Black Acrylic, white mark on fiber help

[Jon S]

As a recent owner of a 50w fiber laser, running ezcad at the moment, I've been trying to figure out the settings for etching/engraving black acrylic. All I seem to manage is a bubbly surface mess. I have tried numerous settings. If anyone has any specific knowledge?

 

[TheReb0und]

Not sure how specific this is, but try lowering your power and cranking up the speed, but honestly, a CO2 laser handles acrylic way better if you can switch. Fiber lasers usually dont play nice with acrylic, so that bubbly mess is pretty common

 

[Jon S]

I found out the premium brand was useless, the generic brand worked perfectly, then my usual supplier admitted they were moving over completely to the premium brand for future, so I have to organise a different supplier.

 

[peachesss]

I found out the premium brand was useless, the generic brand worked perfectly, then my usual supplier admitted they were moving over completely to the premium brand for future, so I have to organise a different supplier.

What's the update on this? Did you find a new supplier? I'd love for their contact as well.

 

[Jon S]

What's the update on this? Did you find a new supplier? I'd love for their contact as well.

I haven't looked yet to be honest. Beyond tests, I've not yet got as far as developing products in acrylic. I'll probably start with the suppliers who specialise in the laser sector.

 

[mayank patel]

As a recent owner of a 50w fiber laser, running ezcad at the moment, I've been trying to figure out the settings for etching/engraving black acrylic. All I seem to manage is a bubbly surface mess. I have tried numerous settings. If anyone has any specific knowledge?

Fiber lasers typically struggle with black acrylic because the material doesn't absorb the 1064nm wavelength well,it reflects most of it, leading to poor results like bubbling or melting. For clean engraving on black acrylic, a CO₂ laser (10.6μm) is far more effective. That said, if you must use your 50W fiber, try lower power (10–20%), high speed (800–1500 mm/s), and shorter pulse durations, with multiple light passes instead of one heavy pass. You'll still get limited results, but this can reduce bubbling. For best results on acrylic, switching to a CO₂ laser is recommended.

 

[Jon S]

Fiber lasers typically struggle with black acrylic because the material doesn't absorb the 1064nm wavelength well,it reflects most of it, leading to poor results like bubbling or melting. For clean engraving on black acrylic, a CO₂ laser (10.6μm) is far more effective. That said, if you must use your 50W fiber, try lower power (10–20%), high speed (800–1500 mm/s), and shorter pulse durations, with multiple light passes instead of one heavy pass. You'll still get limited results, but this can reduce bubbling. For best results on acrylic, switching to a CO₂ laser is recommended.

As per my earlier reply, it turned out the type of acrylic is a factor also, switching to an unbranded version worked, the 'brand' name didnt.

 

[mayank patel]

As per my earlier reply, it turned out the type of acrylic is a factor also, switching to an unbranded version worked, the 'brand' name didnt.

That makes sense,some branded acrylics have additives that don't react well with fiber lasers. Good to know the unbranded version worked better. Did it give a cleaner finish too?

 

[Jon S]

That makes sense,some branded acrylics have additives that don't react well with fiber lasers. Good to know the unbranded version worked better. Did it give a cleaner finish too?

The very small test I did, I couldn't say. While I had a lot of offcuts of the brand name to test, I only had a larger sheet of the unbranded which I held quickly under the laser and did 6 small letters, just enough to prove it worked. I've since bought some 2 colour acrylic, the laminated type, designed for lasers, that worked but is thin and flimsy.