Laser Cutter
About our Machine
[ Manual]
Laser Cutter Class syllabus and guide
Machine Info
- Frame:
- Cutting dimensions: 60cm by 90cm (23.6" by 35.4")
- Max stock height allowance:
- Laser focal distance (from lens bracket):
- Controller: RUIDA Controller
- Laser: 100W CO2
- Water Chiller
- Air compressor
- Exhaust: Fume hood attached via 6" hose
- Purchased through funds raised by members and the public in 2022
How to use
Before using the laser cutter, you must first get training through an intro class or get signed off on it by the manager
The following is a handy reference for the steps to go from a design to the GCode that will run on the laser cutter.
Running the Laser Cutter (LightBurn)
https://www.portcitymakerspace.com/wiki/index.php?title=DTC_Laser_Cutter
These are instructions for how to operate our Laser Cutter using the LightBurn interface. LightBurn is both a design program as well as a laser control program. You can use it to create or import drawings, and in the same screen determine how the laser will burn/etch/cut the features on the screen.
Updated: 8/24/2022 by Alex N
Instructions for running the Laser Cutter:
- Start-up Procedure:
- Turn on the power strip. Located behind the laser cutter. This should turn on the Air Compressor, Exhaust Fan, Water Chiller, and Power Supply for the laser.
- Release the red E-stop button by rotating it clockwise a 1/4 turn. This turns on the laser controller.
- Setting up a cut:
- Place your material on the bed. Make sure it is well-aligned and parallel to the sides of the machine.
- With the material under the red probe, press the Focus button to run the auto-focus feature.
- Prepare a file in Lightburn
- Open the LightBurn program (dragon icon).
- Load drawing file or create drawing in the program. Ensure it is aligned as you need it. Common practice is to align drawings to the bottom left corner.
- Set your burn settings in the "Cuts" tab. Use some of the existing test burns for reference or make your own if your material is unique. Note: the settings for each color are saved from the last time the program was used, so double-check your settings to make sure they are what you want!
- Click "Save to SD" and save your file to a USB drive
- Loading a File onto the machine
- Insert USB drive into Laser" in slot labeled "UDisk"
- Press the "File" button. You will see a list of files already on the machine.
- To run a file from the USB drive, it must be copied onto the machine.
- Use the arrow buttons to go to the "Udisk+" option in the menu
- "Read Udisk file"
- Select the name of the file with the Up and Down arrows, and once it is selected press the Right arrow and select "Copy to mem"
- Press "Esc" a few times to get back to file list
- Running a job
- Press the Green Button next to the E-Stop button, make sure it is pressed in
- Select the file you wish to run from the list of files on the machine
- To check your material alignment, use the Frame button to have the machine trace out the job area. It will not fire the laser while it is doing this.
- Hit the Green button near the screen to start.
- It is safe to watch, the IR light from the laser is absorbed by the window. The regular light can be intense when doing a cutting operation however, so avoid staring at the bright light.
- While it is running:
- Never leave the laser unattended! Materials can catch fire!
- If there is a problem, hit the big red emergency stop button. Located on the top of the laser cutter. Please note that this cuts the power, but does not tell the software to stop the laser. To turn it off in the software, you can hit one of the "Test Fire" buttons in the "Console" tab.
- In the event of a fire, use the the fire blanket or the white dry-type fire extinguisher located near the machine.
- NEVER open the lid while the laser is on!
- When done using the machine:
- Turn off the power strip.
- Turn the keyswitch off and put key back.
- Clean underneath the aluminum honeycomb bed. Lift the aluminum honeycomb out and clean up any small pieces and residue left behind. (Plywood tends to leave a lot of residue underneath that can be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol).
Troubleshooting
Software:
Hardware/Physical:
Other potential issues:
LightBurn Video Guides:
- Lesson #1 : First Time User
- Lesson 2: User Interface
- Lesson 3: Cut Settings
- Lesson 4: Boolean Operations
Official LightBurn documentation
Highlights from LightBurn's documentation:
Maintenance
- Vacuum the inside
- The bed of the machine should be vacuum out regularly after cutting to clean up any small pieces that fall into the honeycomb.
