Laser cutting Blog

 

Laser Cutting Documentation Blog Entry

 

In this page, I will describe:

1.     The 4 important hazards associated to the operation of laser cutting machine and their respective safety control measures (administrative/engineering control).

2.     The materials that can be cut and can’t be cut using laser cutting machine.

3.     The steps including pictures on the operation of UNIVERSAL laser cutter, that consist of:

a.     Starting the compressor, turning on the laser cutter machine and fume extractor.

b.     Importing a .DXF file to coreldraw and modify the lines/fill for cutting and engraving.

c.     Sending the coreldraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the laser cutter power, speed, PPI in the software.

d.     Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

e.     DOs and DONTs when there’s flame/fire on the material being cut.

4.     My Learning reflection on the laser cutter activities.

 

 

1.    These are the 4 important hazards and the respective safety control measures on the operation of laser cutting machine:

Hazards	Safety control measures	Pictures to support the explanation
1. Fire Hazard can be caused by the laser cutter setting the material on fire	Students are briefed on this hazard as an administrative control.                                             A fire extinguisher is place nearby for use if a fire does break out as an engineering control.                                            There is also an emergency stop button to halt all laser cutting activities if a fire breaks out
2. Accumulation of smoke and gases	Students are briefed on this hazard as an administrative control.                                         A smoke extractor is installed to prevent accumulation of smoke and gases after use of laser cutter
3. Staring at laser beam	Students are warned that staring at the laser cutter while in use will cause eye damage.	N/a
4. Laser cutter can burn users	As an engineering control, the laser cutter will automatically turn off when the lid is open.                                                                  Students are also briefed not to put their hands into the laser cutter when in use.

 

 

2.    Below are the materials that can be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in FabLab.

Material	Photo of material
1. Plywood
2. Acrylic
3. Cardboard

 

Below are the materials that can’t be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in Fablab.

Material	Photo of material
1. Metal
2. Foam
3. PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

 

3.    Below are the steps on the operation of UNIVERSAL laser cutter machine in FabLab:

a.     Starting the compressor, turning on the laser cutting machine and fume extractor.

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
Locate and turn on Fume extractor and air compressor
Turn on Laser cutter

 

b.    Importing a .DXF file to coreldraw and modify the lines/fill for cutting and engraving.

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
Select File > Import >  Select your .DXF file and press import.
Set the line colour and width to make either a vector cut, engrave or vector engrave. Ensure color model is RGB.
Add in the fill colour.

 

c.     Sending the coreldraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the laser cutter power, speed, PPI in the software.

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
Click on File > Print, then click on the cogwheel to access settings.
Click on LOAD , then select the material preset that matches the material type and thickness and select OPEN
Adjust the Power, Speed, PPI and Z-Axis. Note: load presets do not require adjustment. Once all the settings are set, Click OK.                                                                               Note: POWER: describes the output power of the laser. For thicker materials, higher power is needed, whereas low values are used for materials such as paper. SPEED: describes the movement of the laser head. Fast speeds lead to short exposure times, slow speeds lead to long exposure times. PPI: a way to control how many times the laser pulses over a given distance during the cutting process. The higher the frequency the more pulses you have and the more they will overlap resulting in a smoother cut, however the higher the frequency the more heat it creates while cutting which can cause melting or charring on certain materials. Z-Axis: set as the material height for optimal focus point

 

d.    Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
Check the horizontal and vertical sides of the built-in ruler of the laser cutter and use the move tool to move the object to the empty space, and click the focus tool with the lid still open.
Using the laser dot as a guide, click on all the corners of the file to see if it is within the safe cutting region.
Once everything is set up proper, shut the lid gently and click on the green button in the software or on the laser cutter itself.

 

e.     DOs and DONTs when there’s flame/fire on the material being cut.

DOs and DONTs	Photos to support the description
DOs: - Turn off the power of the laser cutter, and open the cover of the laser cutter. - Notify staff immediately. - Try to blow the fire out or remove the material from the laser cutter if there is a small flame. - Use the fire extinguisher if the flame is too severe and uncontrollable.
DON'T:  - Leave the laser cutter unattended	N/a

 

4.    Below is my Learning Reflection on the laser cutter activities.

Having completed the practical test as of writing this blog, I am very excited to use the laser cutter in my upcoming projects. As for the laser cutter practical test itself, I found to to be extremely straightforward and easy to use after going through my SOP once. Creating the SOP for laser cutting was slightly confusing as our lecturer said to keep it short (about 3 pages) and we did not know what to include or exclude.