Acrylic material has a very wide range of applications. Its material is cheap and has a good laser absorption rate. It can be used to make a variety of products, including various signs, gifts and prizes.

Most people usually choose clear acrylic because it is popular and easy to work with. This kind of transparent acrylic is generally engraved by carbon dioxide laser, which is determined based on the characteristics of light. The wavelength of carbon dioxide laser is 9.2-10.8μm, and carbon dioxide laser can also be called molecular laser.

To use laser engraving acrylic material, we must first understand the general classification of the material, acrylic generally refers to heat-sensitive plastics manufactured by various brands. Acrylic sheets are divided into two categories: cast sheets and extruded sheets according to the production process.

Acrylic Cast Sheet: High molecular weight, excellent stiffness, strength, and excellent chemical resistance. This board is characterized by small batch processing, unparalleled flexibility in color system and surface texture effect, and complete product specifications for various special purposes. (When laser engraved, cast acrylic transforms into the icy material sought after in many custom applications. It can be molded into different shapes and sizes, and is often used for awards due to its good optical quality.)

Acrylic extruded sheet: Compared with cast sheet, extruded sheet has lower molecular weight and slightly weaker mechanical properties. However, this feature is beneficial for bending and thermoforming, and when dealing with larger-sized sheets, it is beneficial for fast vacuum forming. At the same time, the thickness tolerance of the extruded sheet is smaller than that of the cast sheet.

Making extruded acrylic is easier than making cast acrylic, which makes extruded acrylic cheaper. Plus, the extruded acrylic is laser-engraved clean and smooth, with flame-polished edges. Laser engraved products look sharp, not the frosted look of cast acrylic engravings. It is also softer and tends to stick up during rotary engraving.

Laser engraved acrylic works best at low power and high speed. If your acrylic has coatings or other additions, increase the power by 10%, but keep the speed you would use on unpainted acrylic. This gives the laser more energy to cut the paint. The material in question will determine the ideal frequency setting for your laser. However, with cast acrylic you can engrave at a high frequency of 10,000 – 20,000 Hz, and with extruded acrylic you may want to engrave at a lower frequency of 2,000 – 5,000 Hz. Lower frequencies result in low pulses, increasing the pulse energy or reducing the constant energy in the acrylic. This phenomenon results in less boiling, less flame and slower cutting speed.