I was wanting to use an 1/8" of either PVC or rubber to make some items. Would also prefer rolls of it and a wholesale provider. Researching it I found that the chlorine used in these materials is hazard to machines and humans. It does look like there are non-chlorine PVC’s and rubber, but I can’t figure out what their called or where to purchase them. Anyone out there know the technical jargon and can point me in the right direction?
UPDATE: Looks like linoleum is laser safe. Problem is that most linoleum is actually PVC. To make matters worse only 1 out of 3 suppliers mention the make of the material in the specifics.
I have purchased a few sheets of the low-odour laser-safe rubber from these guys, but must confess that I’ve yet to try it out - so I can’t provide any endorsements or warnings:
PVC is Polyvinyl chloride so you won’t find PVC without chlorine. There are other plastics that you can laser like acrylic and delrin(great for structural parts). As for rubber, your choice will be highly dependent on the application. Are you wanting to make stamps? Gaskets? https://www.johnsonplastics.com/ sells a few laserable rubber products. Santoprene (Not neoprene) sheet is also laserable.
Looking for a leather alternative so it needs to be flexible. To complicate things further I need it to be about an 1/8". From my searches it looks like there is a PVC that isn’t made with chlorine or chloride but I can’t figure out what that is. For a second I thought it might have been neoprene but I’m really not sure.
You can buy craft foam in 1/8" (or rather 2mm or 4mm) thicknesses. It is EVA foam and is laserable. Quite flexible. Get it at your local hobby supply (like Michaels or Hobby Lobby).
poking through the comments, I see it being compared to oracal 651, which is a traditional calendered vinyl product (containing pvc). When asked what it is made of, they said “call our customer service dept”. When I tried to call, I was yelled at in a language I didn’t recognize, and then hung-up on. Personally, IMHO, those are all warning signs of a company I don’t want to deal with. YVMV
I found that Linoleum is a laser safe equivalent of PVC. Unfortunately it seems to be common practice to label PVC that’s predominantly for flooring as linoleum now a days. The other problem is it seems like genuine linoleum is expensive.