Cutting 1/8" MDF

[Steven Resnick]

I was looking into cutting and engraving into MDF.
Can this be done with a 25 watt laser??
Thanks for the help.
Steven

[Dave Johnson29]

Hi Steven,

I have not tried cutting it but it engraves OK. Leaves a redish brown mark. It does pictures OK, but you will need to seal or mask the surface as smoke damage is plentiful.

[Doug Griffith]

I cut 1/8 MDF all the time on my Mini 45. Approximate settings: 25 speed / 100 power / 500 frequency.

You should be able to do albeit at a slower speed and possibly higher frequency.

[Steve Clarkson]

Where can you get 1/8" MDF? I went to Home Depot and Lowes and the only thing they had was 3/4" MDF......and secondly.....should my 45 watt be able to cut 3/4"?

[Doug Griffith]

You used to be able to find it at Home Depot about 3 years ago in the pre-cut specialty wood area. Then it was in the door skin area. Now it is hard to find. I only get it through industrial suppliers now.

[Lee DeRaud]

You used to be able to find it at Home Depot about 3 years ago in the pre-cut specialty wood area. Then it was in the door skin area. Now it is hard to find. I only get it through industrial suppliers now.HD still has the 1/4" in 24"x48" sheets, but the 1/8" is gone. I get it at Reel Lumber in Anaheim now. 4'x8' sheets only, but they don't charge much to cut it up into pieces that will fit into the car.

What's really annoying is that HD also got rid of the 1/8" 'whiteboard' stock (1/8" MDF with some kind of white coating on one side)...haven't found a second source for that yet.

[Lee DeRaud]

...should my 45 watt be able to cut 3/4"?Um, no. :eek:

[Andrea Weissenseel]

I cut 5mm MDF with my 40W - that cuts great, have not tried thicker one yet

[Garrett Nors]

Um, no. :eek:

You can, you'll just get a LOT of charring and you'll have to do 3-5 passes.

[Rodne Gold]

A 25 watter will struggle with 3mm MDF - lots of charring etc - can be done tho...depends a lot on beam quality and so on...one 25 watter might measure 27 watts and the other 23 ...one might have good beam density and quality and the other not.
LDF is a better bet - will cut real good.

[Lee DeRaud]

You can, you'll just get a LOT of charring and you'll have to do 3-5 passes.I'll take your word for it: "3-5 passes" qualifies as "no" where I come from.

My 25W (nominal rating, the new tube appears to be closer to 30W) does a decent job on 1/4", but that's running about as slow as the driver will let it.

[Michael Hunter]

Even with 60W, any mdf or wood over 6mm thick tends to char badly when cut in a single pass.

The thickest I cut is 9mm birch ply and that gets very bad black edges (the black comes off on my hands and gets everywhere).

[Larry Bratton]

Laserbits has got this stuff. I have cut some of the Durolaser stuff and it is nothing more than MDF with a coating like melamine. It works good with my 40watt.
http://www.laserbits.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=82_352