Laser cutting Plexiglass 8mm: speed, time and cost
Plexiglass 8mm cuts at about 4 mm/s on a 100 W CO2 laser in one pass. Below: what that means in time and money on common machines, plus settings tips. Price your own file in the calculator — it runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
Open the calculator preset for Plexiglass 8mm →Plexiglass 8mm at a glance
| Material group | Plexiglass / Acrylic |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 8 mm |
| Reference cut speed (100 W CO2) | 4 mm/s × 1 pass |
| Air assist | low air assist (high air frosts the edge) |
| Diode lasers | no — clear/translucent acrylic passes the 450 nm beam |
Time and cost by machine (100 × 60 mm part, €60/h)
| Machine | Speed | Time | Machine cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| xTool D1 Pro 10W | cannot cut clear acrylic (diode beam passes through) | ||
| xTool D1 Pro 20W / S1 20W | cannot cut clear acrylic (diode beam passes through) | ||
| OMTech K40 (40W CO2) | 2 mm/s | 2 m 40 s | €2.67 |
| OMTech / Gweike 60W | 3 mm/s | 1 m 47 s | €1.78 |
| OMTech / Thunder / Gweike 80W | 3.6 mm/s | 1 m 29 s | €1.48 |
| 100 W CO2 (workshop reference) | 4 mm/s | 1 m 20 s | €1.33 |
Speeds scale from the workshop reference by machine class. Material, setup and margin come on top — open the calculator to add them and nest parts on your sheet.
Settings tips for Plexiglass 8mm
cast acrylic gives a flame-polished edge; extruded melts more. Leave the protective film on while cutting. Test-cut a small square first: dial speed, not power, until it just cuts through — cleaner edge, less char.
Plexiglass 8mm FAQ
How fast can you laser cut Plexiglass 8mm?
On a 100 W CO2 laser about 4 mm/s in a single pass. Diode lasers are roughly 5× slower (and cannot cut clear acrylic at all). A 100 × 60 mm part (320 mm of cutting) takes about 1 m 20 s at 4 mm/s.
How much does laser cutting Plexiglass 8mm cost?
Laser cutting is priced by machine time: cut length ÷ speed = time, × hourly rate (€60/h typical for a small shop) + setup + material. At 4 mm/s a 100 × 60 mm part is about €1.33 of machine time before material and setup.
What settings do I use for Plexiglass 8mm?
Start from your machine's plexiglass / acrylic preset, use low air assist (high air frosts the edge), and do a test cut: if it doesn't cut through, slow down 10–15% before adding power. cast acrylic gives a flame-polished edge; extruded melts more. Leave the protective film on while cutting.
Other Plexiglass / Acrylic: Plexiglass 2mm · Plexiglass 3mm · Plexiglass 4mm · Plexiglass 5mm · Plexiglass 6mm · Plexiglass 10mm