Help with laser

[Milos Markovic]

Hi everyone. I looked a lot over Internet and it seems like every time I end up here :) Writing here for the first time since I need help.
I work with Laser IV category that is used in process of personalization of ID cards. What I am interested in is do anyone of you know
that happens when polycarbonate is burned by laser. Fumes? Carcinogenic particles? Any help would be more than welcomed.

[Dan Hintz]

The fumes should be filtered if you're putting them back into the breathable space. This is valid advice for all organic materials.

[Michael Hunter]

It is a really good practice to get hold of the MSDS for each new material that you work with. A simple google will find almost any that you need.

For "simple" plastics (acrylic etc.) a generic one will do as the product from different manufacturers is very similar if not identical.
For more complex materials - e.g. rubber - you need the MSDS for the specific make that you are working with. "Neoprene" for example is the trade name for a particular formulation, but the name has been usurped to include many different types of soft and foamed rubber, some of which have a very different composition to the proper stuff.


Here is the appropriate extract for Bayer polycarbonate (you really don't want to breath this stuff) :


HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION:Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, bisphenol A, diphenyl carbonate, phenol and phenol derivatives.
Traces of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes and acids.