Laser Cutting Films for keyboards

Modern laser technology is often used for cutting plastic film for membrane keyboards made from polycarbonate, polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate or polyester. To cut technical films with a laser, you need a laser cutter and – ideally – a vacuum table. The laser ensures that cut edges are melted in a controlled way. This produces perfectly-sealed cut edges. The process is gentle and doesn’t involve touching the material, meaning that chipping of the film ink is avoided.

Even the smallest shapes minimal radii can be produced without any issues. Benefit from perfect results at a manageable investment volume with a laser cutter from JustLaser! In comparison to alternative technologies like punching or cutting plotters, lasers are considered the quicker and more accurate process for day-to-day work.

All kinds of film can be processed using a JustLaser Laser Cutter. Even metal foil with a thickness of up to 0.5 mm is no problem. Many companies use special plastic film for prototypes. Both front films and technical films can be processed using a laser. In practice, the following four types of plastic are usually used:

• Polyethylene terephthalate
• Polyester
• Polycarbonate (maximum film thickness of about 0.2 mm, otherwise you get yellowed edges)
• Polyimide

It’s not only in prototyping that films cut using a laser are advantageous. Thanks to modern materials and optimised printing technology, there are a large number of applications today. There are also alternative types of cut, but many companies work with lasers due to the large number of benefits to the process. Anyone using a laser to cut technical films can rely on precise cut edges. At one time, lasers were only used for smaller numbers of units, but the use of a laser cutter is now considered the ideal cutting process for large quantities. The following film components are frequently cut using a laser:

• Membrane keyboards
• Back-injected films (automotive industry)
• Front panels
• Technical adhesive films (e.g. 3M or Tesa)
• Multi-layer films (even with metallic interlayers, e.g. as a vapour barrier)

It is not necessary to fix the material in place to cut technical films with a laser. The film is simply placed on the vacuum table and can then be processed immediately. While the force applied in punching often causes the material to peel, laser cutting produces clean and precise cuts. Post-processing is usually no longer necessary. Alternative methods often necessitate high maintenance costs (tool wear, etc.), but you can rely on cost-effective and consistently-high cutting quality with laser cutting. Laser cutting offers maximum flexibility when choosing the desired contours – without the need for annoying tool changes in between batches.