Laser Cutter...

All,

I have an immediate need to do a project on the laser cutter - so much that I’ll be going down this afternoon. I’ve seen it done a couple of times so I’m confident but…

I know a couple of the guys were documenting the procedure - with all the details.

Is that presentation deck available somewhere accessible? Thanks!

James

The laser cutter is one of the machines that you must be certified on. Before using it you’ll need to have someone who’s familiar with the operation of the machine hold your hand for the first couple of cuts. I would head down there right now to train you but I’m moving tomorrow and Tuesday and I still have a lot packing to do. I’ll ping someone in the IRC channel to see if they’d be willing to help.

Also, to answer your question: yes, there is a presentation that you must review before any operation of the cutter. It’s the very last link at the bottom of this page → http://wiki.hive13.org/view/Laser_Cutter

A brief synopsis of operating the cutter:

  1. Turn on the power to the cutter and turn on the power strip on the left side of the cutter. This turns on the water pump and blower.
  2. Open the lid and lay down the material you’re going to cut.
  3. There’s a little metal cylinder on the top of the cutter. Lay that down on the material you’re cutting.
  4. Press ‘Escape’ or ‘Esc’ on the control panel of the cutter. Make sure nothing is highlighted on the operations panel.
  5. Use the arrow keys to center the yellow block on the laser head above the metal cylinder.
  6. Make sure nothing is highlighted on the op panel again, and press the ‘Z’ located in the middle of the arrow keys.
  7. Press the ‘Reset’ button. This sets the height of the Z-Axis and focuses the laser on your material.
  8. Press the ‘Z’ button again to get out of that mode.
  9. Start up ‘EasyCut’ on the computer.
  10. Import/Open the file you want to cut. Set the power and speed of the cutter using the software.
  11. Click ‘Download’ then ‘Download Current’
  12. On the laser cutter, make sure your file is highlighted.
  13. Press ‘Test’. This will cause the gantry to move in a box pattern, letting you know the size of the area it’s cutting in.
  14. Press ‘Start’ and wait for the laser cut to finish! Do NOT leave the laser cutter alone while it is in operation. There is a Co2 canister near the laser in case of fires.

This is by no means a complete guide, but I hope this conveys the importance of hands on training of the machine. Improper operation can cause extensive damage, and no one wants an inoperable laser cutter!