CNC Laser Cutting Paper
CNC laser cutting paper is no different from any other material in our shop. You learn interesting facts about material when doing some testing… it’s always a surprise as to what happens and this yellow paper was definitely one of them.
I would have guessed that colored paper had been throughout the paper, as this material test will demonstrate, this is not always the case! Time for some professional CNCROi.com material testing on some yellow paper!
Once the paper was set on the cutting table and everything calculated, it was time to begin the engraving followed by cutting processes. CNC laser cutting paper is a pretty straight forward process.
This was when I was surprised, it’s removing the pigment found on the first fraction of a mm on the surface! In this case, we are engraving it first and you can see how the dye is on the surface and not all the way through the paper.
This really became apparent when our Austrian Trotec CNC laser began engraving the larger CNCROi.com logo on this sheet of paper. Small details can often hide material qualities that don’t become apparent until they become larger.
As the laser kept going upwards, the contrast became all the more apparent, it was very sharp and incredibly consistent.
The next step after engraving was done is laser cutting paper with a maple leaf.
Again, having the fastest laser on the market has its benefits, this was cutting so fast I only managed to get one picture of it! There isn’t much resistance when dealing with paper and if you notice, no smoke damage or vapor deposition onto the yellow sheet of paper… it all got sucked right up as it was being produced by our 2 HP extraction system running both above and below the paper.
Our gas kit was also pushing compressed air downwards so the paper vapors never had a chance of sticking to anything anywhere. This is because we used just enough power to produce the desired effect… too much power and you end-up with smoke from backflashes, not enough and you just don’t get through cutting or engraving at any great depth (enough to notice a change in this case).
The results came out fantastic and taking a look at the close-up of the engraving and cutting, sharper and more defined than anything that can be achieved with any other CNC technology out there!
What’s especially nice about this project is that we can, rather easily, upgrade our current CNC laser to record and cut along registration points… CNCROi.com is just looking for a client that gives us the perfect excuse to splurge for this with an application we can use it for!
Application wise, engraving and cutting paper can be used for everything from wedding invitations to school silhouettes or for really expensive banners. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we’ll take a look at your need and find a way to fulfill it!
Yeah, here’s the video by the way.
CNCROi.com: Laser Engraving & Cutting Yellow Paper