Cutting EVA Foam +10W Laser

Snapmaker 2.0
1

This might be helpful for others, I just cut 10mm EVA Foam (Black) with my 10w laser on SM A350. My Settings were:
work speed 600,
N Passes 2,
step 0.01,
laser power 50%
I used the AutoFocus setting with Luban. There was smoke but I use the fan and Air Purifier at low. The foam was taped flat around the edges with masking tape. I did all this because I needed to have precision cuts.
600 @ 75% power was too much smoke but worked. 1200 @ 100% also worked but too much smoke.

What did not work was: 1200 @ 1 pass and 100%, 700 & 800 speed at 2 passes and 50%, they did not cut through the EVA foam.
Hopefully, we can build a list for all EVA foams thickness from 1mm to 10mm thick and get faster cutting time with less smoke.
Now I need to find the best place to buy EVA Foam in ON, Canada.

2

Howdy from Texas! I want to order some EVA foam from Amazon to try for creating ink stamps. I was wondering if that is something that youā€™ve done with EVA ? Does color matter ? Any tips on cutting different thicknesses of EVA ? I have the 10W laser.

3

hey Bob, Cutting Eva Foam less than 8mm should work with one pass, using the settings above. use more fan power to pull the smoke out faster. White Eva will not work with Diod lasers. I plan on using Snapmaker for early products then add gweikecloud Pro or NOX for the full business.

When testing, Iā€™ve cut 1/2" squares at faster speeds and 50, 75 & 100% power to see how fast the laser can move with a full cut. (faster & less power - means less smoke).

4

Thanks for getting back to me. I ordered some black EVA online. I figured that once I get my dual extruder all figured out, Iā€™d put the the 10W laser back on and try cutting and etching the EVA. Iā€™d like to try making some ink-pad style stamps.

Iā€™ve added plenty of additional ventilation. I moved the fan to the top of the rear of the case and added an inline DC ā€œbilgeā€ fan which really moves the fumes from laser cutting and ASA printing out of the enclosure (and ducted to the outdoors).

Thanks again for your input on cutting EVA! Have a great week.

ā€“Bob

5

Just to add my experience with 3mm Craft Foam Black EVA Foam Paper 8 x 12 Inch (from Amazon) using the 10W Snapmaker Laser - I cut it with:

  • Method: On the Path
  • Jog Speed: 3000
  • Work Speed: 600
  • Initial Cutting Height Offset: 0
  • Number of Passes: 1
  • Laser Power: 80%
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