Materials
What is safe to cut, what is toxic, what is unpredictable.
The single most important rule in this section: never cut PVC, vinyl, or anything that contains chlorine. Lasering chlorinated material releases hydrochloric acid gas that destroys your lungs, your laser optics, and the metal frame of your machine. The damage to the machine is immediate and irreversible.
Beyond that, materials fall into three buckets: safe, conditional, and never.
About this page
Laser engravers and cutters use intense light, often at wavelengths your eye cannot see. Improper use can cause permanent eye injury, severe burns, fire, and property damage.
I am a maker, not a chemist, toxicologist, or industrial-hygiene professional. The material lists below reflect commonly published guidance and practical experience; they are not exhaustive, and a material's behavior depends on its formulation, additives, coatings, thickness, and your machine's wavelength and power. The authoritative source for any specific material is:
- The safety data sheet (SDS) from the material's manufacturer.
- The safety documentation that shipped with your machine.
- Local fire, building, and ventilation codes.
When this page and the manufacturer disagree, the manufacturer wins. When the SDS is unavailable or ambiguous, the default answer is do not cut the material. Beam Bench (the app and these docs) is provided as-is with no warranty; running a laser is your responsibility. See the terms for the full disclaimer.
Never (toxic, corrosive, or fire-prone)
| Material | Why |
|---|---|
| PVC (polyvinyl chloride) | Chlorine gas + HCl. Destroys machine and lungs. |
| Vinyl, vinyl banner material | Same as PVC. |
| ABS plastic | Cyanide gas + acrid smoke. |
| Polycarbonate (Lexan) | Discolors, melts, catches fire. |
| Fiberglass | Toxic resin, abrasive dust. |
| Carbon fiber | Conductive dust that shorts machine electronics. |
| Coated carbon fiber | Same plus toxic resin. |
| Anything you can't identify | Do not. |
If a material's data sheet lists chlorine, fluorine, or "halogen" anywhere, do not cut it.
Conditional (OK with proper ventilation and material verification)
| Material | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cast acrylic | Clean cuts and flame-polished edges. Verify it is cast, not extruded. Extruded acrylic chips and produces a frosted edge. |
| Plywood | Glue varies. Birch and Baltic birch are generally OK. Big-box plywood with phenolic glue smokes badly. Smell-test a small cut. |
| MDF | Cuts cleanly but the binder releases formaldehyde. Vent well. |
| Solid hardwood | Generally OK. Pitch pockets in pine cause flare-ups. |
| Leather | Vegetable-tanned only. Chrome-tanned releases hexavalent chromium. |
| Cardboard, paper, cork | OK. Use low power and air assist; they catch fire easily. |
| Anodized aluminum | Engrave only, do not try to cut. Marks well. |
| Coated steel | Engrave only. Verify the coating is laser-safe. |
| Cotton, linen | OK to cut and engrave. Synthetics blend in fabric, verify. |
| Felt | Wool felt OK. Synthetic felt is often plastic. |
Safe (no special concerns beyond normal ventilation and supervision)
- Untreated solid wood (most species)
- Glass (engraving only, with a cover sheet to prevent micro-fractures)
- Slate and stone (engraving only)
- Most painted/anodized metals for engraving
When in doubt
- Get the material's data sheet. Look for chlorine, fluorine, halogenated compounds, "PVC", "vinyl", phenolic, urea-formaldehyde.
- If you cannot find the data sheet, do a small smell test outdoors with extraction running. Acrid, sharp, chemical smell → stop, do not use that material.
- Search the laser community (Facebook, Reddit, vendor forums) for the specific material name. Someone has tried it.
- If you still cannot verify it is safe, do not cut it.
Material library
Once you have verified a material and dialed in settings, save them as a preset in the Material Library. Beam Bench projects can reference saved materials so you do not have to remember power/speed by hand.
What to do
- Verify every new material before the first cut.
- Keep a list of safe materials and their tested settings.
- Vent every cut.
- Test new materials in small swatches first.
What not to do
- Do not cut PVC, vinyl, or any chlorinated plastic. Ever.
- Do not cut unknown plastics from the scrap bin.
- Do not assume that because a sample worked, the next sheet of the same product is identical. Coatings and adhesives vary between batches.