Vacuum-forming sheet

Silicone resin

Resin

Light-curable silicone printing material. Formlabs describes Silicone 40A as a silicone formulation without acrylate or monomer additives, which is why it does not carry the methacrylate resins' sensitisation classification.

Silicone 40A; Formlabs Silicone 40A; silicone photopolymer

Carbon fibre stock

Composite

Carbon-fibre cloth and cured composite sheet or plate. Strong, stiff fibres that leave sharp splinters and highly abrasive mixed fibre and resin debris when cut or abraded. Machining cured composite breaks reinforcement and matrix together and creates fine, electrically conductive contamination.

Carbon fibre sheet; carbon fibre plate; carbon fibre cloth; CFRP

PVC

Plastic

Chlorine-containing thermoplastic. It can be sawn, drilled or routed into chips like other rigid plastics, but its heated decomposition chemistry is fundamentally different: thermal degradation releases hydrogen chloride.

Polyvinyl chloride; vinyl; Sintra; foamed PVC

CNC coolant

Chemical

Kool Mist Formula 77 is a water-dilutable machining coolant used to cool and lubricate the cutting interface. At the STEM Center, it is delivered through a FogBuster non-atomizing coolant system, which uses a low-pressure air stream to carry relatively large coolant droplets directly to the tool and cutting zone rather than producing a conventional fine coolant mist.

Kool Mist Formula 77; machining coolant; cutting fluid; water-dilutable coolant

Isopropyl alcohol 99.9%

Chemical

Near-neat isopropyl alcohol, a fast-evaporating water-miscible solvent used to wash uncured photopolymer resin off printed parts. Rapid evaporation means a substantial vapour phase whenever it is poured, the washer is opened, or wet parts are handled.

IPA; isopropanol; Form Wash solvent

Laser engraving laminate

Plastic

A purchasing category rather than one material. Thin engraving laminates use impact acrylic, ABS, PET or other polymer substrates with a contrasting surface layer, so laser behaviour depends on the exact SKU rather than on how the sheet looks.

Rowmark LaserMax TriLayer; Rowmark Mattes; Rowmark Mates; Gold Coast; First Surface Rotary Euro Colors; engraving plastic

Photopolymer resin (methacrylate)

Resin

Liquid methacrylate and urethane-methacrylate photopolymer, cured layer by layer by light. Tough 2000 V2 declares methacrylate monomers at 40-60% and urethane dimethacrylate at 15-25%. Uncured material stays liquid and reactive until it is fully post-cured.

SLA resin; UV resin; methacrylate resin; urethane dimethacrylate; Tough 2000; Tough 2000 V2

TPU

Plastic

Flexible thermoplastic polyurethane filament with rubber-like deformation rather than rigid fracture. Its softness makes sanding and cutting inefficient: it stretches, smears and heats under tooling instead of cutting cleanly.

Thermoplastic polyurethane; flexible filament; TPU 95A HF; TPU for AMS; PolyFlex TPU95

Onyx CF nylon

Composite

Carbon-fibre-reinforced nylon-family filament: a tough thermoplastic matrix with chopped carbon fibre, more abrasive to nozzles and cutting tools than plain nylon. Produces fibre-containing composite dust if mechanically machined.

Markforged Onyx; carbon fibre nylon; chopped carbon fibre nylon

Carbon-fibre-filled filament

Composite

Short-carbon-fibre composite filament, predominantly PLA or PETG with a dispersed carbon-fibre fraction of 5-10%. Stiffer and far more abrasive to tooling than the unfilled polymer. Mechanical post-processing breaks matrix and fibre together, producing mixed polymer and carbon-fibre particulate.

PLA CF; PETG CF; CF filament

PETG

Plastic

Tough, ductile glycol-modified polyester FDM filament. It melts into a tenacious bead and tends to deform or smear under aggressive post-machining rather than fracturing like a brittle plastic. Cutting or sanding a printed part still generates polymer particulate.

Polyethylene terephthalate glycol; PETG Basic; support for PLA-PETG

PLA

Plastic

Thermoplastic polyester FDM filament that melts and re-solidifies cleanly enough for routine printing. Printed parts can be cut, drilled or sanded, producing polymer dust plus whatever filler was compounded into the filament. Filled and decorative grades are more abrasive and less predictable than plain unfilled PLA.

Polylactic acid; PLA Basic; PLA Matte; PLA Silk; PLA Tough+; PLA Translucent; PLA Metal; PLA Wood; support for PLA

Aluminum 6061

Metal

Machinable non-ferrous alloy that creates heat, sharp swarf, hot chips, and combustible fine particulate.

6061 aluminum; aluminium 6061

Polycarbonate

Plastic

Tough, ductile thermoplastic sheet that machines well mechanically but absorbs CO₂ laser energy poorly and can char, melt, and release vapour.

PC sheet

Acrylic / PMMA

Plastic

Rigid, brittle thermoplastic that laser-cuts cleanly but can chip or crack under mechanical tooling.

Acrylic; PMMA

Birch plywood

Wood

Layered hardwood veneer sheet bonded with adhesive. Produces chips and fine hardwood dust during cutting and sanding.

Plywood; birch ply

MDF

Wood

Engineered wood sheet made from wood fibre and binder. Porous and easy to machine, but produces very fine persistent dust and can release binder vapour when heated.

Medium-density fiberboard