LaserCutting Para Rubber

For my project I bought some 1.5 mm thick Para rubber. at Haaglanden Rubber in The Hague. It is a brownish natural rubber which comes from the Para Rubber Tree. At Haaglanden Rubber it was cut of a 1.5 meter high roll and it costs about 18 euro per square meter.

After playing around with the settings of the lasercutter I found that the best setting was:

• speed: 20%
• full power
• Frequency: 100 Hz (quite low)

I found that at higher speeds the material would still stick together and at lower speeds the edges of shape got burn marks. Putting down the rubber with the shiny side up seemed to work best for reducing burn marks

My initial plans were to make jewelery out of the material however during the process of cutting it became clear that this wasn't the best suitable material for the presumed application… During a longer cut there is a lot of smoke development which smells very bad. The rubber however is cut quite precise, but does't loose its bad smell afterwards. Also after cutting the edges of the shape are very sticky. The stickyness and bad smell can't be washed off by water or soda. Maybe by using another cleaning substance this is doable. The rubber is quite susceptible to chemicals so I haven't found the best cleaner yet.

All in all for making jewelery this wasn't the best material, for other projects where smell and stickness aren't an issue para rubber might work. Next I'm going to try it using silicone rubber, and if it works out well pictures will follow…