3mm Clear Acrylic

Frosted engrave on acrylic. Reduce power for lighter frosting.

Proofgrade Medium Clear Acrylic. Full power, single pass at maximum speed.

Clean flame-polished edges. Air assist critical to prevent re-fusing.

Clean flame-polished edge on clear acrylic. Remove film before cutting.

Interior frost in clear acrylic. No yellowing. Fast at 20W.

Frosted mark inside clear acrylic. No yellowing unlike CO2.

UV creates white frosted marks in clear acrylic — visible from the side.

Clear acrylic extremely difficult for 5W diode — 8+ passes, poor results. Not recommended.

Clear acrylic needs 4+ passes at full power on 20W diode.

Clear acrylic very challenging for 10W diode — 5+ passes, inconsistent results.

Clear acrylic in one pass on 100W Boss.

Clear acrylic cuts cleanly on 80W CO2 in one pass.

Clear acrylic in 2 passes on galvo CO2. CO2 cuts acrylic well unlike diode.

Clear acrylic difficult for diode — 4 passes at full power.

Clear acrylic needs 4+ passes at full power on 20W diode.

Clear acrylic very difficult for 10W diode — inconsistent results even with 6 passes.

Clear acrylic needs multiple passes even at 22W. Cast acrylic preferred.

Clear acrylic very difficult for 10W diode — 5+ passes, inconsistent results.

Clear acrylic challenging for diode — 4 passes at full power minimum.

Diode lasers struggle with clear acrylic — 4+ passes at full power. Consider frosted or coloured acrylic instead.

Clear acrylic is hard for diode lasers — 3 passes at full power. Cast acrylic works better than extruded.

Clean frosted engrave at 15%. The Beamo's CO2 beam gives excellent results on acrylic — far better than any diode laser at the same price. Use the 'invert' option in Beam Studio for light-on-dark effects. Great for awards and personalised gifts.

Flame-polished edges on 3mm cast acrylic. The Beamo's enclosed design contains acrylic fumes well — but still connect the exhaust to a window or duct. Beam Studio has built-in acrylic parameters that are well-tuned for the 30W tube.

Crisp frosted engrave at 15% and 450mm/s. The 60W tube at 15% is equivalent to about 30% on a 20W machine. The large bed makes it practical to engrave full-sheet acrylic signage in a single job. Use LightBurn's 'constant power' mode for even fills.

Flame-polished acrylic cuts at production speed. The Nova 35's consistent power delivery produces even polish across a 600mm wide cut — no variation between the start and end of a long cut that's common on machines with inferior PSUs.

Crisp frosted engrave at 18%. The Epilog's consistent power delivery means no streaking or banding across wide raster fills — a common problem on cheaper CO2 machines. For 3D relief engraving use 'vary power' mode with a greyscale depth map.

Flame-polished edges on cast acrylic. The Epilog's precise motion control means cuts are straight and smooth — no wobble from belt slack. Always use cast acrylic (not extruded) for cutting. Extruded acrylic can produce chlorine gas and doesn't polish as cleanly.

Full power slow cut gives flame-polished edges on clear cast acrylic. The Basic's 40W tube needs slightly slower speed than the Pro for the same quality result. Always use cast acrylic rather than extruded — extruded acrylic produces hazardous chlorine gas.

Frosted engrave at 20% and 200mm/s. Lower power prevents melting the surface while still achieving a clean frost effect. For photo engraves use the 'vary power' engrave mode in the Glowforge App and invert your image for a light-on-dark result.

Full power at 20mm/s gives flame-polished edges on 3mm cast acrylic. Remove the top protective film only — leave the bottom film on during cutting to protect the crumb tray. Good ventilation is essential as acrylic fumes are harmful.

Frosted finish at 15% and 350mm/s. CO2 engraves acrylic cleanly without melting the surface. For photos, use a dithered image (Newsprint or Stucki in LightBurn) and invert for a light-on-dark result.

Slow and steady gets flame-polished edges on clear acrylic. Remove the protective film on the top only — leave the bottom film on to protect your bed. Good ventilation is critical; acrylic fumes are harmful.

Excellent polished edge on acrylic. Single pass at 80W. Remove film, vent well.

Proofgrade Medium Clear Acrylic — full power single pass. Flame-polished edge. Remove protective film before cutting.

Clear acrylic cuts beautifully with CO2 — polished flame edge. Typical K40 setting: 5–7mm/s at 90% for 3mm clear in one pass. Remove masking immediately after cutting. Colored acrylic varies slightly — black needs a touch less, yellow/orange a touch more. Ventilate well.

Clean cut. Remove film. Vent well.

Flame-polished edge. Perfect single pass cut.

Frosted engrave. 18% at 55W is equivalent to about 40% on a 20W machine. Test first.

Flame-polished edges. Remove protective film. Good ventilation essential.

Frosted engrave on acrylic. Reduce power for lighter frosting.

Frosted engrave on clear acrylic. 20% power gives clean frosting without melting.

Crystal-clear flame-polished edges. Remove film. Vent well — acrylic fumes.

What are the best laser settings for 3mm Clear Acrylic?

A top-rated community setting for 3mm Clear Acrylic on the Glowforge Basic is speed 1000 glowforge_units, power 40%. There are 94 community-tested settings for 3mm Clear Acrylic across 52 machines on this page.

Can a diode laser engrave or cut 3mm Clear Acrylic?

Yes - there are 49 community settings for 3mm Clear Acrylic on diode lasers and 41 on CO₂ lasers. CO₂ lasers generally cut faster and cleaner, but modern high-wattage diode lasers handle most acrylic work well.

Do I need air assist for 3mm Clear Acrylic?

30% of the community settings for 3mm Clear Acrylic use air assist. Air assist is optional for most operations but can improve edge quality on cuts.

What speed and power to cut 3mm Clear Acrylic in one pass?

Settings vary by machine wattage. For a 20W diode laser, cutting 3mm Clear Acrylic typically requires high power (90–100%) at moderate speed (1500–3000 mm/min) with air assist. CO₂ lasers can cut 3mm material faster - 20–60 mm/s at 50–70% power is common. Check the settings table below for your specific machine.