Andrew Pomeroy
05-02-2011, 1:58 AM
Hey guys,
My university has several laser cutting machines that I've had the pleasure of experimenting with for the past year and a half, during which time I've tried a lot of crazy things. People using the equipment, are, of course, expected to be very mindful of the materials that they engrave or cut into.
I've taken a particular liking to acrylic as a medium, often with which I'll combine epoxy resin after it's been cut to great effect. What I'm thinking of doing in this case, though, would involve bonding two pieces of acrylic with epoxy resin and then cutting through both pieces at once. I'm wondering if the small amount of epoxy resin that would be cut through would cause any problems in terms of emissions, or whether it would cut cleanly similar to the acrylic.
To elaborate: I'd like to sandwich two differently-colored sheets of 1/8" thick acrylic together, with epoxy resin as the adhesive, so as to create a 1/4" thick sheet of a different color on each side. Cutting shapes out of this composite sheet, then, would produce a pretty cool effect on the edges in particular, I imagine. If resin were to not be an option, I would most likely opt for the water-thin acrylic solvent adhesive method, though it is much more difficult to get a clean-looking bond, especially over such a large surface area, when working with transparent acrylics.
If you guys could advise me on any of this I'd love to hear what you have to say. Thanks,
-Andrew
My university has several laser cutting machines that I've had the pleasure of experimenting with for the past year and a half, during which time I've tried a lot of crazy things. People using the equipment, are, of course, expected to be very mindful of the materials that they engrave or cut into.
I've taken a particular liking to acrylic as a medium, often with which I'll combine epoxy resin after it's been cut to great effect. What I'm thinking of doing in this case, though, would involve bonding two pieces of acrylic with epoxy resin and then cutting through both pieces at once. I'm wondering if the small amount of epoxy resin that would be cut through would cause any problems in terms of emissions, or whether it would cut cleanly similar to the acrylic.
To elaborate: I'd like to sandwich two differently-colored sheets of 1/8" thick acrylic together, with epoxy resin as the adhesive, so as to create a 1/4" thick sheet of a different color on each side. Cutting shapes out of this composite sheet, then, would produce a pretty cool effect on the edges in particular, I imagine. If resin were to not be an option, I would most likely opt for the water-thin acrylic solvent adhesive method, though it is much more difficult to get a clean-looking bond, especially over such a large surface area, when working with transparent acrylics.
If you guys could advise me on any of this I'd love to hear what you have to say. Thanks,
-Andrew