Materials & Settings
Below you will find information on materials that are safe to engrave, cutting and engraving settings, and retailers selling laserable materials.
Laser Safe Materials. Below is a link to a list of materials that are generally considered safe to cut (along with a list of materials you should never cut).
Average Cutting and Engraving Parameters. The links below will give you an approximate expectation of the cutting thicknesses of various wattage lasers along with ball park settings for cutting and engraving.
Material Settings. Below are setting suggestions from various sites. Every machine is different, so these may require some tweaking for your particular machine.
Engraving on Stainless Steel and Ceramic. Marking inks will allow you to mark on materials such as glass, ceramics, and some metals, that otherwise could not be engraved. This video compares various products on different materials: Laser Engrave on Metal Product Test: Cermark, Thermark, Enduramark, LaserBond 100 & Dry Moly Lube. Some of the best prices on Cermark are from JPPlus, which has lower prices than Amazon.
Cermark LMM6000 - Metal Only
Cermark LMC6044 - Ceramic and Glass
Cermark Ultra - New! For Metal, Ceramic, and Glass
You can also purchase marking products directly from Brilliance Laser Inks.
Where to Buy Materials. Below you will find a list of companies that provide products suitable for the laser community.
JDS Industries - Wholesale supplies, including tumblers, awards, coasters, masks, trays, unisub board, acrylic, gifts, pens, knives, flasks, wine cases, poker cases, cutting boards, bbq sets, trophies, awards, bottle openers, ornaments, cermark spray, and more. They have just about anything you can think of. $99 minimum for free shipping. However, you MUST have a resale certificate to open an account.
Johnson Plastics Plus (JPPlus) - Engravable items similar to JDS, but on a smaller scale. Easier to set up an account and no resale certificate is needed.
RTIC Outdoors - A popular manufacturer of outdoor goods similar to Yeti, but at a lower price point.
Xstron - Wholesale lighted LED bases. Ships from China, and amazingly inexpensive. However, shipping can be expensive. Email them for a custom shipping quote to get the best rates.
Woodpeckers - A retailer of wood sheets and wood products.
Tandy Leather - A retailer of leather and leather supplies.
JMP Rubber Stamp Materials - A retailer of stamp making equipment and supplies.
Home Depot - A big box store that offers PureBond project panels suitable for the GlowForge and other lasers.
Inventables - Over over 100 varieties of acrylic sheets in various colors, sizes, and textures.
States Industries - A producer of cut to size specialty plywood and 1/8" dry erase board.
T&C Laser Materials - A supplier of wood, wood veneers and acrylic to the laser community.
Cerulean Tides - A supplier of acrylic sheets to the laser community.Laser Engraving Buy In Group - A Facebook group created for laser owners looking for wholesale prices on goods as a group.
Trotec Materials - A supplier of a wide range of laser and engraving sheets.
LumenEdge - A supplier of LED edge lighting and accessories.
eStreetPlastics - A supplier of cast acrylic sheets (large selection, slow to ship).
iMaterial - A provider of unique, decorative acrylic sheets.
DelviesPlastics - A supplier of two-tone, translucent, and transparent acrylic sheets.
LaserBeast Lab - A supplier of engravable items, including rubber stamps and acrylic key chains.
CM's Acrylics - A supplier of standard and specialty acrylics including woodgrain and marble.
Balsa USA - Supplier of high-quality balsa wood and other materials.
Houston Acrylic - A supplier of acrylic and leatherette engravables.
Dog Tag Blanks - A wholesale supplier of dog tag blanks.
Sign Tech Systems - A supplier of anodized metal license plates and metal sign blanks.
Crazy Laser Dad - A small business that supplies laser engraveable items.