guide for laser cutters

Advanced Output CenterSullivan Center, Rm. 1232

312 629 6688 / [email protected] document is available electronically at http://crit.artic.edu/aoc

Page: 1 of 11 LastModified:December20,20179:48AM

GuideforLaser Cutters

LaserCutterInformation

Max Sheet Size

MachineWatts

Pricing

ApplicableFines

Location

FileTypes

Materials

Access:

iCutsoftware:(cameraassistedcutting)RotaryAttachment

FiberLaser(betterformetal)

VacuumTable(Keeppaperflat)

TrotecSpeedy400

UniversalPLS6.150D

UniversalPLS6MW

39”x24” 32”x18”

120wCO2 150wCO2 75wCO2or40wFiber

$50minimumfineforirresponsiblecutting,damage,etcSeefinessectionformoredetails.

AdvancedOutputCenterlocation:SullivanRm1232

TwoinAOC

TwoinCDFS OneinCDFSOneinCDFSColumbusDigitalFabricationStudiolocation:ColumbusRm120

SeeApprovedMaterialsList

Illustrator(.ai)vectorfiles;AutoCAD(.dwg)files

Free

Self-serve,opentocurrentlyenrolledstudents,activefacultyandstaff;Usersmustbe authorizedpriortouse;Seeaccesssectionfordetails.

X(AOCONLY)

X(AOCONLY)

X

X

Special Features



Page:2of11 LastModified:December20,20179:48AM

Accessing the Laser Cutter

Walk-ins• Allauthorizedusersareabletowalkinanduseeitherlasercutterwhenithasnotbeenreservedinadvance,orwhen

ano-showforareservationoccurs.Walk-inusersmustcheckinwithalabmonitorpriortocutting;additionally,itistheuser’sresponsibilitytocheckoutwiththelabmonitoraftercleaningup.

• Walk-intimeisgenerallydiscouragedforlongcutsasanyusercouldreservetime15minutesfromthetimeyoustart.• Walk-inuserscanuseanyavailabletime,uptowhenthenextreservationstartsor30minutesbeforethelabcloses,

whichevercomesfirst.

Reservations• Reservationsmustbemadeinpersonthroughalabmonitoratleast15minutesbeforethetimebeingreserved,and

nomorethan2weeksinadvance.• Reservationscanonlybemadein30-minuteblocks.Youcanreserveupto12sessionsof30-minuteseachperweek.

Thereisnolimitforwalk-inuse.• Reservationsarenon-transferablefromonepersontoanother.Youcanonlymakeandusereservationsforyourself.• Reservationscanberescheduledifyounotifylabstaffatleast15minutesinadvanceofyourreservedtimeslot.• Youwillbegivena10-minutegraceperiodtoshowupforyourreservedtimeslot.Afterthegraceperiodexpires,your

slotwillbecomeavailableforwalk-inusers.• Thereisa$10feeformissingareservation• Intheunlikelyeventthatyourreservedtimeslotmustbecanceledduetoequipmentmalfunctionorotherunforesee-

ableissues,youwillbenotifiedasquicklyaspossibleandgiventheoptiontomakeanewreservationattheearliestavailabletimeslot.

• Intheeventthatalasercutteristakenoffline,itwillnotbeavailableforreservationuntilitisoperationalagain.

Authorizations• Beforeusingthelasercutter,youmustfirstcompleteanauthorizationsession.Currentlyenrolledstudents,faculty

andstaffcanbeauthorizedforlasercutting.• Theinformationcoveredduringauthorizationswillchangeassoftwareandhardwareareupdatedorreconfigured.To

keepusersuptodateonlasercuttertechniquesandpolicies,authorizationsmustberenewedeverytwoyears.• Tosignupfortheauthorizationcourse,pleasevisitourwebsite.

Document Preparation

Set up your document in Illustrator

• InIllustrator,selectFile->New..

• FortheTroteclasercuttersetamaximum“Width”of39”and“Height”of24”.

• Sizessmallerthan39”x24”arecompatiblewiththe Trotecaswell.

• Set“ColorMode”toRGB

• ClickOK




Turn on the Rulers:

• SelectView->Rulers->ShowRulers

Set the Guides:

• Setaguidelinetothebottomedgeofyourmaterialandtherightedgeofthematerial.

• Wealsorecommendyouplaceaguideata¼”inchfromeachedgeofthedocumentthatyourmaterialwilltouch.Thiswillinsetthedesignslightlysoitiscompletelycon-tained.

