New User and Question about Kydex

[Mark Smith61]

Hello all. I just recently decided to add laser engraving to my existing woodworking business. I read this forum a lot and did a lot of other research and I decided to buy a Hurricane 60 watt laser. I figure if I can make this thing work I may get something bigger later on, but I wanted to stay in the small to medium size area for now. Anyway, I go pick up the laser in a couple of weeks and I'm going to attend the ARA Convention at the same time. So once I get to that stage I may have a lot of questions for the experts on here. Even though I've been reading for a while, I just signed up today and this is my first port.

I do have one question to start with. I have a friend who has a small business making Kydex holsters for law enforcement. (I'm a retired cop myself). I was telling him that I have the laser engraver coming and that we could add engraving to his holsters. He's very interested in the idea, but I did some Google searches and I found where Kydex and lasers may not be a good match. Apparently Kydex has PVC in it and a few sources I found said this could be very bad for the laser as well as putting off toxic gas. I'm not interested in cutting the Kydex, he does all that at his business, I would just want to engrave things on it like badges and names. Is there a way to engrave the Kydex that is safe and won't harm the laser?

[Mike Null]

There is no question that cutting pvc will produce smoke and fumes that can degrade your equipment and you as well. I do engrave pvc from time to time in limited amounts and have encountered no issues but I would not consider a daily routine of cutting pvc. I can't imagine what you are proposing would be a problem.

And welcome to SMC--be sure to register for the drawing for a new Trotec laser engraver.

[Mark Ross]

With a large enough ventilation system the fumes won't linger in the machine.

[Mark Smith61]

I won't be cutting any of it, just engraving logos. And his business is just a one man show so I doubt I would be doing that engraving everyday. So is it safe to assume that engraving won't be as big of an issue as using the laser to cut it?