Laser Cutting

 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:

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

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

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

• Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

• 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:

Hazard 1: Staring at the laser beam itself is dangerous as it can hurt the user’s eyes

Safety control measures: Students are warned not to do so (Administrative)

Hazard 2: Material may end up catching fire

Safety control measures: The fire extinguisher is placed near the door. Additionally, students have also been taught on what to do in the event of a fire which is to either attempt to extinguish it by blowing it or removing the material from the laser cutter. (only for small fires)  (Administrative)

Hazard 3: Do not use dirty lenses as it may result in cracked lenses. (if the material can’t be cut through)

Safety control measures: Students will be guided on how to identify dirty lenses. (Administrative)

Hazard 4: Accumulation of smoke can pose as a fire hazard

Safety control measures:

• Smoke extractors are used to help pull fumes and dust particles into a filtration system. This process helps remove hazardous particles from the air. (Engineering control)
• Students have been told where the switch for the smoke extractor is located.(Administrative)

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

Wood (up to 6mm):

(plywood)

(Natural wood)

(MDF)

Acrylic (up to 5mm):

Cardboard (burnt marks and fire may occur): 

Paper (art card and technical board):

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

Metal: 

Rubber:

Foam:

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.

1. Locate the switches for the fume extractor and air compressor and turn it on (this is the picture at T14)

2. Turn on the power for the laser cutter by pressing number 1

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

1. To import files from Fusion360 to Corel, click on: Select File (top left) → Import (red box). Select the file you want (make sure that it is in .DXF and then press import)

2. Once its done, decide on whether to vector cut, engrave or vector engrave. In this case, it will be vector cut and engrave.

To change the settings, go to the bottom right of the page and double click on the respective icon to change the needed settings.

3. To change the fill colour for ‘engraving’, go to the bottom right of the screen and click on the ‘fill’ icon (shown as a bucket)

Click on the solid colour icon (the 2nd black square on the top left)

Change the ‘name’ section to ‘green’ and after that change the colour model to RGB.

Change the RGB colour to R:0 G:255 B:0 then click ‘ok’

This would be the final result:

4. To change the line settings for ‘vector cut’, go to the bottom right and click on the pen icon

Change the width to ‘hairline’ (the style will also change to ‘hairline’) and from the colour dropdown box select ‘red’

Change the format to RGB and key in the following ratio

For vector cut it should be RGB Red and this will be the result:

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

1. Once the settings have been finalised, it is now ready to print. Click on file and click on Print. 

2. Click on the cogwheel icon and settings will appear. 

Click on ‘Load’ for more options.

3. Select the file(.las) that matches your material, thickness and press open. Set the Power and Speed settings according to the chart provided.

4. Before sending it to cut, check for the following: Power, Speed and PPI (Pulses Per Inch)

5. Once its done, click on print

Click on the UCP to ensure that the app is running in the background

d) Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

1.  Before cutting, check that the horizontal and vertical sides of the built-in ruler of the laser cutter

Use the Move tool to move the object to the empty space

Click on the focus tool and a cross hair will appear

2. Check if the file is within safe cutting region which should be provided by accessor.

3. Click on the extreme bottom right and the top left of the file

4. If all is good, shut the lid gently and press play on the UCP or the machine itself

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

DOs:

1.  If the fire is negligible, try putting it out by blowing it off 

2. If it can’t be blown off, remove the material from the laser cutter, place it on the floor and step on it to put out the fire. 

3. If its uncontrollable, use a fire extinguisher 

DON'Ts:

1. Leave the material unattended

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

To be honest, when I first heard that we were going to do laser cutting, I was absolutely terrified since we have never done it before. Not only that, we had to come up with the SOP ourselves which made me even more scared since it was unfamiliar to me unlike 3D Printing. 

Thankfully, we were given the SOP guide on Brightspace and videos that we could use for reference to help us make and learn how to use the Laser Cutter. Additionally, we were also given pointers from the SOP template which helped guide me in my flow of logic of making my own SOP. 

Upon going to T14 for the test, I was really nervous as there was a chance of me failing and also it was my first time even seeing a Laser Cutter (other than the videos) . Not only that, I was worried and afraid that my SOP would be missing a few steps which ended up being true as while referring to my classmate’s copy, I realised that I forgot to include the segment where we had to check the horizontal and vertical sides of the built-in ruler of the laser cutter. I obviously included it in my hardcopy version (me writing it down) which meant that I had no photos. 

During the test, I remember being really nervous as my hands were shaking but thanks to Mr Louis, he helped me with the parts that I was unsure of which was the part that I missed out on in my SOP. Not only that, since I had no pictures, it made it even harder as there was nothing I could refer to for help. But of course, I got through it all thanks to Mr Louis and somehow still managed to pass. 

To end it off, I am definitely grateful that I got the chance to learn how to use a Laser Cutter and I’m really proud to say that I kind of did it myself? (thanks to SDL) Since I had to make my own version of SOP. However, one thing that I will take note of would be to always look back and refer to the guides and videos available to make sure that nothing is missing. Additionally, I would also remind myself to insert images for all of the steps (if possible) to make things easier for me to understand. I really look forward to learning more in the future!!! :D

side note: I'm really sorry if the fonts are not the same throughout :(

some parts were wacky thats why i had to decrease the font size to make it fit the page