Preparing your graphics in IllustratorCut Type Graphics Requirements Single/Multipass Order End Result

RasterEngraving

• FilledShapesortext• Images(jpg,bitmap,etc)• Lineswithheavystroke

weights(+0.1pt)• Gradations

Multi-pass(likeaninkjetprinter)

BeforeVectorLinesfollowingcolor

table

Engravedarea(Powerislimitedtopre-ventcuttingthrough)

VectorEngravingLineswiththeseproperties

• 0.1ptstrokeweight• Alignedtocenter• Nobrushstrokes• Nodashedlines

• Nocompoundpaths• Noclippingpaths

Singlepass(followingvectorpath) Dependentoncolor

Engravedline(Powerislimitedtopreventcutting

through)

VectorCutThrough-cutline(Power

isincreasedtocutthrough)

Thelasercuttercanmakethreedifferenttypesofcuts;seethetableaboveforanoverviewofeach.AllcutscanbesentfromthesameIllustratorfile.Graphicsinthefilearegroupedintodifferentcolors,whichallowsthelasercuttertodistin-guishdifferentcutsfromoneanother.Colorarealsousedtodeterminetheorderinwhichvectorcutsandengravingstakeplace.Whendesigningyourfile,itisbesttoskipthosecolorsunlessyouknowyouwillusethatmachine.

NOTE:UsetheexactRGBcolorvalueslistedinthetableabove,andmakesureyourIllustratordocumentisintheRGBcolormode(NOTCMYK)whenfilepreppingforthelasercutter;otherwisethelasercutterwillnotreadyourfile!

Color Order Red Value

GreenValue

BlueValue

Black 1st 0 0 0Red 2nd 255 0 0Blue 3rd 0 0 255Navy 4th 51 102 153Cyan 5th 0 255 255Green 6th 0 255 0

IvyGreen 7th 0 153 51ForestGreen 8th 0 102 51

Brass 9th 153 153 51Tan 10th 153 102 51

Brown 11th 102 51 0Purple 12th 102 0 102Violet 13th 153 0 204

Magenta 14th 255 0 255Orange 15th 255 102 0Yellow 16th 255 255 0

TROTECCOLORS




Whenthelasercutterrunsafile,itautomaticallyprocessesrasterengravingfirst,beforevectorengravingsandvectorcuts.Itwillthenprocessallvectorcutsandvectorengravingsasonegroup--thisiswherecolorshouldbeusedtocontroltheorderofcuts.Intheexamplebelow,blackhasbeendesignatedforrasterengravings,redforvectorengraving,andgreenforvectorcutting.

(Thecolorsusedhereareonlyanexample;thesamecutscouldbemadewithdifferentcolors.)Bysettingupthevectorandrasterengravingstogofirst,we’llkeepthematerialstationaryuntiltheoutlinecutismade.Whenthefileisrun,thecutsandengravingswillhappeninthisorder.1. Rasterengraving(black)2. Vectorengraving(red)3. Vectorcut(green)Whensettingupafileforlasercutting,useadifferentcoloranytimeyouwanttoassigndifferentsettingsoraffectthecuttingorderofagroupofcuts.

Fig.1:SourceFile

Fig.2:FinishedCutNOTE:Agoodtechniqueforkeepingyourcutsinorderistoassignyourlastcuttothelastcoloronthelist,andworkyour

waybackwardstowardsthefirstcut.

Power Settings

Term Explanation for Power Settings

Usethelasercuttercontrolpaneltoassignpowersettingsandcuttypestothecolorsinyourfile.

Assigning Power Settings

• InIllustrator,selectFile-->Print...

• Makesurethe“Printer”issetto“LaserCutter”

• Inthelowerleftcornerofthe“Print”dialogbox,clickthe“Setup...”button,then“Preferences”.

• Thelasercuttercontrolpanelwillappear.Nowyoucanassignthepowersettingsforthedifferentcolorsinyourfile. Powersettingsareavailableonlineonourwebsitelistedatthebottomoftheguide. Samplesarevisiblenexttothelasercutters.

• Pen/ProcessMode • CUT=vectorcutsANDvectorengravings • ENGRAVE=rasterengravings • SKIP=ignorethiscolor • POSITIONING=TrotecOnlyforiCutSoftware

• Power:Thepowersettingforthelaserbeam,rangesfrom0-100%.Morepower=deepercut;lesspower=shallowercut.Youcanusedecimalplacesinthisrange.

• Speed:Thespeedofthelaserhead,rangesfrom0-100%.Lessspeed=deepercut;morespeed=shallowercut.

