It is possible to cut, but does not have a good effect, in my experience. If you plan on cutting 10mm and thicker, you should get at least an 80 watt laser in your new laser machine. I find that the CO2 glass tube lasers are not as powerful (in a watt to watt comparison) as the RF (Radio Frequency) lasers, otherwise known as metal tube lasers. A rough estimation, from selling and operating both RF and glass tube lasers, is about a 20%+ difference. In other words, an 80 watt glass tube is roughly the same as a 60 watt metal tube.
There are problems created when using an underpowered laser to cut thick materials. One problem is that the material is heated much more during the slow cutting process, as compared to a higher power laser that cuts faster. As a result, several things can happen. The cut quality is reduced. The material absorbs a great amount of heat and this causes internal stresses that can play out over time. For example, in three months that laser cut piece may be warped.
I find that the majority of buyers for the CO2 laser engraving and cutting machines are primarily working with quarter inch and less acrylic, though often times I get asked about much thicker materials but after some questioning, the buyer has not used the thicker materials but may want to use them in the future.
If you plan on cutting a lot of acrylic thicker than a quarter inch then you need to consider flame-up. It is a serious concern and happens often with the thicker materials. When you cut acrylic it puts out a combustible gas that can create mini-explosions on your laser cutting table. You need to have very good air flow above and below the material while cutting. I had a sign customer complain about the popping explosions and the acrylic kept jumping during cutting, then as soon as it moved, it was then out of alignment so some of his lettering was ruined. We use an undercarriage pipe on a larger plastic cutting laser machines. For the smaller ones, we compensate with the blowers.
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