soft-fabrication

Felt — Cutting and Scoring

I’ve tried some different settings on the Fablab’s Epilog Helix laser cutter.

Thin Acrylic Felt (approx. 1-2 mm)

Cutting

Speed 100 %
Power 50 %
Frequency 5000 Hz

This gives about about 1 mm of kerf. Some mild scorching on edges, but not too bad. Small features (e.g. 1 mm across) are lost dues to melting from the laser passing over the same place twice.

Scoring

Speed 100 %
Power 5 %
Frequency 5000 Hz

For material this thin, scoring isn’t really necessary, but this setting worked fine.

Thick Soft Acrylic Felt (5 mm)

Cutting

Speed 100 %
Power 70-90 %
Frequency 5000 Hz

This gives quite a good edge, but there is some roughness from the uneven melting. It might be worth experimenting with slower speeds.

Small features (e.g. 1 mm across) are lost dues to melting from the laser passing over the same place twice.

Also works:

Speed 50 %
Power 30 %
Frequency 5000 Hz

(Imperceptible difference in quality)

Scoring

Speed 100 %
Power 10-15 %
Frequency 5000 Hz

Thick Stiffened Acrylic Felt (5 mm)

The same settings as for the soft 5 mm felt worked, but there was some discolouration of the felt from the stiffening agent.

Smell

All the cut pieces smell terrible. I’m waiting to see if this fades over time. It would be interesting to compare with wool felt.