Neoprene Cutting Boards

[john passek]

Hello All
Has anyone tried vector cutting a (Neoprene ? ) Cutting board that you can buy just about any where, is it safe , does it cut very good.
The reason I ask is I may have a large order for spacers used on heavy equipment and the customer is making them by hand which takes too long.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks
John

[Rich Harman]

Neoprene cuts pretty well, stinks though. Neoprene is typically a rubber sheet with fabric on one side - like what wetsuits are made of.

Cutting boards are made of something different, like polyethylene, I do not know how well it cuts using a laser.

[John Stevenson]

We make some spacers / brake disks out of plastic, low tech application.
Used to cut then out of some black plastic, not sure what on the router, cut fine.

Tried these on the laser but very messy so tried 4mm ABS and these cut nice but you need good ventilation so we have now swapped over to ABS for this job, saving in material and time.

[Mark Sipes]

Neoprene -- Mouse Pads come to mind........ can't imagine using as a Cutting Board !

[Lee DeRaud]

Are you talking about those thin green "self-healing" cutting mats?
Not neoprene, AFAIK...

[john passek]

I may have used the wrong product name to describe the cutting boards thus the question mark after Neoprene.
They are a cloudy white semi soft plastic approx 3/8" to 1/2" thick, verying widths and lenths.
It is used on butchershop counter tops to keep the knives from dulling on the stainless top.
some Industrial equipment use it between two surfaces that slide on each other to reduce friction and ware.
Thanks for the input.

[Tony Lenkic]

John,

What you are describing now is "Delrin".

[Rich Harman]

It is almost certainly HDPE (high density polyethylene). Delrin (acetyl resin), is not semi-soft nor is it cloudy white but HDPE is and is commonly used for cutting boards.

[Lee DeRaud]

I may have used the wrong product name to describe the cutting boards thus the question mark after Neoprene.
They are a cloudy white semi soft plastic approx 3/8" to 1/2" thick, verying widths and lenths.
It is used on butchershop counter tops to keep the knives from dulling on the stainless top.
some Industrial equipment use it between two surfaces that slide on each other to reduce friction and ware.
Thanks for the input.The countertop/cutting-board stuff is HDPE, the stuff in industrial machinery is UHMWPE which is similar.

[john passek]

Thanks for the info Guys, The word i was trying to think of was TEFLON (not the stuff they use in pots and pans.)

[Lee DeRaud]

Thanks for the info Guys, The word i was trying to think of was TEFLON (not the stuff they use in pots and pans.)That's PTFE: definitely not laser-friendly, and not particularly well suited for cutting boards either.

[john passek]

Hi Lee
The teflon is what is used when you have two surfaces that slide on each other, it reduces ware and friction.
The cutting boards are a different material and are food safe.

[Rich Harman]

Hi Lee
The teflon is what is used when you have two surfaces that slide on each other, it reduces ware and friction...

Teflon is a material that reduces wear and friction. It is not the only material. Many other materials such as UHMWPE or Delrin are also used in that application.

[Lee DeRaud]

Hi Lee...The cutting boards are a different material and are food safe.Yes, I know: I told you that several posts ago.

I think we've answered your original question several times, but it's getting hard to tell for sure. :confused:

[john passek]

Yes I think I have what I need, thanks to all for your help.
Rich, I was not aware of UHMWPE or Delrin, I've never used either but will research them, thanks.

[Michael Hunter]

UHMWPE does not vapourise much in the laser beam - it mainly just melts.
This means that the cut parts tend to glue themselves back into the sheet when the melted stuff cools, so you need very good air assist.

I cut a lot of 1mm thick UHMWPE and that works out reasonably well, but I don't think I would even bother to try anything thicker than 2mm.