What can (and can't) be laser cut: the materials cheat sheet

One of the most common questions we get is also the most reasonable: "can you cut my [thing]?" Sometimes the answer is yes, and we'll have it back to you the same week. Sometimes it's a hard no, because the material would release a gas that's bad for the operator, the laser, and the building. And sometimes it's a maybe, and we ask for a 50 mm test square.

This is our working materials guide, drawn from years of cutting and engraving from our Leith workshop. It covers what we'll happily put on the bed, what we won't, and the borderline cases. If your material isn't here, send us a 50 mm sample and we'll test it.

The yes list

Wood and wood products

• Hardwood — oak, walnut, ash, cherry, beech, maple. Cuts to about 12 mm depending on density. Darker, denser woods cap lower.
• Plywood — birch, poplar, and laser-grade plywood are the best for layered designs and signage. Avoid plywoods bonded with melamine or formaldehyde-heavy glues.
• MDF — uniform, paint-grade, predictable. The default for prototypes and signage backers.
• Veneer — thin natural wood, ideal for laminating onto other substrates or for ornate inlays.
• Cork and bamboo — both behave like wood. Bamboo has a tighter grain so engraves crisper.

Plastics (the safe ones)

• Cast acrylic (Perspex, Plexiglass) — the showcase material for laser cutting. Comes off the bed with a flame-polished cut edge that looks injection-moulded. Clear, frosted, mirrored, coloured, fluorescent — all available.
• Extruded acrylic — cuts cleanly but the cut edge is slightly cloudier than cast.
• Polypropylene — only specific grades, only thin gauges. Ask first.
• Mylar / polyester film — thin, cuts cleanly, used for stencils.

Metals (on our fibre laser, not CO₂)

• Stainless steel — fibre lasers mark and engrave it perfectly. With our MOPA we can also produce full-colour marks.
• Anodised aluminium — the fibre laser ablates the coloured anodise layer to give a crisp white-on-colour mark.
• Brass and copper — soft engrave, takes paint infill cleanly.
• Mild steel — dark oxide mark or deep engrave.
• Titanium — strong contrast, accepts MOPA colour.
• Bare aluminium reflects too well to mark without anodising first.

Leather and fabric

• Vegetable-tanned leather — best for engraving; takes the laser mark with deep contrast.
• Chrome-tanned leather — cuts well, engraves with less contrast.
• Suede and nubuck — cut cleanly, soft contrast engrave.
• Natural-fibre fabric — cotton, linen, hemp, silk. Cuts beautifully, edge slightly sealed.
• Synthetic fabrics need a known polymer type — see the no list.

Paper, card and similar

• Paper, card, mountboard — wedding stationery, model-making, packaging inserts.
• Felt and natural foam — EVA foam and natural wool felt are fine.
• Cork rubber — specific natural rubber compounds only.

Glass and stone (engraving only)

• Glass — frosted appearance, good for logos and addresses.
• Slate — high contrast off the dark surface, very durable outdoors.
• Stone and ceramic — depends on the specific material; ask before sending.

The no list (and why)

Some materials we won't put on the laser at any price. It's not stubbornness; the gases they release when lasered are corrosive, toxic, or both. They damage the optics, poison the air, and in some cases damage the operator. Standard refusals:

• PVC and vinyl — releases chlorine gas. Corrodes the laser, irritates lungs, mixes with steel to form hydrochloric acid in the extraction system.
• ABS — releases hydrogen cyanide. Self-explanatory.
• Polycarbonate (Lexan) — produces toxic fumes and discolours unevenly. Looks similar to acrylic but very much isn't.
• HDPE, LDPE, polypropylene (most grades) — melts rather than cuts, sticks to the bed, releases fumes.
• Fibreglass and carbon fibre composites — the resin matrix releases nasty fumes.
• Leatherette / PU-coated faux leather — if the coating is PVC-based, no. If the backing is fabric and the coating is PU only, yes (but check).
• Mirrored aluminium and polished bare aluminium — reflects the beam back into the head and damages the optics.
• Materials we don't recognise — if you don't know what your material is, we won't guess. Send a test sample and we'll burn-test it before doing anything to your real stock.

The maybe list

These are materials where the answer depends on the specific grade, thickness, supplier, or finish:

• Coated MDF — the MDF itself cuts fine; melamine, laminate, or vinyl edge bands don't.
• Painted wood — fine through the wood; cut edge will have a small char-bleed into the paint. Engraving over paint can be done but burnishes the surface.
• Older / vintage leather — unknown finishing chemicals. We'd test before committing to a hide.
• Composite boards — depending on the binders, could be fine or could be terrible.
• Reclaimed wood — fine, as long as it's free of nails and any old PVC paint.
• Foam — EVA and natural-rubber foams: yes. Polystyrene, PVC foam, polyether foam: no.

Our unknown-sample policy

If you send us a material we don't immediately recognise, we'll do one of three things, in order:

1. Ask you for the supplier datasheet or product name.
2. Run a burn-test on a small offcut to check for the smell and behaviour we associate with the problem plastics (chlorine has a distinct sharp smell; if it pings, the material doesn't go on the bed).
3. If it passes the burn-test, run a small laser sample at low power to see how it behaves under the beam before committing to the production cut.

This adds 15-20 minutes to a quote turnaround on unknown materials, which is much better than the alternative.

What this means for your quote

Material has a big effect on both price and lead time:

• If it's in the yes list and we stock the gauge you need, we can usually fit a small job in within 24-48 hours.
• If we need to order the material in, add 1-2 working days for delivery.
• If it's a maybe, add a day for testing before we commit to a price.
• If you'd like to supply your own material (perfectly fine), send a 50 mm sample with the order so we can dial in cutting parameters before going at your real stock.

Send us a sample

If you have a material you'd like cut and you're not sure whether it'll work, the fastest path is to send a 50 mm square to our Leith workshop. We'll test it free and come back to you the same day or next morning with a yes/no and a cutting recommendation. Email enquiries@cobblestonecreative.co.uk first so we know to expect it.

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