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Materials and Vendor Guide

Bringing your own materials to the Collaboratory? Review our guidelines and vendor suggestions below.

To protect staff and visitors from injury and prevent machine damage, all materials must be approved before use. Certain materials require additional documentation for approval.

Acrylic Sheets

Laser etching and cutting certain materials can produce toxic fumes or particulates that can damage the equipment. Plastics requires a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for every material, regardless of vendor. Bring both the SDS and your purchase invoice to your visit.

Prohibited Acrylics:

  • Any acrylics purchased through Amazon
  • Extruded acrylic
  • Scrap acrylic pieces from any seller, including Petersen Brothers

Sheet Dimensions

  • Up to 18”x24”
  • Thickness of 1/8”

Acrylic Type

  • Cast acrylic only, no extruded, no polycarbonate

Suggested Vendors

Embroidery Designs

To protect our machines from damage, custom embroidery designs must be professionally digitized before use.

Requirements & Format

  • File Format: .DST (universal embroidery format)
  • Design Dimensions: Provide exact project measurements when submitting your file to a digitizing service.

Suggested Vendors

Laserable Stamp Rubber

Rubber Type

  • Premium no-odor rubber only

Suggested Vendors

LED Keychains and Lamp Bases

Clear acrylic cut in a circle with etched images and words and inserted into an LED light base.

Note: Acrylic included with these items is not allowed in our laser.

We do not sell LED keychains or LED light bases, such as the one seen in the photo. To purchase your own keychain or light base, search online retailers for "LED acrylic keychains" and "LED light base for acrylic".

To ensure that your acrylic design fits correctly into an LED keychain or light base, purchase and bring those items with you to the Collaboratory.

Wood Sheets and Boards

Note: MDF and plywood are prohibited in the laser cutter. Wood must be untreated.

Dimensions

  • Up to 18”x24”
  • To cut through, thickness must be ¼” or less

Suggested Vendors

  • Etsy or Amazon; search for solid wood sheets or boards
  • Owl Hardwood Lumber in Des Plaines (847-824-5025) - Call for availability