Marmoleum

[Chris Hanson]

I have been approached about a job using "Marmoleum".

Has anyone ever tried cutting this material with their laser?

According to a website selling it: "Marmoleum has been a mainstay floor covering for over 100 years because it is one of the few products made from primarily natural raw materials. It is made up of linseed oil, rosins, and wood flour, calendered onto a natural jute backing.

It sounds like it might be a mess even if it is cuttable.

Just curious if anyone has any insight.

Chris

[Richard Rumancik]

It appears to be a trade name for linoleum. Linoleum is not PVC. Some companies laser cut it eg.

http://www.telegraphic.com/plp/ml.html

There was a discussion some time ago on linoleum.
Search on <lino safe to engrave> and you will find it. If you truly have linoleum, the warnings about PVC aren't applicable. I would say try a piece and see what results you get. In all cases (wood, plastics) you need proper ventilation.

[Vaughan Raymond]

I have experience with marmolium both CNC routing and laser cutting.

I found this description on the net: "

An all-natural linoleum, marmoleum is hypoallergenic, easy to clean and exceptionally durable. Made from linseed oil, pine resins, wood flour, flax, ground limestone and pigments, this miracle flooring is attractive, tough-as-nails and comes in a wide range of colours to suit any space or style.

The hardest part is to hold it down flat as it come in rolls and has a set to it. The laser worked well and we did some pretty intricate inlays.

[Chris Hanson]

I went down to our local flooring shop and was surprised to find out that they had marmoleum in stock (and samples!). Living on an island in AK sometimes presents challenges in finding materials locally but , in this instance, I lucked out.

It does in fact cut nicely. It flames up a bit and smells but all in all is not bad to work with.

Thanks for the imput. Looks like I might be doing a big tiling job.

Chris