Engraving on abt

[lawrie]

Thanks Dan. No the Centre is my business, engraving is my hobby.

Lawrie

[lawrie]

Thanks.

Lawrie

[lawrie]

Thanks I will check again.

Lawrie

[randy.cohen]

I’m still curious to know what this ABT stuff is. I did a Google search and gave up after the first few pages of no valid matches. If you have a link to a supplier of the stuff, post it?

[lawrie]

I will

Lawrie

[evermorian]

Maybe @lawrie is posting via email and that giant logo in every post is part of .sig file added around the time of the third post?

If that’s the case, could you maybe leave that out when you post here, @lawrie?

[randy.cohen]

I’m guessing Lawrie lives in Australia. Don’t know what gave me that idea. But I feel pretty strongly that my guess is correct.

[jbmanning5]

https://www.google.com/search?q=abt+acrylic+resin&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS987US987&oq=abt+acry&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j69i57j0i22i30l3.1528j1j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Numerous results here.

Perhaps also called Abteilung (or that’s a brand of it)

[lawrie]

OK

Lawrie

[randy.cohen]

OK. But it’s a liquid acrylic resin, base for paint apparently. Might be laserable if it came in a solid sheet. Too lazy to go find a MSDS and figure it out. But I scrolled quite far down in that search and didn’t see anyone selling it in sheet form. Just bottles or beads…

[jbmanning5]

Maybe I’m wrong… I tend to assume things. But, I figured @lawrie would be using it somewhat as intended. I.e. to “paint” his material and then cut it on the laser?

[randy.cohen]

Ah. That is an obvious conclusion which I am sad to admit, completely escaped me…

I still can’t find any information on what the stuff actually is, just what the stuff is used for. But if it’s acrylic, it should be safe to lase. How well it lases is anyone’s guess. It’s basically paint before they add color. But it shouldn’t produce any smokey emissions that would harm the machine or be a meaningful risk to a nearby human.

I’d try a small piece to see what happens.

[lawrie]

Thanks Randy.

lawrie

[lawrie]

Thanks but no it is a solid “plastic” rod.

Lawrie

[randy.cohen]

Well… either way, if it’s Acrylic you can probably safely lase it with the only question being how well it lases. “Try a small piece” should still be your go-to plan.

Acrylics are a family of plastics all made from Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen in varying amounts and arrangements. None of those things can harm the machine. Keep a squirt bottle of water nearby in case it catches fire (which is why you only want to try a small piece first) and have at it.