•Speedsover4%maycausewavycutsinsmallor intricatelines.DO NOT EXCEED 10% FOR VECTOR! • CutOnly-Hz(Pulsesperinch):Spacingbetweenlaserpulses • LowHz(1000-2000)=notmuchburning • MediumHz(2000-4000)=smoothercutresolution,some

burning • HighHz(4000-5000)=smoothestresolution,moreburning




NOTE:It’sagoodideatohavealabmonitordoublecheckyoursettingsbeforesending.Whilethewon’tguaranteeyou’llgettheexactcutresultsyouwant,itwillhelppreventfileswithdangeroussettingsfrombeingsent!

Assigning Power Settings• Clickthematerialsettingsbuttonmarkedas#1intheimagetothe

right.• Inthe“MaterialDatabase”window,selectthedesiredrowandassign

yourPOWER,SPEEDandHz/PPIforyourdesiredmaterial.YoucanusethepowersettingavailableontheAOCwebsite.

• Whenyouarefinishedassigningsettingsforthatcolor,setyour “ProcessMode”.

• Click“OK”inthelasercuttercontrolpanel.• Beforeleavingthiswindow,ifyouselect“minimizetojobsize”,thelaser

cutterwillonlysendcuttabledatavstheentireartboard.Thisallowsfor greaterfreedomwhenplacingyourdesign.Thisstepisoptional.

• Click“JC”,then“Print”intheseconddialogwindow.

Trotec Laser Settings

• Inthefirstprintdialog,makesurethattheAuto-Rotateisselected,andthatthepreviewlooksrotated90degreescounter-clockwise(don’tworry,itwillcutcorrectly).

• ClickPrintandswitchtotheJobControlsoftware• Findyourfilenameontherighthandsideunder“Jobs”

anddragthefileintotheworkspace.Ifyouprintedyourfilewithminimizetojobsize,placeitwhereyouwant,otherwiseplacea39”x24”fileat0,0

• Togglevisibilityusingtheeyeicon(#2inimage)




Focus Settings and Printing on Trotec Laser Cutter

Afteryouhavepreparedyourfile,themachineandyourmaterialmustbepreparedforcutting.Sincethelaseractuallyburnsthroughthematerialitcutsandengraves,itisveryimportanttoonlyuseapprovedmaterialsandtowatchthecutteratalltimesduringtheoperationincaseoffire.Cuttingthewrongmaterialsorusingthecutterirresponsiblycanresultinharmtoyou,thelasercutterandthelabstaff,aswellasgeneratefinestoyourstudentaccount.

1

3

5

2

4

Turnonthewallswitchnexttotheventilationpipe.

Turnkeyonthemachinetothe“On”position.

Remembertosetthefocusanytimeyoustartusingthemachine,aswellaswhenyouswitchtoamaterialwithadifferentdepth.

NOTE:Beforeusingthemachine,havealabmonitorchecktomakesurethecuttingtableisalignedproperly.

Printing the file• Makesurethelasercutteristurnedon• Beforeprintingyoushouldhavealabmonitorcheckyourfocusanddriversettings• Onceyoursettingsarechecked,click“Print”tosendthefiletothelasercutter• SyncthelasersoftwarewiththelasercutterusingtheUSBiconinthe

lowerrightcorneroftheJobControl(seeimage)• Withtheenclosurelidraised,pushingstartwilltraceoutthepathwithoutcutting.

Makesurethecutsareintheproperarea;adjustthefileifneeded.• Nowhit“Pause”andclosetheenclosure.• Withthelidclosed,hitting“Start”willcausethelasertoactuallycutthefile.• Youmustwatchthecutteroutputyourentirefile.

DONOTLEAVETHECUTTERRUNNINGUNATTENDED!• Ifyouneedtotemporarilystopcutting,hitthe“Pause”buttonandWAITFORTHELASERTOSTOPCUTTING.The

cuttermustfinishthelastlineitstartedbeforepausing;ifitisalonglineoraslowcut,itcantakeseveralminutesforthecuttertostop.

MovetheprocessingheadoverthematerialtobeengravedbymeansofthepositioningkeysX/Y.

Hangthefocustoolonthe externalringoftheworkingheadsothatthefocustoolcanmoveunhindered.

Movetheworkingtable upwardsbypressingtheZpositioningkey.Whiledoingthiscarefullyobservethefocustool.Beforethefocustoolreach-estheworkpiece,movetheworkingtableupwardsonlyveryslowlyandstepbystepbybrieflytappingthe positioningkey,untilthetooltiltstothesideorfallsoff.

