Design Digital Lab INTRODUCTION TO LASER CUTTING

Design Digital Lab INTRODUCTION TO LASER CUTTING

Terminology Terms you may need to know

Terminology Raster: The process where the laser beam makes a series of bi-directional, horizontal scan lines to produce an image. Fills and bitmaps are automatically raster engraved by the laser system. Vector: The process where the laser beam follows the path of the outline (if present) of the graphic. Marking: Setting the laser power low enough to only penetrate the surface of the material. Also called etching. Cutting: Setting the laser power high enough to cut all the way though the material (if the material can be cut)

Terminology PPI: Pulses Per Inch The laser beam is always pulsed and never on continuously even though it may appear that way. The PPI setting indicates how many laser pulses, per linear inch, the laser cartridge will emit.

Laser Cutting Policies

Laser Cutting Policies Late policy is 10 minutes. If you have not arrived and notified the HDL staff within 10 minutes of your scheduled time, your session will be forfeited. Students should come to the laser cutter ready to cut. The laser workstation is not a place to make extensive changes to your files. You are responsible for monitoring the cutting process. You must continuously observe the cutting process during the operation to ensure that it is functioning properly. Operators will shut down jobs that are not being actively monitored. Clean up the workstation area when you are finished.

Materials Appropriate Materials Wood Paper Chipboard Polystyrene Extruded/sheets Banned Materials Acrylic / Plexiglas Plywood Masonite MDF Painted Materials Any Glued Materials Foam

Laser Cutting Process and procedures on using the HDL Laser Cutters

Programs Adobe Illustrator CS5 InDesign CS5 PhotoShop CS5 AutoDesk AutoCAD 2011 CorelDRAW CorelDRAW X5 Extensions *.ai *.indd *.psd *.dwg *.cdr

Adobe Illustrator Adobe Illustrator CS5

Adobe Illustrator CS5 Document Setup Page Size Laser Cutter Material Vector Output 0.001 line weight

Adobe Illustrator CS5 Layers Etch, engrave, raster, and cut must have different layers. In other words, for every power, you need a different layer.

Adobe Illustrator CS5 Print Setup Delete and re-save all unneeded layers. Hide all layers you are not printing yet. Print File > Print Select Printer X-660 V-460

Adobe Illustrator CS5 Press setup Preferences Power, Speed, PPI Select Black Pen mode Vector (VECT) Raster (RAST) Rast/Vect Do not use Input Power Input Speed Input PPI

Adobe Illustrator CS5 Press setup Preferences Power, Speed, PPI Select Black Pen mode Vector (VECT) Raster (RAST) Rast/Vect Do not use Input Power Input Speed Input PPI Press Set Other colors should be set to skip. Check to make sure it has correct power setting Press OK Press Print

Adobe Illustrator CS4 Change the orientation to portrait Go to the general tab Under placement Note* Click the upper left-hand corner The Illustrator preview shows is as if the was going off the page, but it will print correctly on the laser cutter. If there is nothing showing in the preview, then you have to rotate the entire document for it to print. Repeat the process for all layers as needed. *CS5 Seems to have fixed the preview issue, but just incase

Adobe PhotoShop Adobe PhotoShop CS5

Adobe PhotoShop CS5 Document Setup Page Size Laser Cutter Image Raster Output Grayscale image The darker the color, the deeper the laser will engrave.

Adobe PhotoShop CS5 Print File > Print Select Printer V-460 X-660 Change the position Top = 0 Left = 0 Press Page Setup

Adobe PhotoShop CS5 Page Setup Print Mode Clipart Select Black Input highest Power, Speed, PPI Press Set Press OK

AutoDesk AutoCAD AutoDesk AutoCAD 2011

AutoCAD 2011 Document Setup Units Architectural Inches/Feet Raster Output Grayscale Image The darker the color, the deeper the laser will engrave. Vector Output Lines/PLines Note: the laser will not recognize blocks. Please explode them before cutting.

AutoCAD 2011 File Setup Make a box that is the size of the laser cutter. 24 x 18 32 x 18 Have a box that is the size of your material. For each setting, you must use one of the basic colors.

AutoCAD 2011 File Setup Cont. Cut Lines (ex: Cyan) Line Weight = 0.00 Vector Etch (ex: Red) Line Weight = 0.00 Raster Etch (ex: Magenta) Solid Hatch Note: You do not need to use these colors for these purposes.

