Using Corian for signage

[Dean Fowell]

Hey Everyone ,

Im looking at lasering some letters for a Sign shop can I laser through Corian with a 80 watt laser and and what about engraving in it new to this material, What can I do eith this stuff,

[Dan Hintz]

Depends upon the thickness, but you'll have no problem with 1/4" (or even 1/2") with 80W... it will be pretty darn slow, but you can cut it.

[Scott Shepherd]

You can? I've never had any luck getting through anything that thick with close to 60w actual (45 rated).

Now on the other hand, a CNC router will eat it up like butter.

[Larry Bratton]

Dean:
You can probably cut it ok with 80 watts. I think the standard thickness is 1/2". There are some colors in 1/4". My 40 watt can't cut the 1/2 but can handle the 1/4" OK. Corian is solid acrylic and the color goes all the way through, so you will have to color fill it. The most professional way to fill it is to use the Corian colored adhesive, fill, then sand smooth.

[Dan Hintz]

Sorry, Steve, that should have been 1/4" and 1/2", respectively... fixed.

[Mike Null]

Dean

there have been a number of threads on Corian, some started by Keith Outten, who uses it frequently. do a search and see some of the possibilities.

[Chuck Stone]

I do Corian fairly often but I can't cut through the 12mm (30W)
But I know that when you go slower it will discolor. For what I'm
doing, I don't mind the brown edges. It engraves well.

I'm not sure what it is made of, I have seen several suggestions
from acrylic to urethane and polyester. But I know it can eat
tools and bits. When I cut it on the band saw I use a metal
cutting blade, otherwise it takes the set out of the blade. Fast.

As for the adhesive, it tends to be expensive. But it is just epoxy
from what I'm told. They buy the Corian brands for the color matching
but other epoxies will work. You can color them with powder tints if
you have them. If not, you can get some pastel chalks from the
dollar store and shave them with a blade to mix with the epoxy. It
works fine and lets you get any color you want.

[Keith Outten]

I can laser cut 1/4" thick Corian in two passes with a 60 watt machine and not have any edge degrade. Half inch has to be done in several passes and the edge burns pretty badly.

Concerning routing and sawing Corian I haven't had any problems with tool wear. I CNC route several hundred door signs with a two flute spiral router bit. I just finished cutting 127 door signs with a used bit that is still sharp. I can resaw Corian on my band saw without damaging the blade or shortening the life any more than hardwood. The key to cutting or routing Corian is to go slow, your bits and blades will last longer than you can imagine.
.

[Chuck Stone]

I can resaw Corian on my band saw without damaging the blade or shortening the life any more than hardwood. The key to cutting or routing Corian is to go slow, your bits and blades will last longer than you can imagine.
.

I stand corrected .. it was the EOS that ate the blades and bits. I pick up scraps of both, and
have to check to see which is which. I like the EOS because I can get it in 5/4, but it wears
out cutting tools. One place I used to get it stopped using it because it ruined the motors
in their sanders.

EOS is another solid surface material, but I think maybe it contains some type of
powdered stone filler.

[Jim Dawson]

Corian and other solid surface companies actually make a two part inlay kit for color fills. It's pretty amazing stuff. We fabricate a ton of solid surface.

[Bruce Clumpner]

Jim,

I know this thread has been around for a couple of months, but I'm just starting to work with Corian and I'm having trouble with color filling using a contrasting color of corian adhesive. I have not found a way to insure I don't get any bubbles as I lay it down. Any suggestions?

[Chuck Stone]

you might try squirting out a little into a mixing cup and thinning
it with some acetone. That should allow you to work it as you need.

[Keith Outten]

Bruce,

I place the adhesive tip to the bottom of the groove and work it forward then backward pushing the adhesive until it fills to the top. This technique seems to keep most of the bubbles from forming, it isn't perfect but it works well for me.
.

[Ken Dolph]

You may want to check out these guys.

http://www.alignritetool.com/inlay.htm

Mat and Don are good guys. Check out their air extractor for eliminating bubbles.

Ken

[Bruce Clumpner]

Keith & Chuck,

I'll give your methods a try, but the artwork for this project has both thin rules and wide fills, so I'm hoping that by just working the tip in the material and keeping it down will work. If I try to thin the adhesive, does it lengthen the set time or do I only have a little bit to work the material into the art?

Here is my 1st sample of the project, the corian is 4" square:
Corian-Test.jpg