- Cleaning the lens and mirrors
- Ask someone to show you how to clean these before attempting yourself!
- A dirty lens can cause burnt gunk to build up and potentially crack the lens.
- Here is a video from the ATX Hackerspace on cleaning their lens - How to Clean Laser Optics
- Aligning the mirrors
- This should be checked once or twice a year. A sign of misaligned mirrors is typically the laser not burning effectively when it gets farther from the top left corner.
- A guide on aligning the mirrors can be found here.
Parts
- Laser Tube Replacement details
- Lens
- Mirrors
Laser Cutter Materials (from ATX Hackerspace)
There are a wide range of materials that our Laser Cutter can cut, etch or mark - but some simply don't work (eg metals) and some are extremely hazardous to either humans or the machine itself (eg PVC and Vinyl). It is therefore imperative that you check these lists before attempting to cut materials that you have not worked with before.
It is not always obvious which materials will work - for example: Polycarbonate/Lexan produces flames and lethal chlorine gas which will rapidly corrode this normally $10,000 machine into uselessness and which is extremely hazardous to the health of people nearby. Yet Acrylic - which looks, smells, feels and tastes just like Lexan - cuts smoothly and cleanly and is one of the best materials to use with the laser! So check and double-check what you're cutting.
NEVER CUT THESE MATERIALS
WARNING: Because many plastics are dangerous to cut, it is important to know what kind you are planning to use. Make has a How-To for identifying unknown plastics with a simple process.
- PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather
- Thick ( >1mm ) Polycarbonate/Lexan
- ABS
- HDPE/milk bottle plastic
- PolyStyrene Foam
- PolyPropylene Foam
- Epoxy
- Fiberglass
- Coated Carbon Fiber
- Any foodstuff ( such as meat, seaweed 'nori' sheets, bread, tortillas... )
Safe Materials
The laser can cut or etch. The materials that the laser can cut materials like wood, paper, cork, and some kinds of plastics. Etching can be done on almost anything, wood, cardboard, aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, marble, stone, tile, and glass.
Cutting
- Many woods
- Plywood/Composite woods
- MDF/Engineered woods
- Paper, card stock
- Cardboard, carton
- Cork
- Acrylic/Lucite/Plexiglas/PMMA
- Thin Polycarbonate Sheeting (<1mm)
- Delrin (POM)
- Kapton tape (Polyimide)
- Mylar
- Solid Styrene
- Depron foam
- Gator foam
- Cloth/felt/hemp/cotton
- Leather/Suede
- Magnetic Sheet
- NON-CHLORINE-containing rubber
- Teflon (PTFE)
- Carbon fiber mats/weave that has not had epoxy applied
- Coroplast ('corrugated plastic')
Etching
All the above "cuttable" materials can be etched, in some cases very deeply.
In addition, you can etch:
- Glass
- Ceramic tile
- Anodized aluminum
- Painted/coated metals
- Stone, Marble, Granite, Soapstone, Onyx.
External Resources
Where to Find Materials
- Inventables has acrylic sheet in many colors.
- Laserable Rubber on Amazon
- Woodcraft in Newington - thin plywood of various sizes
- HomeDepot or Lowes - plywood, acrylic, and various other materials
- JoAnn Fabrics in Newington- fabrics, acrylic, plywood, and various other materials
Shape Generators
These can help create common but complex shapes for you to work with like boxes, gears, and more.
- Boxes.py - TONS of Box Generators
- List of Materials that can be laser cut
- Puzzle Creator by Wolfiesden
- Gear Generator
- Maker Case (box generator)
- MakeABox.io (box generator)
- Box Generator - Jerome Leary
- Open Designs - Obrary - repository of open/free designs
- Polygonia Design Suite - Pattern generator
- Joinery - a large variety of joinery options for generating parametric joints for laser cutting (or Cricut). Takes an SVG in, pops an SVG out. It is also possible to save profiles.