Hi. Someone asked me to cut out some stencils for them on my Glowforge Aura using Mylar sheets from Amazon. I did an online search, and a search on the forum but I still cannot find out if Mylar is safe to use on my Aura. I know I can’t cut white or clear acrylic so I was assuming it would be the same problem but does anyone know for sure? Thank you!!
There’s been some discussion. One sec maybe I can find it.
Sounds like maybe @cynd11 tried it?
No, I’ve not been able to cut the semitransparent Mylars on my Aura (cuts great on the Pro though!). It’s just not a material that the diode lasers can cut, due to color and transparency. However, if they don’t need to be reusable, I cut paper stencils on my Aura all the time. Also masking paper, which has a light tack adhesive on one side.
Thank you so much! That answers my question, it seemed to me that it would have the same limitations as white and clear acrylic but I couldn’t find a definitive answer about Mylar specifically. As always, I appreciate the quick responses by this community.
Do they make black Mylar?
Mylar is a polyethylene variant called BoPET.
Here is a black PET offering:
Might be worth a shot?
I read somewhere about hitting mylar with matte black spray paint before cutting with an LED laser.
Oh I love the black mylar idea! I had told the person who asked for this favor that they might have better luck asking someone who simply has a Cricut. She said, “Oh I have a Cricut!” LOL!!!
But I was still curious about this in case I ever wanted to cut mylar myself in the future. I believe she wanted me to cut a stencil, and in that case the black mylar would have definitely worked. I was unsure if the incompatibility with Mylar was the COLOR or if it would dangerous - such as a fire or melting risk. From the responses here it appears it’s a color issue like with acrylic. All good to know. Thank you!