EVA Foam Settings for Cosplay Projects

Thanks! I am going to go back and try with multiple passes. I’ve been playing with 6mm EVA, and 200/100 doesn’t quite cut through. But 200/full makes an enormous kerf and still doesn’t quite cut. I think that the stuff is melting into a dense layer at the bottom of the kerf.

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Are you using a Basic or Plus/Pro? I’ll revise my post to indicate I’m using a Plus. Not sure if that’s a significant difference, but…

Does the material you are using have a sealed/patterned back? Might wanna try cutting with the design side up, so the already previously melted side is cut first. You may have to reverse your design.

Power differences between models should only matter for full power. 0-100 should be the same on all models.

You might be able to adjust for the kerf if it is consistent. E.g.,:

For all the EVA I have cut so far, the sizing hasn’t been critical.

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I’m on a Basic, just cutting little circles in 6mm foam to try and get things dialed in. I sure was surprised at the difference in kerf between 100 and Full – might post some pictures when I’m back there.

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Thank you @T_Dub !! You just saved me! I bought the Harbor Freight pads thinking they were EVA and I almost lasered them…
I was looking for EVA settings and found this very useful post!

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Thanks, this was very helpful as a starting point for 10mm EVA foam with the Basic.
First try was
Speed 275
Power 100
Passes 3
This cut through, but melted the under edge and left it undesirable.

Speed 275
Power 100
Passes 2
This cut through mostly, but several places had to be finish cut with a knife.

Speed 325
Power 100
Passes 3
This cut through, and left the lower edge mostly intact on 10mm EVA. I think theres a sweet spot with lower power 80? with 3 passes at the 275 - 300 speed.

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Thanks for your post and your cosplay of M’Baku is beautiful.

I have done some work with EVA but haven’t started using the GF on it yet. I’m currently working on Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp movie and cutting the thin 2mm EVA will all be done on my GF. Wish me luck. I’m nervous.

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Continuing the discussion from EVA Foam Settings for Cosplay Projects:

Hey, thanks for these settings. I just used these on my Pro to cut and engrave these sword hilts. Came out way better than I expected. So many possibilities from here!

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Hey man, awesome job on your armor, I recently purchased a forge and made my first EVA cut last night using your settings for the 4mm-6mm harbor freight rolls. I went with one pass and it was almost perfect. Thanks!

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You’re more than welcome!

These look great! (Did I see these in Foam Fanatics or Prop Tarts?) I’ve had a Rule 63 Heimdall sitting around for ages. The detail here makes me really want to restart Hofund. Please post your updates!

Wishing you luck and would love to talk to you about that build. I have a few fabric plus EVA projects in mind, but I’m worried about affixing the foam. Are you going that route ? If so, I’d love to hear your plans :slight_smile:

Uhh, I don’t know, what are those?

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Hi T_Dub,

This thread has me inspired to use my Glowforge cosplay for my son. Could you share the link to what you buy?

Thanks!
Billy-

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I usually just buy Foamies at JoAnn’s/Hobby Lobby or cut down big sheets from TNT cosplay supply.

If you must buy from Harbor Freight, you can use the ROLLS, not the tiles. Always check the label of anything you buy there, as they change suppliers on the fly. I tend not to buy the rolls as quality can be iffy, sometimes its all smooth and even, others the thickness is inconsistent and there are pockmarks/air bubbles. YMMV.

Also, you want to avoid anything that says it has antibacterial chemicals/properties (i.e., some of the gym mats, kids play mats) as adhesives tend not to adhere as well.

Have fun!!!

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I’ll second the recommendation for TNT Cosplay. They’ve been great.

Also, they will provide samples sufficient for running small tests at no charge.

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I received a huge box of EVA foam rolls from TNT yesterday! The laser cuts through the foam like butta.

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Thank you!

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Thank you for posting these settings! I used them to cut the foam pieces for my spacesuit and helmet project, and ended up reducing power just slightly to ensure the first pass did not cut all the way through the foam. I used 6mm foam and 4mm foam from TNT as well, have used it for other projects in the past and it’s very reliable.

One note: I found that heat sealing the foam with a few passes of a heat gun on both sides BEFORE putting it into the Glowforge did two awesome things: 1. it pre-shrank the foam so that my pieces were cut to the correct size and stayed that way, and 2. it relaxed the curve in the foam so that it could lay flat and not pop up while being cut. I still used low profile magnets to hold the foam down while cutting.

After heat sealing, I used calipers to measure the thickness of the foam and entered that into the material settings. Even straight out of the box, I find there is a variance in the thickness of EVA foam, so it’s always good to find the actual thickness with calipers.



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Super. Good trick with the heat gun. Could have used that last weekend :slightly_smiling_face: