magnetic Sheets
  * Papers
  * Rubbers(neoprene, etc supplier try: ​mcmaster.com​)
  * Woods(MDF, balsa, birch, poplar, red oak, cherry, holly, etc. supplier try: ​midwestproducts.com​)

__Prohibited Material__
  * **Metals**​ (our laser cutters are not powerful enough nor setup to cut through metals and attempting to do so could damage the machine)
    * Metals (cannot be engraved however a certain type of paint/tape which chemically bonds with the metal may be used to mark materials)
  * **Polycarbonate**​ (PC, Lexan) — Lexan creates large amounts of fumes
  * **Teflon**​ (PTFE, Polytetrafluoroethylene) – cutting creates Fluorine gas
  * __**Any material containing chlorine**__
    * **PVC** (Cintra) — contains chlorine
    * **Vinyl** — contains chlorine
  ***HDPE​**: "milk bottle" plastic. It gets gooey, melts and catches on fire.
  ***Epoxy**
  ***Glass​** — you can engrave glass, but trying to cut it will cause cracking or breakage
  ***Fiberglass**
  ***Printed circuit board​** (FR4 and other material types)
  ***Carbon Fiber** 


==== Material Vendors ====


Acrylic sheet, optically clear, from McMaster Carr: part number 8560K239\\
[[ http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/3558/=molz4w]]

==== Cutting Parameters ====
=== Acrylic Sheet ===

Cutting 1/8”, 100% power, 0.4 ipm, 2000 Hz, (Dave Bothman, 5/5/13 - clean cut)\\

Cutting 1/4”, 100% power, 0.15 ipm, 1000 Hz, z offset -.125, (Dave Bothman, 5/5/13 - clean cut)\\

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=== PDMS ===

250um PDMS with mylar backing on back side and removed from front\\

Cutting 42% power, 2.0 1ps, 5000Hz (Peter Mage, 5/9/13 - some flash and soot - recipe needs to be refined)\\

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=== Double Sticky Tape ===
25% power, 3 ips

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Gore Teflon Foam 1/16"
15% power, 0.5% speed, 1000 Hz (DB 7/9/15)

Silicone Rubber sheet, 1/8"
100% power, 0.1% speed, 2000 Hz - use Nitrogen gas (DB 7/9/15)
====Guideline Cutting Recipes====


===Acrylic===

  - 1/8 acrylic

|         ^ Color        ^ Power         ^ Speed  ^ PPI/Hz   ^ Passes  ^Air Assist   ^ Correction  ^ Z-Offset ^
^ Engrave    | Black          | 25        |20  |PPI |-  | on | 0  | 0 |
^ Cut        | Red | 25        |0.4 |Hz  | 1 | on | 10 | 0 |
^ Cut        | Blue          | 100       |0.4 |PPI | 1 | on | 10 | 0 |
   *Recipe from Dave

  -1/10 acrylic

|         ^ Color        ^ Power         ^ Speed  ^ PPI/Hz   ^ Passes  ^Air Assist   ^ Correction  ^ Z-Offset ^
^ Skip   | Black          | -        |-  |- |-  | on | -  | - |
^ Cut        | Red | 2        |0.1 |Hz  | 1 | Hz | 1 | 0 |
^ Cut        | Blue          | 15      |0.5 |Hz | 5 | Gas 1 | 0 | 0 |
   *Recipe from Vincent

====Functional Engraving Recipes====
For users looking to cut acrylic at different depths, these different cut depths were tested at different power settings. Data courtesy of Ph.D. student Sanghun Jee on a Trotec 60W CO2 laser cutter. Thank you Sanghun!

{| style=""
|+ 
!
Engraving Cut Thickness
!
Engraving Settings
|-
|
0 mm
|
0% power, 0% speed
|-
|
0.208 mm
|
50% power, 30% speed
|-
|
0.314 mm
|
60% power, 30% speed
|-
|
0.352 mm
|
70% power, 30% speed
|-
|
0.413 mm
|
80% power, 30% speed
|-
|
0.446 mm
|
90% power, 30% speed
|-
|
0.485 mm
|
100% power, 30% speed
|}

For users who wish to engrave at different depths than those listed above, here is a graph and equation that may help out with making estimations of what laser power to use.

{{functional_acrylic_engraving.jpg?direct&500}}

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Scribing microscope slides for breaking -Dave Bothman - 16 Dec. 2015
  * Recipe: 100% power, 3% speed, 1000 Hz, 1 pass
  * Focus on top of slide
  * Place a paper towel wetted with water on glass in area to be cut
  * Cut through the paper
  * Break on scribed line