Have you tried the hot copper wire test? I forget what it’s called, orange is fine green will kill you in seconds
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Have you tried the hot copper wire test? I forget what it’s called, orange is fine green will kill you in seconds
any updates on this?
Jonathan
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It works
Lexan/polycarbonate are on my do not use list. Whether or not there’s chlorine, it melts, discolors, makes a gooey mess and a terrible looking project. I don’t want that mess in my laser. Been there, done that, hated it. 
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Green means the chlorine is attacking the copper and copper ions turn fire green. Yes, that is how they did that in the Hairy Potter movie.
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I scored a good deal on a couple of large sheets of .093 genuine Lexan three years ago.
I spent a lot of time, determined to figure out cut settings. Nope, no way.
You could probably use the laser to cut large panels, like for a picture frame where the edges would be hidden, but no way to use for any kind of cut detailed design. I’ve since bought 1mm acrylic, which as no-one should be surprised to learn, cuts beautifully.
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Plexi does crap protection against a Avada Kedavra curse, you need cast Acrylic for that.
ROHM would be sad to hear that. Having the original patent and all 
That’s actually exactly what I need to do. I am making a replacement window to cover a video game CRT. Plexi would be perfect because it’s tougher than acrylic. I think it is even more scratch resistant. But I may have to settle for acrylic.
I already had, and ended up using, this:
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My project is basically a rectangle but it also needs a few little cutouts . It’s a perfect laser project so I guess I need to decide if I am gonna laser acrylic, or saw 
plexi and then try to make those cutouts with a Dremel or something.
I’d love for someone to find settings for the GF that produce acceptable results, I could not. The edges were just ugly.
If I can find the test pieces I’d post pics, but the settings are lost in time…
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I have zero idea how it would work, but plexiglass can be scored and snapped. I wonder if you did a couple of high speed, low power passes to reduce melt, etc, you could just scare the outline and snap it? 
I’m puzzled - plexi is acrylic. (both Plexiglas and plexiglass)
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The original post said Lexan (polycarbonate). Unfortunately, plexiglass (brand name) (which is always acrylic AFAIK) has become one of those generic words and is often used for lexan products.
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Interesting- on the studio fabrication side even generic plexiglass is always acrylic, Lexan/polycarbonate are always specifically requested.
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Yeah I meant Lexan/polycarbonate.
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Lexan is just a sheet of napalm when exposed to the laser. It will cut, but it melts and goo’s all over the place and if it catches fire, well let’s just say it burns quite well all the while sticking to whatever it touches.
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