Laser cutter

At FabLab Wageningen we have a laser cutter (BRM90130) with a work surface of 90 by 130 cm. using a 100W CO2 laser. A laser cutter uses a laser beam to cut through a sheet of material. Quite some materials can be cut: paper, wood, plastics (Acrylate, but absolutely no PVC), rubber, leather and some other materials. Our laser cutter can also engrave glass, metal or stone to a limited depth. Cutting completely through metal or stone requires a much stronger laser beam than we currently have. If one needs to cut metal one can make a design and then cut through a prototype in wood or plastic. If the result is satisfactory, the design can be send to a facility that can cut through metal. Wood and plastics can be cut to a depth of more than 10 mm. As the laser beam has a very small diameter. extremely sharp corners can be cut. And as the loss in material from cutting is consequently small, one can make perfect fitting designs. The laser beam is set fixed perpendicular to the surface so cuts are always at a 90-degree angle. For other cuts, one needs a milling machine, but we do have at FabLab Wageningen a small appliance to hold bottle or small cylinders to engrave these.