Laser Cutter Student Guidelines

LASER CUTTER STUDENT GUIDELINES

A+B Workshop

Opening Hours: 10am - 2pm (Monday-Friday)

Email:

Phone: 03 52278357

Level 1

Waterfront Campus

Disclaimer:

The workshop cannot guarantee jobs will be completed by the date required. If work is needed urgently you may need to make other fabrication arrangements.

The Workshop will not be held responsible for an incomplete presentation.

The Workshop provides equipment and facilities to help students build physical renders and models of their computer generated designs. The equipment in the Workshop enables students to produce extremely accurate models and reduce the time spent constructing these models.

This service is available to students at a subsidized cost of $2.00 per minute.

Please remember that for OH&S reasons students are not allowed beyond the reception desk in the Workshop.

Students must read all Guidelines and instructional material before seeking help from Workshop Staff as the Workshop Staff do not have time to give lengthy instructions.

Workshop staff may reject work if it is deemed an ineffective use of the equipment.

Please do not harass Workshop Staff. Jobs will be completed as quickly as possible.

No student will be allowed to skip the queue so make sure jobs are submitted with adequate time for completion and submission.

CONTENTS

Overview of Laser cutter 5

Operating Procedure 5

Pen Colors 6

Materials 7

Limitations of the laser cutter. 8

File Preparation 9

File Submission procedure 10

Via the online submission page 10

In person at the workshop between 10am and 2pm 10

Collection of work. 11

Overview of Laser cutter

Operating Procedure

Note: Introductory workshops will be carried out at the beginning of each semester.

Please enquire within WORKSHOP for more details.

The Laser Cutter enables the user to cut materials and/or etch patterns into the surface of materials. It cuts on a 2D plane with the laser head (cutting point) moving in two directions (X & Y). The depth of the cut is dictated by calibrating the laser’s power and speed. If the power and speed are reduced so the laser does not cut through the material it will then etch the line or fill area into the surface of the material.

The Laser Cutter has three potential outcomes:

1. Cutting vector lines to create shapes with planar and curved edges;

2. Etching vector lines/patterns into the surface of materials at different depths

3. Raster etching fill areas at different depths to create patterns in the surface of materials.

All three outcomes can be combined in the one job to create 2D shapes with patterns composed of vector lines and fill areas etched at different depths into the surface.

Cutting/Etching - The Laser follows the path of Vector the outline of the shape.

Raster Etching - Refers to the process the laser uses to etch lines and fill areas greater than vector lines. This is achieved by the laser making multiple bi-directional horizontal passes over the desired area.

Pen Colors

The different outcomes in cut depth are achieved through the application of different power and speed settings to assigned ‘pen colors’. ‘Pen Color’ refers to vector line colors which the Laser Cutter interprets as different power and speed settings. Each color is then calibrated with different settings to achieve different results.

The ‘Pen Colour’ values and assigned results are listed below: IMPORTANT: The colors must be pure RGB Black, Red, Green and Blue.

* Magenta Vector Line - Cut

* Red (RGB: 255,0,0) /Fill area - etch

* Green (RGB: 0,255,0) Vector line - etch

Black should be applied to the material dimension the component planes are to be cut from. Any other color will not be printed as power and speed settings are not assigned to them and will be assumed to be irrelevant by Workshop staff.

Materials

NOTES: Please enquire within WORKSHOP regarding the availability of Materials.

Self provided materials have to be approved by WORKSHOP staff. Please allow space on self provided material for test cuts and cut all material to 1200 x 600mm or smaller.

A wide range of materials can be used in differing thicknesses including:

MDF

Wood

White/Grey Card

Students are welcome to use materials not listed or supplied by the Workshop, however they should discuss this with Workshop staff to confirm it is possible. A sample of the material must be supplied along with a

Material Safety Data Sheets sheet detailing the chemical content of the material sourced from the manufacturer. Time must also be allowed for calibration of the laser and the job may be denied at staff’s discretion due to peak period queues.

Limitations of the laser cutter.

Limited Cutting Area

Laser cutter area = 1200 x 600 mm

The size of the shapes and patterns the laser cutter can cut is limited by the bed size of 1200 x 600mm. Anything larger than this must be broken into smaller pieces or cut using other equipment.

Materials

While a wide range of materials are compatible with the laser cutter some must be avoided for health and safety reasons and due to the density of some materials.

All new materials not listed on the approved materials list should be discussed with staff before purchase.

Material Thickness

Any material thicker than those supplied by the Workshop or on the Approved Materials List must be approved by Workshop staff as the Laser is limited in the thickness of materials it can cut through.

File Preparation

Scale

The drawings submitted must be scaled to the actual size of the model. The Workshop will not alter the scale of objects as staff will not know what scale was intended.

Duplicate Lines

Duplicate lines or multiple lines passing exactly over each other may not be visible but will cause the laser cutter to cut the same line multiple times. This could potentially cause the laser to ignite the material ruining the outcome while also slowing the job time down considerably costing more money. Please ensure all duplicate lines are removed.

*Note: A common mistake is to nest objects together so that the cutting edge of one object is used to cut the edge of another object by one pass of the laser. The laser will actually cut the line twice unless the two objects are exploded and the duplicate line deleted. (In Autocad, command ‘Overkill’).

Nesting

Nesting is the arrangement of the 2D component pieces of the model onto the one cutting plane. Once all pieces are placed on the one plane they should be arranged in the most efficient configuration to ensure the minimum amount of material is wasted. Where the shapes have straight edges the one line can be used cut both edges (ensure duplicate edges are deleted - as stated above).

Where the shapes have irregular or curved edges they should be arranged as closely together, however ensure a 1mm gap exists between each shape.

NOTE: Make sure each object is at least 10mm from the edge of the material sheet.

File Submission procedure

Via the online submission page

http://www.deakin.edu.au/sebe/ab/currentstudents/workshop/booking.php

Please follow the online instructions.

In person at the workshop between 10am and 2pm

Upon arriving enter at the reception desk entrance.

Give your file to the workshop operator.

The file will be loaded on the computer and verified.

The student will then be given an estimate of when their cuts will be ready to be picked-up and paid for.

Collection of work.

You will either be told or sent an email when to pick up your work.

At the desired time enter at the reception entrance.

Produce your student ID card for verification.

Pay the bill.

NOTE: Only FPOS is accepted at the workshop.

You will be given your cuts.

REMEMBER: The workshop does not supply any bags. You need to be prepared to collect your cuts.