Laser Cutter

From Kwartzlab
Revision as of 02:05, 18 January 2012 by Jb (Talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search


Laser Cutter (Edit)
Laser cutter.jpg
Make G. Weike
Model LG900N
Date Manufactured 2011
Discipline Woodworking
Hackable No
Ownership Kwartzlab


Contents

Hardware

This be our excellent water cooled, 60W CO2 laser etching machine with 36" x 48" work area.

Software

Software that came with the machine is LaserCut 5.3 for USB. There is a hardware key that is required to operate the software.

File Formats Supported

  • DXF (AutoCAD Drawing) -- Inkscape apparently works OK in this format; SolidWorks works, too.
  • AI (Adobe Illustrator) -- Save in an older pre-CS Illustrator format with no extra features for best compatibility
  • BMP (Raster Bitmap) -- Image will need to be converted to a usable path within the software.

Operating Procedure

http://www.kwartzlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Kwartzlab-Laser-Cutter-Procedure.doc
http://www.kwartzlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Kwartzlab-Laser-Cutter-Procedure.docx

1. Prepare CAD File

Prepare a file using your favorite CAD software. Export it to one of the supported file types. Transfer the file to a USB storage device.

  • DXF (AutoCAD) -- you can export from Inkscape, Corel Draw, SolidWorks
  • AI (Adobe Illustrator) -- Save in an older pre-CS Illustrator format with no extra features for best compatibility
  • PLT- HPGL Plotter file
  • DST – Tajima
  • BMP – Windows Bitmap
  • NC – Mastercam
  • JPG File
  • JPEG File
  • GIF file

2. Open Front Lid

Open the front lid on the laser cutter and clear any material from the cutting bed. This is important because the laser head will return to the home position when powered on.

3. Turn On Laser and Fan

Turn on the laser cutter by rotating the power key to the on position and then rotating the stop button to the right.

Turn on the venting fan, which has its own separate power switch: there is a white 6 outlet power bar on the floor that you must turn on.

4. Check Laser Tube

Open the panel at the back of the unit and visually verify that the laser tube contains water. Squeeze the tube to make sure that there is water pressure. Make sure that the venting fan and water pump are running.

5. Start Software

  • Quit the LaserCut software on the laptop, if it is running.
  • Unplug the blue USB cable running from the laptop to the laser, then plug it back in.
  • Start the LaserCut software.

This procedure is recommended because the software occasionally loses communication with the laser cutter, and this is the way to restore communication.

6. Set Up Job

Import the file that you want to cut.

Set Laser Speed and Power:
You can cut or engrave different parts of your drawing using different speed and power settings. Here's how. In the upper right corner, there is a table of one or more "layers": each table entry has a colour, a mode, a speed, and a power. Initially, the entire drawing is black, and there is one layer, black. You can create additional layers by selecting subsets of your drawing, and clicking on a colour icon in the bottom row, which assigns a colour to the selection. Double click on a layer to set the laser speed and power for that layer (which controls the speed at which the laser cutter will move and the amount of power that the laser will output). You should also specify a mode (engrave or cut). The laser power setting for engraving will be much smaller than the value that would be used for cutting. The settings will also depend on the type of material that you are cutting. Be prepared to use some scrap material to run test cuts until you have the settings correct.

7. Set Up Material

Place the material that you want to cut onto the cutting bed. Use the X-, X+, Y- and Y+ buttons in the LaserCut window to position the laser over the middle of the material. Hold a button down for continuous movement.

Once the X and Y position is set, you can move the Z axis to focus the laser. If the material is hard and flat then you can use the automatic method to focus the laser. If the material is soft or thin then you must use the manual method to focus the laser or the optics could be damaged.

Automatic focus method:
With the laser positioned over the middle of the material, press the Z Datum button from the control software. The Z-axis will rise until the sensor is triggered. The sensor is the cylindrical brass finger beside the optics. Once this is done you should manually check the focus with the focusing tool (see photo below).
WARNING: Do not press the "Z Datum" button when the laser is in home position, or the laser will crash into the shelf and will need to be realigned.

Manual focus method:
Lower the Z-axis, leaving enough room to place the material underneath the laser head plus 60 mm. Slowly raise the Z-axis while using the Focus Measuring Tool to check the height of the laser head. When the Z-axis is at the right height, the laser head will line up to 55 mm. The "Tool" is a 15mm x 58mm clear acrylic rectangle with the word TOOL engraved on it, with an overhang to mark the height of 55 mm.
WARNING: Do not lower the Z axis all the way to the bottom. There is no limit switch.

8. Send Job to Laser Cutter

Click on the ‘Download’ button to send the file to the laser cutter. Note that the button is labeled ‘Download’ but it really means ‘Upload’.

Click on the ‘Del all’ button in the ‘Stand-alone file manager box’.

Click on the ‘Download Current’ button and the file will start transferring to the laser. Close the ‘Stand-alone’ file manager box when the upload is complete.

9. Verify Laser Positioning

Click on the ‘Run Box’ button while watching the cutting bed. The laser head will move in a box shape to indicate the cutting area. Verify that the material is underneath the box. If it is not, reposition the material and press the ‘Run Box’ button again. Do this until you are certain that the box is over the material.

Note that this shows you the bounding box of the last job to be downloaded to the laser cutter. If you've changed your job, make sure to download it again before using the "Run Box" command.

10. Run Job

Close the lid and press the ‘Start’ button. The laser will start cutting the material and will beep when the cutting cycle is complete.

DOs & DO NOTs

DO

  • DO watch the laser while it is cutting at ALL TIMES. DO NOT walk away. DO NOT go to the bathroom.
    • It takes less than a minute for a fire to start and damage the laser.

DO NOT

  • DO NOT bottom out the table (Z-axis).
    • There are no limit switches at the bottom and the table will become uneven, requiring realignment. If you bottom it out, do not bring it back up without verifying the table is level.
  • DO NOT press Z-datum (autofocus) while the head is in the home position.
    • The autofocus switch is not over the table in the home position. The table will crash into the head, pushing it up, and it will need to be realigned.
  • DO NOT autofocus on soft material (cardboard, cloth, soft wood).
    • The autofocus sensor will squish the material. The table will hit the head. The focus point will be incorrect.
    • Instead, use a hard piece of material (acrylic, wood) of the same thickness to autofocus; or manually set the focus point.

Maintenance

TBD

Speeds & Feeds

Raster Engrave

Material Speed Power Notes
Anodized Aluminum 250 40

Vector Engrave

Material Speed Power Notes
Anodized Aluminum 75 100

Vector Cut

Material Speed Power Notes


Reference

Manuals

Other

Other Hackerspace Lasers

Retrieved from "http://www.kwartzlab.ca/wiki/Laser_Cutter"
Personal tools
Navigation