Materials

What you can cut, what you cannot, and how each behaves.

• Dialling in a new material: the test grid method

  A repeatable way to find cut and engrave settings for any new sheet: build a power and speed grid, read it properly, and write down what worked.

• Common laser cutting materials and how each behaves

  Plywood, MDF, acrylic, leather, card, felt, slate and anodised metal — what each one is actually like to cut or engrave, and where each one catches you out.

• Plywood and MDF: choosing and cutting sheet wood

  Why laser plywood cuts cleanly and construction ply does not, how MDF differs, and what to do about glue lines, voids and the smell.

• Acrylic: cast vs extruded, and why clear beats diodes

  Why cast acrylic engraves white and extruded does not, how to get a polished flame edge, and why a diode laser cannot cut clear acrylic at any power.

• Marking metal without a fibre laser

  Anodised aluminium, powder coat and marking sprays let a CO2 or diode mark metal it cannot cut. What each method does, and what it will not do.

• Leather, cork, fabric and paper

  The soft materials: which leather is safe, why synthetic fabric seals its own edge, and how to stop paper catching fire on a machine set up for wood.

• Glass, slate and stone: marking what you cannot cut

  None of these can be cut, and engraving them is controlled fracturing rather than burning. How to get a smooth frost instead of a chipped mess.