(Locatedinlower righthandcorner)




Laser Cutter Safety

Themostcommonsafetyriskwhileusingthelasercuttercomesfromfire.Anyoneusingthecuttermustsitinfrontofitandwatchtheirentirejobuntilitisfinished.Failuretodosomayresultinfines,damagetothemachine,andpossiblebodilyharmtotheuserandlabemployees.Anyoneusingthelasercuttermustwearsuppliedprotectiveeyewear.NOTE:Ifatanytimeduringcuttingyounoticeanythingunusual,shutoffthemachineimmediately!Thisincludesfire,looseparts,warpedmaterials,oranythingthatlooksorsoundsstrangetoyou...WHENINDOUBT,SHUTITOFF!

NOTE:Wheneverthe“Pause”buttonishit,thelaserwillfinishwhicheverpathitisintheprocessofcompletingbeforestopping.Thiscan,insomecases,takeuptoseveralminutes.

General Safety

• Eye-protectionintheformoflaser-ratedsafetygogglesisrequiredbyallusers.Safetygogglesareavailableforcheckoutfromthelabmonitor.Pleasenoteregularglasses(evensafetyglasses)arenotadequate.

• Whenusingaflexiblematerialsuchaspaper,theedgesmustbehelddownsecurelywithtape.• Cellphones/texting, and laptop or desktop use are not allowed while monitoring a cut. Headphones and

reading a book are OK!• Afteryourjobfinishescutting,theenclosurelidmustbeleftshutforatleast10-15secondstoallowforsmokeand

fumestobeexhausted.

Responding to Small Fires/Flare-ups

• Watchyourjobcarefully.Ifyounoticeasmallflare-upwhileyourjobisbeingprocessed,hitthe“Pause”button,andwaitforthelaserheadtoclearthetable.Thewallswitchcanalsobeusedtoimmediatelystopthelasercutter.

• Opentheenclosurelid,andspraytheflare-upoutusingthewaterbottleonthesideofthemachineiftheflare-updoesnotgooutonitsown.

• Closethelid,andhitthe“Pause”buttonifyouwishtocontinuewhereitleftoff.• Ifyounoticethatyourmaterialisbeingscorchedorisproducingvisiblesmokeorflame,eitherlowerthepower

setting,increasethespeedsettingorre-checkyourfocus.

Excessive Fire/Smoke

• Ifyourjobbeginstoproducelargeflamesand/orexcessivesmoke,immediatelynotifythenearestlabstaffmember.• Thereisafireextinguisherlocatednearthedoorinsidethelasercuttingroom,aswellasoneontherightwall

immediatelyoutsidethelasercuttingroom.

Fines

Improper activity while cuttingCellphoneuseLaptoporcomputeruseWalkingawayfrommachinewhileoperatingCuttingwithoutcheckinginFailuretocleanmachineaftercuttingFailuretoventmaterialfor15secondsaftercuthasfinished

1st:Warning2nd:$153rd:$50

Unsafe laser practicesCuttingon-approvedorhazardousmaterialsImproperlasersettingsImproperlensfocus

1st:Warning2nd:$253rd:$50

Producingfireorexcessivesmokethatrequiresstaffintervention 1st:$252nd:$503rd:$100

Damagetomachine Costofrepair/replacement




Laser Cutter Components & ControlsFamiliarizeyourselfwiththelasercuttercomponentsshownbelow.Beforecutting,allusersshouldhaveabasicunder-standingofhowthelasercutterworks,aswellashowtofocusthelaserandstart,pauseandresumecutjobs.

1. ZAxiscontrols-Usetoraiseandlowerthe bedforfocusing2. X/YAxiscontrols-Usetomovethelaser headaroundthetable3. Start/Pause/Repeat-Usetostartorpause ajob4. Standbymode-Switcheslaserintostandby5. Exhaust-(NOTUSED)6. Shift-(NOTUSED)7. Stop-Stopswholejob.8. StatusIndicatorLaserBeam-Alertswhen laserisinuse9. StatusDisplay-CurrentStatusofmachine10. Home-Willhomeallaxes

TimeEstimateIfyouwanttoknowhowlongafileisgoingtotaketocut,sendyourfileasnormal,dragyourfileintotheworkspaceandclick“Update”inthelowerlefthandwindowunder“Calculation”.Thetimewillupdatewithanestimation.




Advanced Cutting Options

OntheTrotecyoucancontroltheDPIofrasterengravingimages.ThehighertheDPI,thesloweryourcutwilltakebutthebetterthequality.UsealowerDPItogetimagesengravedfaster.

150dpi=fastest,lowestresolution600dpi=defaultdpi1000dpi=slowest,highestresolution

Imagedpiissetinthedriver,alongwiththepowerandspeedsettings.

