Apr 29, 2023

Materials Guide for Diode Lasers

Two years ago, I couldn't name a single customer with a diode laser--now I can name dozens! These things have exploded in popularity and availability, so it's important to discuss the materials that these lasers can and cannot cut**.

Materials diode lasers can cut

This includes raw MDF, all of the MDF core plywoods (we recommend sticking to 1/8" or 1/16" plywoods with diodes), as well as all PatternPly® on an MDF core. You can also cut the SmokeSub and EcoBirch since they are also MDF core.

Wood

As stated above, you can cut any of the MDF core plywoods with your diode laser. You can also cut the wood veneers and Baltic birch. As a general rule, we do not recommend anything thicker than 1/8" with diodes unless you know from your owner's manual that you can cut that thick.

Black acrylic

You can cut plain black acrylic, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on a black acrylic core.

Red acrylic

You can cut plain red acrylic, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on a red acrylic core.

Yellow acrylic

You can cut plain yellow acrylic, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on a yellow acrylic core.

Green acrylic

You can cut plain green acrylic, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns with a green acrylic core.

Clear Flex

Believe it or not, you can cut plain clear flex, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on clear flex.

White Flex

You can cut plain white flex, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on white flex.

Peel and Stick Clear Flex

You can cut plain peel and stick clear flex, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on peel and stick clear flex.

Peel and Stick Mirror

You can cut plain peel and stick mirror, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on peel and stick mirror.

Laser Safe Vinyl

You can cut the plain laser safe vinyl, as well as any of the PatternPly® solid colors or patterns on laser safe vinyl.

Leather

You can cut any of the raw leather options, as well as any of the PatternPly® patterns on leather.

Materials diode lasers cannot cut

Clear acrylic

This includes plain clear acrylic as well as ALL PatternPly® clear acrylic options, including scattered, two sided, and all thicknesses. It does not matter what colors are in the pattern you choose--you still will NOT be able to cut it.

White acrylic

This includes plain white acrylic, as well as all PatternPly® options on white acrylic core. You will not be able to cut these, no matter the pattern. If you want a white colored material that you can cut with your diode, order our Solid White PatternPly® on one of the cores listed above in the "Materials diode lasers can cut" section. For example, you can cut solid white on an MDF core!

Blue acrylic

This includes plain blue acrylic, as well as all PatternPly® options on blue acrylic core.

Turquoise acrylic

This includes plain turquoise acrylic as well as all PatternPly® options on turquoise acrylic core.

Pastel pink acrylic

This one is iffy. We have had some customers get through the pink with many slow passes, but the edges tend to be rough. As a general statement, we do not recommend the pastel pink acrylic for diode lasers.

Ivory Acrylic

This includes plain ivory acrylic, as well as all PatternPly® options on ivory acrylic core.

Gray acrylic

This includes plain gray acrylic, as well as all PatternPly® options on gray acrylic core.

Glitter acrylic

This includes plain glitter acrylic, as well as all PatternPly® options on any of the glitter acrylic cores.

Mirrored acrylic

The mirrored acrylic is made using clear acrylic as a base, so your diode laser will NOT be able to cut any of the mirrored acrylic options. You can cut the peel and stick mirror if you like the mirrored look, however.

**PLEASE refer to your owner's manual as the true guide for what you can and cannot cut. Not all diode lasers are created equal

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