Cutting Carbon Fiber

[Russell Ludwick]

I have not tried it yet, but I was talking to a friend of mine who sometimes does Carbon Fiber composite work. I was wondering if anyone had experience with this or knew if a 30 Watt laser could cut it. What about if it already has cured resin on it? Thanks Creekers

[paul mott]

I have not actually tried carbon fiber but my results with fiberglass pcb material were less than satisfactory, probably due to the epoxy / resin content.
One guy on the zone says he gets good results cutting carbon fiber sheet with a 40Watt (I think it was 2mm thick) but he has not posted any pictures of his finished product.

Paul.

[Dan Hintz]

With a 30W? Not a chance in the hot place! Even on a machine approaching 100W the charring is nasty and you have to run slow. Don't even consider wasting your time as that time spent considering will be wasted, too.

[Scott Challoner]

With a 30W? Not a chance in the hot place! Even on a machine approaching 100W the charring is nasty and you have to run slow. Don't even consider wasting your time as that time spent considering will be wasted, too.
You know he's going to try it anyway.:D
I have cut .062" G10 for a SMT pallet with 30 watts and it's a slow, messy job which isn't really worth the time. I hope they don't ask me to do it again. I can't imagine carbon fiber cutting well at all.