Color Grouping Raster Engravings

Fileswithmultiplerasterengravingscanalsobespedupbystrategicallygroupingrasterengravingsbycolor.Rasteren-gravingsofthesamecolorareessentiallytreatedasasingleshapewhentheyarehorizontallyaligned.Thetwoidentical-lycolorcirclesbelow(Fig1)areengravedinthesamesetofpasses.Todothis,thelasermustspendagoodamountofextratimepassingovertheemptyspaceinbetweenthem;inface,thetwocircleswouldtakeexactlyaslongtoengraveastheelongatedcircle(Fig2),eventhoughtheyhaveamuchsmallerengravingarea.

Toavoidexcessiverasterengravingtimes,groupseparatehorizontallyalignedrastershapesintodifferentcolorswhenthereisasubstantialdistancebetweenthem(Fig3).Thiswaythelaserwon’thavetospendextratimepassingovertheemptyspacebetween.

Fig.3

Fig.1

Fig.2




Laser Cutter MaterialsAllmaterialsusedonthelasercuttermustbeapprovedbythelabmanagementpriortocutting.Somematerialscanbeextremelytoxicand/ordamagingtothemachine.Reflectivematerialsshouldneverbecut,astheycancausethelaserbeamtoreflectandbounceoutoftheenclosure.Pleasedonotattempttocutanyunapprovedmaterials;thereisa$50fineforcuttingunsafematerials.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutaneworunapprovedmaterial,pleaseaskalabmonitor.

Approved MaterialsAnythinginthissectionissafetocutfromanyvendor.Noneedtospeakwithlabstaffbeforepurchase.Thislistisconstantlybeingupdated.For the most up to date list, please visit our website.

Material RasterEngraving VectorEngraving VectorCutCorrugatedCardboard OK OK OKUncoatedPaper OK OK OKChipboard/Matboard/Museumboard OK OK OKResaleAcrylic OK OK OKInteriorPlywood OK OK OKBalsaWood/Basswood OK OK OKHardwoods(DomesticOnly) OK OK OKArriesBoard(ResaleMDF) OK OK OKMasonite OK OK OKResaleCork OK OK OKResaleVegetabletannedleather OK OK OKResaleMuslin OK OK OKUnmountedLinoleum OK OK OKGlass OK OK NOTOK

Special Condition MaterialsMaterialslistedfromheremustbeboughtfromthevendorlistedorafterapprovalfromanlabmanager.Receiptsmustbepresenteduponrequestoryouwillnotbeabletocutthematerialinquestion.

Material RasterEngraving VectorEngraving VectorCutNon-ResaleAcrylic Vendor: Inventables, McMaster-Carr, Peterson’s Plastics OK OK OK

MirroredAcylicVendor: Inventables, McMaster-Carr, Peterson’s PlasticsOther notes: Material must be masked off and mirrored side face down during the cutting process.

OK OK OK

WoolFelt(GradeF10)Vendor: McMasterOther notes: Raster engraving can create very smelly cuts. Please bag off all materials after cutting. Extended ventilation also highly suggested.

OK OK OK

UnglazedPorcelainTileVendor: AnyOther notes: Engraving this material produces a very bright point at the beam. Do not look directly at the beam.

OK OK NOTPOSSIBLE

RowmarkPlasticsVendor: InventablesOther notes: The following Rowmark products are okay; LaserMark, LaserMax, Flexibrass/Flexicolor, Textures, ADA Alternative

OK OK OK

Non-ResaleFabricsOther notes: Material cannot be dyed unless proof of natural dyes.

OK OK OK




Laser Cutter Materials Continued

Thematerialslistedherearebannedfromlasercutting.Ifyouattempttocutanythinglistedbelowyouwillbeissueda$50fine.Thislistisconstantlybeingupdated.For the most up to date list, please visit our website.

BANNED MATERIALS

Material BannedReasonPETG,PET Alongwithotheremissions,isknowntoemitBenzenewhichisknowntocausecancer.Polystyrene Knowntoemitstyrenefumes.ABS Emitscyanidegasandtendstomelt.PVC Emitschlorinegasduringacut.BendingPlywood Bendsintothepathofthelasercarriageduringoperation.TropicalHardwoods Alotoftropicalhardwoodshavetoxinsinthewood.Corian CreatesafinegritinsidethelaserbedandwillgrinddownequipmentCastingWax Meltsalot.Nylon Emitstoxicfumes.Vinyl EmitschlorinegasduringacutDelrin Alongwithotheremissions,isknowntoemitBenzenewhichisknowntocausecancer.Foamcore Foamcoreisanexpandedpolystyreneandisknowntoemitstyrenefumeswhencut.

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