3-form material-anybody worked with it?

[Larry Bratton]

I had a call today from a potential customer that is doing a project with a material made by 3-form http://www.3-form.com (http://www.3-form.com/)/ I called them and their tech department says it is laser cutable and engravable. The particular material I am working with is polyester based. I was just wondering if anyone else is familiar with it and would share some info on speeds, feeds and the like.

[Doug Griffith]

I had a call today from a potential customer that is doing a project with a material made by 3-form http://www.3-form.com (http://www.3-form.com/)/ I called them and their tech department says it is laser cutable and engravable. The particular material I am working with is polyester based. I was just wondering if anyone else is familiar with it and would share some info on speeds, feeds and the like.

I work with 3 Form plastic sheet. It is PETG and does not laser as well as acrylic. It melts opposed to disingrating like acrylic. Also, depending on the embedded material, it may not cut at all. Also, the embedded material may cut at different settings than the PETG. Also, the embedded material may fluctuate in thickness within the PETG furthering the difficulty. It is beautiful though and very expensive.

[Larry Bratton]

I work with 3 Form plastic sheet. It is PETG and does not laser as well as acrylic. It melts opposed to disingrating like acrylic. Also, depending on the embedded material, it may not cut at all. Also, the embedded material may cut at different settings than the PETG. Also, the embedded material may fluctuate in thickness within the PETG furthering the difficulty. It is beautiful though and very expensive.
Doug:
Best way to fabricate then? CNC router work?
The project I am involved in utilizes a solid color. However, I read somewhere that PETG can be laser cut up to .187 thickness. I imagine after that is where the melting comes in.

[Doug Griffith]

I've only worked with 3Form sheet with embedded materials. The minimum thickness is approximately .250 depending on material. I router or saw cut it. You're right, thinner sheet may laser OK. I've lasered a lot of .030" clear PETG and it is still a little ugly. I've also noticed that different formulations laser differently. On a side note, I met the guy who pioneered development of PETG the other day. A very nice guy. He said the manufacturer (Spartech) has had success laser cutting. I don't know how thick though.

[Larry Bratton]

I've only worked with 3Form sheet with embedded materials. The minimum thickness is approximately .250 depending on material. I router or saw cut it. You're right, thinner sheet may laser OK. I've lasered a lot of .030" clear PETG and it is still a little ugly. I've also noticed that different formulations laser differently. On a side note, I met the guy who pioneered development of PETG the other day. A very nice guy. He said the manufacturer (Spartech) has had success laser cutting. I don't know how thick though.
I think I read the .187 on Spartech's site. When I asked the question to 3-Form ,the lady I was talking to said they laser cut the samples they sent out but they were only 1/16". The local rep said that slow cutting caused bad edges unless you had a 100 watt or more laser it would be difficult to get a good result. I suppose with 100 watts you would have adequate power to increase the speed and avoid the melt. Anyway, I think the fabrication will be done via CNC router. It's a simple circle and the material is solid color, nothing embedded.
Thanks for the reply, it was very helpful.