Lasering small parts

I’m working on making inlays for my cutting boards…


There are some small pieces that fall out into the void below… is there something I can put beneath my stock to prevent this? Like a cookie sheet?

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Why not a piece of MDF or anything sacrificial in nature that can be used more than once for the same purpose? Settings for laser should be enough to cut through main piece but not very far into sacrificial piece. Think spoil board for Multicam…

But not anything metal…right?

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That’s what I’m asking the, Bed is metal? But now I’m thinking metal screen material.

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If small metal parts, soft metals like brass, copper, alum. Should be able to on Shopokeo @jphelps

The laser bed is metal but the honeycomb pattern means the bed isn’t exposed to the laser very often. When the laser does cross one of the slats, it tends to reflect and cause burning, you see this clearly with acrylic and after the fact in wood. Long story short, it’s not a good idea to put a metal pan underneath the parts because it’ll reflect the laser all the time, which would cause a lot of burning in your part and might be a safety risk.

I’d put a piece of mdf down on the bed, then set my stock on some spacers to keep it elevated (.5-1in) above the mdf. The gap will help prevent that burning from occuring and let the beam expand a bit before hitting the mdf, so the mdf lasts longer.

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I’m working with hardwoods

Thank you that make it clearer for me thanks

I cut tiny parts all the time. I leave one or two very small (.040") spots (i.e., tabs) still attached and then cut that tiny spot with an exacto knife. If you make your cuts in multiple passes you could cut partial depth all the way around and then just leave the tabs intact on the final pass.

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