The lazer cutter

Having never used a lazer cutter before, I decided to do a little research to see what I could expect. From what I have seen of previous models, MDF was most commonly used as a materials, though I'm told it's more cost efficient to use cardboard. We were told by our tutors to experiment with different materials, and though some would not be possible to cut (such as steel) other materials could be manipulated using the lazer cutter in order to produce a similar material effect.

I went through some old blogs, and it seemed that the most interesting lazer cutting designs were those that use repetition, interesting/unusual shapes, different materials and are put together very precisely and carefully. I also researched other lazer cutting designs, here are a few that I liked, most of which show all the aforementioned principles that I took to be the most captivating:

This lazer cut model by Daniel Widrig shows both intricate shapes as well as repetition to create a highly unusual and complex shape that would not have been generated had it not been for his choice of layering.

This example of lazer cutting shows how a material such as MDF can be carefully engraved and used as sort of "base" material in order to emulate another, in this case, it appears to look like a tartan or perhaps steel type of material.

It would be quite interesting to cut out a material that is easily contorted, such as paper or perhaps even better, material such as cotton. I have heard that someone used leather in a previous model, but was unable to find who this could be from checking the blogs. I think leather would make a very interesting material to cut, that though lead me onto sandpaper of all things, but I have a feeling that it is not safe to lazer cut sand paper due to the small granules that could become displaced and perhaps cause damage to the machine? I plan on asking tomorrow.