Suitable & Prohibited Materials

Suitable Materials

The Epilog laser cutters are capable of cutting, etching or engraving the materials listed below. These material settings are not preloaded on the Laser PCs and will need to be created by dFab staff.

	Etch | Engrave	Cut
Fabric (eg, Felt)	x	x
Glass	x
Ceramic	x
Delrin	x	x
Cloth	x	x
Leather	x	x
Melamine	x	x
Mother of Pearl	x	x
Mylar	x	x
Pressboard	x	x
Rubber	x	x
Wood Veneer	x	x
Fibreglass	x	x
Painted Metals	x
Tile	x
Cork	x	x
Corian	x	x

Note this list is incomplete and does not include all suitable materials. If you would like to find out more about a specific material. contact dFab

Adding New Materials

If you would like to cut, etch or engrave a non-standard material, the following procedure should be followed.

1. Contact dFab via consultation form including the Material Type & Desired Thickness

2. Source a sample piece of the material & a Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

3. Drop sample material at dFab. dFab will do a range of test cuts to refine the material settings. You will be notified when the material has been added to the Material database.

4. Purchase Material & Laser Cut

External Suppliers

Buy Plywood, Timber, Veneer, MDF, Particleboard & Marine Ply | PlycoPlyco

Plyco - Plywood panels

Raw Plastic Materials | Plastic Engineering | Plastic FabricationPlastics Center

​​Plastics Center - Acrylic sheets

Acrylico Displays Pty Ltd.

​​Acrylico - Acrylic sheets

Art & Craft Supplies In Store & Online | Eckersley's

Eckersley's - Cardstocks, Polypropylene, Veneer sheets

Prohibited Materials

The following list of Prohibited Materials cannot be cut on any of dFab's epilog laser cutters.

Medium Density FIbreboard (MDF)	not allowed in any MADA workshop carcinogen, formaldehyde
Exterior Grade or Marine Plywood	emits harmful gases
Polyvinylchloride (PVC) or VInyl	emits harmful gases - Chlorine
Pleather | Artificial/Synthetic Leather	emits harmful gases - Chlorine
Coated Carbon	emits noxious fumes
Polycarbonate (PC) or Acetate	risk of fire and severe discolouration
ABS	melts & emits cyanide gas
HDPE	high risk of fire & melting
Polystyrene Foam	high risk of fire
Polypropylene foam or sheets >1mm	high risk of fire
Epoxy	high risk of melting
Foodstuffs	high risk of fire & difficulty regulating
Adhesive Backed Materials	may damage vector table