Is cricut vinyl laser safe?

Beyond the Manual
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Michaels has a 25% off sale. Not sure if it was laser safe or not.

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Virtually no vinyl is safe for laser. Almost all vinyl manufactured today (including the Cricut brand) is made with PVC, which produces chlorine gas when burned.

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At least as far as I understand it, PVC does not produce Chlorine gas when it burns (though there was something I read that said it could produce phosgene gas, which is arguably much worse). Burning PVC produces mostly Water, CO2, CO, and Hydrogen Chloride gas. It’s the Hydrogen Chloride that’s the problem. “HCL”, when combined with water (another byproduct of burning PVC) HCL is also known as “Hydrochloric Acid”.

So when you laser cut PVC, you’re basically coating the internal surfaces of your GF with a thin layer of acid.

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You are correct…its the HCL that is the problem. I have an old Universal laser and the manual actually gives settings for cutting vinyl. It also says wipe down the machine afterwards. Problem is I can’t wipe down inside the intake or the vent hose that goes up to the roof…lol

I know people who cut vinyl stencils on their machines, not on the GF. They replace the machines every few years…
Not worth it…vinyl cutters are way cheaper.

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From what I can gather rubber or Silicone are your best bet for a similar material. Silicone is on the expensive side though.

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https://www.amazon.com/ThermoFlex-Plus-White-Transfer-Vinyl/dp/B00XD6QCG4

while it says vinyl thats just for SEO reasons. ThermoFlex is a polyurethane film and is laser safe.
here is the MSDS

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What did you need cut out of vinyl? I could cut and send…but it’d probably be cheaper to purchase …I have a Silhouette SD machine (similar to a Cricut) that cuts vinyl, cardstock, etc. and works great. Fiance’ bought the newer version and therefore the one mentioned above doesn’t get used. I’ve used the vinyl from both Silhouette and Cricket on this machine lots of times for vinyl cling window designs (great for sport teams, IOW robotics teams), on walls, etc. Here is an Silhouette SD machine and mine is used but I’d be willing to go $40 plus shipping. Just thought I would offer it since you mentioned on cutting vinyl…it’s kind of addicting like the glowforge. I plan on using the newer one to cut wedding invitations while the GF cuts all the cake toppers, lights, Tardis decorations, etc. :wink: If interested, let me know…if not, no biggie either. :wink:

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