Our cork recycling program is no longer running (effective December 1, 2021). We are not accepting any more corks.
Our cork recycling program is no longer running (effective December 1, 2021). We are not accepting any more corks.

Laser-cutting Failed!

cork cut with laser burnedIn my search for a suitable method to trim used wine corks into uniformly thick discs with finished surfaces, I contacted a firm with laser cutting equipment. They took a batch of natural corks and synthetic stoppers to experiment with.

I had hoped the laser cutting would provide a clean surface that needed no additional finishing, but results suggest this method is not a suitable option.

The depth of the cut did not even reach the centre axis of the cork before burning occurred.

synthetic wine stopper fuses during laser cutting test

We had similar results when testing the laser cutting on synthetic stoppers. While the synthetics did not burn, the cut did melt — causing the discs to fuse back together as the laser penetrated.

This suggests a return to our original thoughts of some type of shearing process.

The precision shear used by printers to trim lifts of printed paper give an excellent finished cut.

If you know of equipment or a process that would be suitable, we’d love to hear from you.

About the author

Ian launched the Put a Cork in it recycling program in 2010. He is a big proponent of renewable energy and sustainability. And he walks the talk.