Just wondering what the smallest gear/cog would be the laser could cut in acrylic? I have a very small reduction gear box i want to copy the gears in but from a more durable medium. Talking 1-2 mm, sorry I’m still in metric, diameter and up.
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Kerf is something like .05 mm, the smaller you go the less the gears will mesh, but accounting for kerf you could hypothetically go as small as you want. Friction/ heat would also increase with smaller gears/ higher rotation rate.
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Yeah, 1mm diameter is probably a bit too small. Maybe 2-3mm you could get something usable. It would depend on tooth count. Doesn’t hurt to try, though, especially with such a small amount of material. A resin printer might be an option, but support setup and removal could be tricky.
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Thanks for the info 
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Ok did some measurements smallest gear is about 3.5mm with 10 teeth, is this achievable on laser with good teeth?
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Sounds plausible. Can’t say I’ve ever done anything quite that small, though.
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If your tool path follows the line you will probably end up with teeth too small and roots too big. So you’ll want to use a tool offset that places the inside of the kerf on the line. It has been awhile since I cut anything on the laser so I don’t remember what the setting is called there.
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There is a kerf offset in the cut settings.
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