Cutting Styrene

[podbox]

Hi there,

Is Styrene safe for laser cutting? I did some research and Styrene is also known as vinyl benzene, and vinyl is a no no.

If it is safe, how sharp does it cut? i.e. edge quality?

Any help would be great.

Podbox.

[StarLoc Adhesives]

Its quite safe to cut polystyrene ( as much as it is any plastic ) , polystyrene sheet can be tricky to get good edges it can thicken at the cut line

in the plastic names its not the `vinyl` bit to watch out for its the next bit

with PVC , poly vinyl chloride, gives off hydrochloric acid when burnt

[podbox]

Got any recommendations of a safe acrylic type material to cut thats between 1- 2mm thick that doesn't thicken at the edges when cut?

I've tested styrene and as you say it thickens at the edges.
I've tested ABS and it started to flame so got quickly thrown out!!!!!

Any thoughts?

[PhillyDee]

HDPE gets thicker at the edges as well, so you can cross that one off. Also known as plasticard!

[podbox]

Cheers man, much appreciated.....

[podbox]

Just thought id post some pic showing what happens when you cut styrene.

Results -
edge quality - poor.
fumes - probably deadly.

Conclusion -
dont waste your time... it'll kill your machine... and you... the spiders web does look cool tho

now onto ABS......

[StarLoc Adhesives]

I cut a lot of polystyrene sheet vac form sheets in .8mm and 1.5mm , i use fairly high power and very high speed to cut hips , and cut 2 layers to go through and get almost perfect edge, if you turn air assist right up it helps to stop it thickening , it is tricky to set up but it can be done

[Matrix]

We've been OK with both HIPS and even ABS (though you need to be very confident in your extraction, the fumes are most definitely not benign) - the edge expansion is a little annoying, and we have had "dodgy" supplies of all of these at one time or another that either would not cut, or gave off "suspicious" smells.

I also think that something very important is missing from the thread so far...
"Styrene", "ABS" etc. are very generic names for "families" of plastics - it is very rare that they describe exactly what you are getting, and many plastics suppliers seem to go very quiet all of a sudden if you ask for proper safety documentation. You do remember to ask for those, don't you? - you are legally obliged to hold this information if you are trading your products or have a duty of care to employees/students etc.! Ignorance is no defence if you are caught selling products containing anything "dodgy", or an employee gets ill and decides to sue for negligence. If your supplier cannot tell you precisely what you are getting, ask them why not, and consider going somewhere else.

All of these plastics are available with flame retardants, reinforcing fibres, dye batches, and any number of other additives designed to adjust their physical properties. So it is very difficult to generalise that "ABS"/"HIPS" etc. fit into simple "safe"/"not safe" categories, it just isn't that black-and-white. There is an element of risk attached to all of these materials - the important thing is to assess that risk and then manage it (and you may be required by law to show that you did so).

Safe lasering,
Steve.