I’m working on a board for a game and am looking for a materials suggestion to make 1" thick hills. I’ve used a 3D printer, but they take a lot of time and filament.
Is there a recommended wood or foam that can be used safely with a Glowforge?
I’d suggest you stack 1/8” or 1/4” pieces to get to the height you’re looking for.
The GF has a max focal range of 1/2” and the laser beam doesn’t cut perfectly perpendicular, it’s slightly sloped.
1/4 or 1/2" polystyrene foam would probably work well, and cut a lot faster than the draftboard. The only thing I’d worry about would be fire. Foams can be flamey.
There are thick EVA foams that you can buy at the hardware store that can be pieced together as cushions or mats. Just check the material composition and make sure it doesn’t have chlorine in it.
Stacking like @ekla has mention would work well, and if you don’t mind a hollow stack you could make the inner rings with a center cutout and use the center pieces as tokens/stand-ins.
With a little bit of sanding at the corners, there is no good reason not to use six rectangles and a hexagon to make your hollow hills. you can use https://www.festi.info/boxes.py/
to design what ever shape you wish
I know look is very important, but have you considered and rejected 2D hills? Cut a slot in the hex and then cut a silhouette of a hill with a tab and insert tab into slot?