AutoCAD 2011 File > Plot Select the correct printer V-460 X-660 Do not use any printer with suffix of *.pc3 A box will appear after printer selection. Press OK. Make sure that the page size is the size of the laser cutter. If not, please notify staff.

AutoCAD 2011 Press Properties Custom Properties Power, Speed, PPI Select Black Pen Mode Vector (VECT) Raster (RAST) Rast/Vect Do not use Input Power Input Speed Input PPI

AutoCAD 2011 Unused colors should be set to skip. Colors you don t want cut, should be set to skip. Ex: white outer box, green dimensions. Check to make sure it has the correct power setting. Press Set Press OK Press OK Press OK

AutoCAD 2011 Plot cont. Plot Area Window Preview Print Set the corners of the outer rectangle Plot Scale Plot Style Table Should be set to None Drawing Orientation Landscape Portrait Make sure everything shows up correctly. If you don t see it, it won t print. Note: There are print margins on the laser cuter. About ¼ of an inch total. (1/8 on each side) If you have objects beyond those margins, they will not print. You can either offset your outer box, or you can play with the plot offset in the print dialog box.

AutoCAD 2011 Tip If you have multiple cuts files in one DWG, then you can use PageSetup Manager to set all the print settings at once. Do everything except the plot area. (Changes each print)

Note: Do not send your file until the laser cutter is on. It will not start automatically and it cannot receive the file until it is on.

Power Setting Notes: The sheets with power settings are a starting point only. Depending on the cleanliness of the lenses and variations of materials, the power and speed setting will vary. 1/32 Basswood 40 Power 20 Speed 250 PPI 3/32 Basswood 55 Power 10 Speed 250 PPI 1/16 Basswood 60 Power 12 Speed 250 PPI 3/16 Basswood 63 Power 7 Speed 250 PPI 1/8 Basswood 60 Power 10 Speed 250 PPI 1/4 Basswood 60 Power 5 Speed 250 PPI Cardboard 60 Power 6 Speed 250 PPI 1 ply Chipboard 63 Power 13 Speed 250 PPI 2 ply Chipboard 65 Power 5 Speed 250 PPI 3 ply Chipboard 70 Power 3 Speed 250 PPI (run twice) 1/16 Styrene 50 Power 6 Speed 1000 PPI 1/32 Styrene 50 Power 8 Speed 1000 PPI

Laser Cutter Process and procedures on the HDL Laser Cutters

Laser Cutter Operation Power Switch is located near the laser cutter vent, between the two laser cutters. There is one switch for both laser cutters. Material Placement In most cases, the material should be placed in the upper left-hand corner. You may use tape to secure materials to the rulers. Tape will not stick to the metal grid. Use if materials are warped or if material may move during the cutting process.

Laser Cutter Operation Focus the laser Press the Z Button Remove the focus tool Place the focus tool under the from of the laser head, but on top of your material.

Laser Cutter Operation Focus the laser Set the bottom of the head to the top edge of the beveled edge. Use the up and down arrows to move the base. Press select to move the curser over to make smaller adjustments. Press the Z-Button again to send the head back. Place the focus tool back into the spot. Make sure the flat edge is against the runner.

Laser Cutter Display File Name Power Speed PPI Cut Time Copies

Laser Cutter Operation Press Start Tip: To see where the laser will cut, leave the lid open and press start.

Troubleshooting Common mistakes

Stop/Canceling To stop the laser Press the Pause button Will finish the current line, then will pause Open the lid Will stop the laser, but the red head will continue to move until the end of the current line.

Fire Incase of a fire Small flames are to be expected They will follow the laser around If your material stays on fire Stop the laser cutter. Use the main power switch Cuts off air circulation and the fire will burn itself out Notify HDL Staff immediately Fire extinguishers Use only in case of severe fire emergency

Dirty Lens Staff should be checking the lens periodically throughout the day. If you notice a high power and a slow speed, and you material is not cutting though, when it should, the lens could be dirty. If this happens, stop cutting and inform staff it needs to be cleaned. If you continue, they will crack/melt

Troubleshooting Laser displays settings of 0 Line weights are not set correctly (0.00mm) Incorrect color settings Laser is cutting a wide cut Incorrect focus Cuts only at an extreme power setting Lenses are dirty and need cleaning Please inform HDL Staff immediately. Excessive charring Power/Speed settings are too high

Questions?