Comments on: How to Identify Polymers with Burnination

By: Jerry Rutherford

Jerry Rutherford — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:20:00 +0000

Very nicely done. I have been looking up the data sheets, etc. This is a good quick test. Thanks! (I have a 35w Epilog laser) I wonder how SPECTAR plastic will react? It smells VERY sweet… and even a tiny amount will make you woozy… so it is likely VERY BAD to burn it. http://www.eastman.com/Products/Pages/ProductHome.aspx?Product=71002011&list=Polymers but you can heat form it very well.

By: osnos

osnos — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 03:14:14 +0000

Fluorine is correct. Which, with the available hydrogen in the atmosphere (moisture), will form hydrofluoric acid. It will likely fog up your glass optics. Don't burn PTFE.

By: RoganGunn

RoganGunn — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:47:09 +0000

No, don't worry – there are LOADS of different greens caused by various elements.

In those lighters they use a metal compound to give off certain colours. Vibrant green is nickel and it's compounds/salts, or bluey-green may be a copper compound. All the harmful stuff would be too expensive to put on a cheapo lighter. (E.g. Barium or Boron compounds.)

There's an admittedly incomplete list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_test

Hope this helps! Though you should have paid attention in chemistry at school…

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:12:32 +0000

Never burn PTFE, it's fumes are cacinogenic, maybe fluorine?

By: shiiitt??

shiiitt?? — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:23:53 +0000

whoa whoa whoa wait i got these lighters from beijing that are shaped like olympic torches that light green fire….shit? or is something else causing green fire?

By: Ernie

Ernie — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:00:38 +0000

Hi.
How much would it cost to perform a burn test of some heavy cardboard? I need to determine the degree of scorching it will suffer if I use it to laser cut a design.

Thanks
Ernie

By: Lynne Angeloro

Lynne Angeloro — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:03:53 +0000

GREAT info on keeping us from being dead! We’ll use this flame test here at TechShop to be sure no one kills us all in a cloud of Chlorine gas with one of our 2 laser cutters!

THANKS!
Lynne.

By: Darin

Darin — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:49:20 +0000

thanks for putting this up, as a pipefitter/welder, I’m all the time put in positions where things around me get burned up, now I can at least test some of them to know what I should absolutely have removed before I get at what I’m working on directly. The air I breathe sometimes is bad enough, I certainly don’t need chlorine too.

By: != Lazer etching a Moleskin » NYC Resistor » Electronics, Hacking, Classes, and Workspace.

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:27:53 +0000

[...] we got the Lazor at NYCR, Adam discovered that Moleskin’s have PVC (not good) in the leather and lazering such a thing could be harmful [...]

By: Arthur

Arthur — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:51:16 +0000

also remember that a propane torch releases CO (ie: carbon monoxide) which is poisonous. If you get a headache while burning “safe non-PVC’s”, it could be because of the CO.