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Kevin C. Johnson
08-21-2008, 6:52 AM
Good Morning,
Is there any one out there who has cut electrical insulator Material. I don't have a name I'm trying to find out, but it is pretty thine about 1/16". It is used in busplugs. My question is can I cut this safely, or do I just put it in the
I have a 50 watt universal

Thanks,
Kevin

Bruce Volden
08-21-2008, 7:21 AM
If the insulating material is "micarta" yes it is laserable! I have used it for inlay work.

Bruce

Mike Null
08-21-2008, 7:35 AM
Micarta is another name for phenolic. A brand in the market today is Norplex. I can engrave it with two or three passes but haven't had any luck cutting it with my machine.

I believe it is easier done with a rotary machine.

Rowmark has introduced a new material called Safe T Mark which can be lasered though they don't advertise it that way. It is also a non-conductive material and would be a better product in many applications because it is not brittle. That is a downside to phenolic.

Pete Hunter
08-21-2008, 9:16 AM
We primarily cut Formex polypropylene material. The main reasons for our use is the flexibility and electrical resistance. It does take quite a bit of power to get thru it and there is a lot of smoke in the process. We have to clean our lens after every three sheets.

Martin Reynolds
08-22-2008, 3:17 AM
Good Morning,
Is there any one out there who has cut electrical insulator Material. I don't have a name I'm trying to find out, but it is pretty thine about 1/16". It is used in busplugs. My question is can I cut this safely, or do I just put it in the
I have a 50 watt universal

Thanks,
Kevin

Electrical grade fish paper (vulcanized hard fiber) cuts very easily. You often see it in electrical devices to separate live and neutral.

Kevin C. Johnson
08-22-2008, 8:10 AM
thank you you all have been very helpful!!!

Margaret Turco
08-22-2008, 9:21 PM
There are over 20 different grades of phenolic, and if you can find one called XPC it will be a lot easier to cut. Here is a link (I hope allowed, that describes some of the different grades http://www.polymerplastics.com/composite_xpc.shtml ). I have also used Formex and had the same experience with it as Pete, lots of smoke and we have to mask, but again, the GK grade is easier to cut than plain Formex, available at http://www.espemfg.com/ . If it doesn't have to be that thick, you could also use Nomex, although that has been in short supply at times because of the military using it a lot. A company called Electrical Insulation Supply http://www.eis-inc.com/ sells many kinds of material. Sorry if links aren't allowed. I can try to help you off the boards if need be.