old cds

[David Lampitok]

Does anyone know if I can cut old CDs ?

[Joe Pelonio]

They engrave and cut beautifully, and in fact I got one to still work after engraving but that's a delicate operation.

[Karen Thompson]

They engrave and cut beautifully, and in fact I got one to still work after engraving but that's a delicate operation.

Hi Joe,

Eerily, I was wondering about this same subject this morning:eek:.
Can you advise what settings you would use for engraving and cutting?

Thanks
Karen

[Dave Johnson29]

They engrave and cut beautifully, and in fact I got one to still work after engraving but that's a delicate operation.

Joe, you have been here long enough to know if there is no pic it didn't happen! :D:D

Engraving a DVD may be a lot easier as it has a clear disk on top of the activating layer.

[David Lampitok]

Very Cool Joe. I would rather make something from them than toss into a landfill, Dont know exactly what yet but I have the material! Something pertaining to music fer sure. What about old records? I know they are vinyl but is it the PVC kind? Thanks

[Bill Cunningham]

You can stick a dollar store clock movement into the center, and bingo you have a nice shiny round clock.. You can do the same with old records, (those funny big CD'd with all the grooves in them):D

[Joe Pelonio]

Sorry I have no pics, but I did it for fun not to market a new product. I started with the settings normally used for Rowmark Plastic (1/16") and it worked.

I wouldn't try phono records, vinyl may not be real vinyl but then again it might and no way you'll find any MSDS on them!

[David Lampitok]

Joe,Here is some info on records, Unfortunately they are pvc, Wah

<http://www.savemyrecords.com/material/>

[Dan Hintz]

I would rather make something from them than toss into a landfill, Dont know exactly what yet but I have the material! Something pertaining to music fer sure.
What about musical notes, like these?

http://www.phuncity.com/images/MusicalNotes.JPG

[Stuart Orrell]

I was thinking of cuting some cd's to make various objects but I read somewhere that CD's are made from Polycarbonate.

From my experience (not with cd's) polycarb is a really messy material to cut, giving off a brown edge and messes up the machine bed.

I only engraved once, when I had a couple of spare minutes and didn't experiment with the settings, so I'm not sure how well it engraves.

[Dolan Brown]

They made nice reflectors to hang in the vegetable garden to scare off deer, etc.:D

[Dianne Mitchell]

Does anyone have a definitive answer to whether you can engrave/cut old CDs. I am new to the laser (have an Epilog Mini 30 watt) and tons of defective CDs. If I could just get a starting point for experimenting, I would really appreciate it. Thanks

[Dan Hintz]

Cutting isn't an issue, but engraving can be if you intend to still use the CD for its intended purpose. A very light touch is required if you still want the data to be readable.

[Gary Hair]

Cutting isn't an issue, but engraving can be if you intend to still use the CD for its intended purpose. A very light touch is required if you still want the data to be readable.

I don't know how light of a touch you used, but I couldn't get a visible image AND a usable cd - what's your secret Dan?

Gary

[Doug Griffith]

One thing to note about CDs. They are not all created equal. Commercial CDs have the data injected molded into them during manufacturing (believe it or not). CDRs and CDRWs have special coatings and layers that allow them to be burned after manufacture. The later seem to be more susceptible to damage and may not hold up as well to lasering.

[Scott Woodson]

I recently called EPILOG tech support to ask the same question about cutting CD's and the tech advised me not to do it. Not sure why, just ended the conversation at that. According to this thread some of you have done it. Can you post a pic of the result.

Scott

[Dan Hintz]

To add to Doug's... make sure you engrave the correct side ;)

[Richard Rumancik]

Like Scott, I'm a little skeptical that CDs can be laser cut successfully - Joe, Dan, are you sure they can be cut? I don't have my sample box handy but my recollection is that it did not cut well at all for me. They are generally polycarbonate, and PC does not cut without a lot of carbonization. PC generally will not engrave well either. I can't remember trying any marking myself. But I suppose if it is coated and you just affect the coating rather than penetrate the PC surface then maybe you could achieve a contrasting mark. Maybe.

I recall reading about someone marking a LightScribe CD using a co2 laser rather than using a CD burner - but I don't know where I saw that so I can't be sure.

[Lee DeRaud]

I recall reading about someone marking a LightScribe CD using a co2 laser rather than using a CD burner - but I don't know where I saw that so I can't be sure.I played around with that a couple of times, no joy. The main problem is, the coating is designed to be marked by a 5 milliwatt laser: that's 0.02% of the power of my 25W machine. Suffice it to say, if the laser fires at all, it blows right through the coating and the dye, leaving a clear hole...an interesting enough artistic effect, but not terribly conducive to use of the disc for storing bits.