Cutting Open Cell Foam

We occasionally get samples from customers to try out under the laser to see if it will work.  Today we tried out a European open cell foam product called Filtrocel.  It looks like standard foam used in cushions and specialty packing applications.  So we put it under the laser and here are the results!

Results

Cutting this kind of foam works great.  It will cut up to about 16mm to 18mm without a problem with one pass.  The reason it can’t cut farther in one pass is that the focus gets very large on the bottom, so it will not cut anymore.  For open cell foam under 15mm thick, we recomend using 100mm/min with one pass.  It will cut all the way through.  If it is thicker, then cut at 100mm/min, then reduce the Z height and make a second pass.  We tested it up to 25mm and it works great!  The cut quality is great and the depth per cut is also very good.

Multiple feedrate cut depth investigation

Cutting star pattern in 15mm open cell foam.