Having issues cutting Delvie Plastics acrylic! HELP!

[eflyguy]

I’m only going by comments here, for example (first is your own):

Trying to cut 3/16" Acrylic w/ ultra smooth finish

what kind of acrylic are you using, cast or extruded? i’ve heard of extruded sometimes not having as smooth of an edge after laser cutting.

HELP - Cutting Extruded Acrylic

I don’t have much experience with extruded acrylic, but conventional wisdom is that it performs worse than cast when laser cutting, so bear in mind that you’re doing this on Extra Challenge Mode. Since this is requesting manual settings, I’m going to move it to Beyond the Manual.

Inventables 2 Color Acrylic Settings

Sure it is not extruded plastic? You want cast acrylic for laser work. (do they sell the two color in extruded? Dunno…) I tried some extruded just for the giggle, and yeah it pretty much melted instead of cut. Weirdly, I also had some extremely thin (0.03) extruded from hobby lobby and it cut fine. I think because it cuts so quickly (being thin) that it does not focus long enough to slag it like the thicker stuff.

Ear Savers First Batch

Acrylic is acrylic, it’s fine. Use what you can get. People were just reacting to “plastic”, as it could have been some other kind of plastic, like PVC, which would be exceedingly dangerous. In my experience, Proofgrade acrylic isn’t particularly special compared to cast acrylic I can get from other places. Wood is a different story. And before someone corrects “acrylic is acrylic”, yes there is a difference between cast acrylic and extruded acrylic. Not in terms of composition or safety, but …

Melty - ish inside edges when using Acrylic - Settings help?

Looks like you’re using too much heat. Acrylic cuts very smooth normally. Is that 1/8"? Now there is often a difference of cut quality and settings between cast and extruded. I’ve had issues with some colors, mainly black, with extruded acrylic…but nothing like that… I cut on a Universal laser though. But have seen loads of acrylic cut on the that cuts perfectly fine. Were your setting for cast or extruded acrylic? Because they are not the same as for cast…