More New Materials?

[Joe Pelonio]

Some of you may have already seen this stuff, but my local Tap Plastics now has 1/8" acrylic that looks like carbon fiber and also diamond plate. It cuts beautifully at the normal settings, I put transfer tape on the back side and cut it in reverse. A customer ordered a logo for the wall and wanted both so I took pictures.

[Dave Fifield]

Looks great Joe, thanks for the heads-up. :)

[Patrick OBrien]

Hate to show my newbie ignorance, but what the heck is Tap Plastics? A Supplier? I am unfamiliar with the term. This looks like cool stuff.
I'm just getting into the acrylics and I'm not familiar with the transfer tape either. The few pieces I have done were on Jade Acrylic or marbelized acrylic...looked very nice.
Your thoughts or observations are appreciated.

[Dave Fifield]

Hi Patrick,

Yes, Tap Plastics is a franchised supplier of plastics. They have a bunch of stores all over. They are pricey, but sometimes the convenience of having them nearby negates the extra cost incurred.

Transfer tape is just a protective paper tape with a sticky side that you put over the work area you are going to laser. The laser burns right through it so it engraves the intended pattern as normal. The tape protects the surface of the work piece from smoke and debris damage from the laser engraving process and greatly reduces clean up time. When you have finished lasering, the tape peels off very easily, leaving a nice clean finish on the work. You can get transfer tape ("laser tape") from many sources. I get mine from Laserbits (http://www.laserbits.com). These guys have lots of stuff for laser owners.

Cheers,
Dave F.

[Joe Pelonio]

Tap Plastics is only in the western states, but these materials are available at other plastics suppliers too. Transfer tape is used by sign shops for applying vinyl lettering, so you may find it at a lower cost at a sign supply or even beg some roll ends from a local sign shop.