Cutting Thin Fabrics for Applique work (Also Heat-n-Bond)

The paper tape masking held it well while coming off easily and not damaging/fraying the fabric?

No, I haven’t tested that yet, but i think i might have some upstairs - I’ll have to see if I can find it. (It should cut just fine, and will eliminate the need for the paper backing.)

Awwww…Thanks! (blush) :blush:

Yep! Worked like a champ…much better than on wood, truth be told. It tends to curl up off of wood.

The paper tape came off easily though, with no fraying at all.

When you say paper masking tape, is that like the typical manila masking tape, or a laser-specific product?

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If not using PG, what do you use for masking wood effectively?

It’s a roll of paper masking tape that I purchased from Signmax. It is laserable.

I’m using the Signmax paper tape, but as soon as that roll is gone, I’m going to try to find another brand that has better adhesion. This one will pull up when the air assist hits an edge that’s hanging out over the material, and it can literally peel it back.

It actually presents a fire hazard if you don’t get it stuck down thoroughly. If it were to jam up under the beam…not good. :frowning:

Okay, I ironed some Heat-n-Bond Ultra Hold onto the back of a piece of the fabric and ran another cut…

It turned out fine, but the cut didn’t go all the way through the paper on the back of the fusible webbing, so when that was peeled off, the fabric piece was released. (It’s fine - it’s eventually what you do with it anyway.)

So anyhoo…Glowforge logo:

You can just barely make out the shiny webbing on the back of the fabric.

Well okay…not very well…

One thing you do have to be a little careful about with Heat-N-Bond, they have a bunch of different kinds of fusible webbing, and one of them is a vinyl webbing. I would not use that one without checking it out first to see if it is safe to laser. (Vinyls that contain chloride are NOT safe, so as a rule, I just avoid vinyls.)

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It looks good on my monitor, can see it not problem with the size photo you posted.

Very cool. This is one of my intended applications (not the GF emblem, but, you know…) :slight_smile:

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Looks really good! Thanks for posting it!

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The heat from the laser doesn’t “activate” the bonding from “Heat and Bond” ?

Well, for about the width of a hair, (the kerf), I guess it does, but since the liner is still attached at that point, the adhesive just cools back off again and stays where it is.

All of the adhesive has already been heated once to apply it to the fabric - you iron it on, then cut it with the laser.

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That is amazing.
I’m a newbie. What are the correct settings?

I think you are going to have to do a little experimenting. Start with power of 1 or 2 and work up. Start with a fast speed like 500. Make sure the fabric is held down securely so cut pieces don’t fly into the path of the laser.

Thank you.

New to Glowforge. Your remarks say these settings are no longer correct. Can you provide the correct settings?
Update: I now see the settings suggested. Thank you.

Welcome!

There is a fair amount of variability in fabrics. You are really best off doing some tests with the fabric you are using. This is a popular method (though you might want to enlarge a little for fabric):

Maybe start somewhere around 500 / 60.

Searching in the Beyond the Manual section (the only section where custom settings are allowed) for “cotton fabric settings” will also turn up other people’s settings.

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Thank you very much. This looks like a fantastic tool. I will keep it in my toolbox.

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The Material Test proved to be wonderful. We cut 30 sets of a four-part design using Batik fabric on Heat and Bond UltraHold using a speed of 500 and power of 45. This cut thorugh the fabrid and the Heat and Bond and mostly through the paper backer, leaving the parts very lightly attached and not blowing in the wind. The bigger parts separated from the scrap very easily. The smaller perts we left together and will remove them as needed. We are very, very happy with our purchase. It is miles ahead of our current cutter, a Silver Bullet, and much easier to use. We weren’t sure if we would part with the Silver Bullet prior to trying our Glowforge, but there is no question now that we no longer need it. Thank you for your help evermorian.

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Wonderful! I’m glad it worked out so well.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope you will share some of your projects here at some point.

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I used your settings (500 speed, power 45, height 0.03) on satin with Heat&Bond ultrahold, and it worked perfectly. The paper doesn’t cut through, but the applique peels off the paper and irons on just fine.

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Welcome @leahwrenn to the community.

You will discover that the interaction and cross seeding of ideas among members are one of the best parts of owning a :glowforge:.

Hope to see what you create!

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