Wood and acrylic for sale on the shelf by the door. Record the sheet ID, your name, and the date on the consumables sheet and you will receive an invoice. Request more materials in the #consumables channel.
You will be working in the Laser Room . In order to keep safe from hazards created by you or other workers using any of the tools in this room, the following precautions apply in addition to any other precautions:
Safety
Hazards: fumes, fire, noise, lacerations.
Wear hearing protection when the exhaust fan is on, as it's loud enough to cause hearing damage.
Check the debris tray before and after. Debris buildup can cause a fire as the laser cuts through the workpiece and enters the debris tray.
Do not cut unknown or unapproved materials. If the material is not on the approved list, ask for permission on Slack.
Heat can build up when doing multiple passes on wood, causing the material to ignite. If you're cutting thick wood and it doesn't go through in three passes, stop.
Do not cut multiple layers of fabric, paper, cardboard, etc at one time. The increased air between the layers can increase the risk of fire.
Note when cutting lightweight materials like fabric or paper: any cutouts produced can be blown around by the air support and exhaust; if they pass between the lens and the material they can cause a fire or blow out the lens.
Always use a vector grid when cutting all the way through.
Don't wear loose hair, clothing, jewellery, etc. as they can become entangled in the belts.
Running lasers unattended
Due to risk of fire, do not leave the lasers running unattended. You must be close to the lasers and able to respond quickly in case of emergency. In particular, pay close attention to the laser when it is running in vector mode as the fire risk is greatly increased compared to vector mode.
Interlocked enclosures and laser classification
Never circumvent the interlocked enclosures on our laser cutters
Our laser cutters all contain lasers that would be considered Class 4 and subject to significant training and restrictions.
The laser cutters implement an interlocked safety enclosure that shuts off the laser if the enclosure is opened. This reclassifies the machines to a Class 1 laser for the purpose of the actual cutting laser that is interlocked.
However, the laser cutters end up being Class 2 laser because of the red dot pointer laser that can operate even with the lid open.
Housekeeping
When using Big Blue, Little Blue, and Big Red: Clean the lens before the start of your session. Monitor the lens throughout - cutting messy materials like rubber may require recleaning. Note that Big Red has one extra mirror that needs to be cleaned in addition to the one in the head.
When using Giant Blue, check the lens frequently for debris buildup and clean as required.
Always use a lens tissue when cleaning the lens - bare Q-tips are mildly abrasive and wear away at the coatings on the lens
Break down waste before bagging (pieces should be smaller than 6" x 6"). Blunt any sharp edges so they don't break the bag.
single small workpiece vs multiple small workpieces in a row
Focus tool hanging
^ symbols
focus tool touching material
Cargo
Categories
Safety
In case of fire:
Briefly open the lid to cut off the power. See if the fire continues on its own or if the laser beam is fuelling it.
If the fire does not continue on its own, stop the laser and adjust your settings
If the fire does continue on its own:
If it is safe to do so, remove any burning workpieces and extinguish them outside of the laser (smothering, water, fire extinguisher)
If it is not safe to remove the workpiece, use the fire extinguisher in the laser.
Things that can cause fires:
Passing over the same spot in vector mode when cutting certain materials (eg wood)
Improper work surface (always use vector tray or pin grid when cutting)
Trying to cut multiple layers of fabric or paper at the same time
Debris in the debris tray
Cutting non-suitable materials
Laser is out of focus
There is an E-STOP located on the front of the laser
Materials
Certain materials can increase the risk of fire or emit fumes that can harm users or damage the equipment. Please refer to the list in the blue book in the laser room until the appropriate information is uploaded to the Wiki. Generally, anything that contains chlorine (PVC, vinyl) is not allowed.
Note that PETG sheets are not included in the table but are approved for cutting at North Forge. Non-chromium-tanned leather is also okay.
If you do not know the chemical information of the material you want to use, do not use it. If you do know what it is but it is not on the list, please post in the laser channel on Slack to request approval. The SDS is often useful for deciding whether a material is okay to cut because it can contain information about the fumes released when the material is burned.
Equipment Damage
Thin Materials
Thin materials can greatly increase the risk of fire or equipment damage. Do not cut multiple layers of paper or fabric due to increased risk of fire. When cutting thin materials, be careful of small cutout areas - when fully cut out, the material can be blown by the air support and contact the lens, causing a blowout.
Autofocus Disabled
DO NOT ENABLE AUTOFOCUS - MANUAL FOCUS ONLY. Enabling auto focus in software will damage the lasers! If autofocus is enabled, the bed will rise and crash into the X axis gantry.
Raster Speed Problems
Running small rasters at high speed can damage the belts and motors. If you are rastering parts less than 4" across, you will need to adjust the raster speed and power to prevent damage:
Find the recommended values in the speed/power table
Set the raster speed to less than 50%
Subtract the same percentage from the power as you did for the speed. For example, if the recommended speed/power is 100/80, subtract 60 points from the speed to get to 50 and 60 points from the power to get 20. The adjusted speed/power is 40/20.
Housekeeping
Members must break down their materials before discarding them. Blunt sharp edges that may puncture the bag. TIP: Use the laser to break down any waste materials. Empty the garbage when it is more than 3/4 full and put the bags in the bin near the elevator/paint booth.
When done, always check the debris tray for small pieces and empty if needed. Small pieces can be ignited by the laser during vector cutting.
Consumables
Several consumables are available for purchase. To buy a material, fill out the form in the laser room. You will receive an invoice according to the price listed on the sheet.
Preparing Files
Operations
Overview of the control panel
Overview
This is a brief overview of the steps needed to operate the laser.
Check the debris tray and empty if needed (lift up the grid panels to avoid having to take out the entire bed).
Turn on the laser.
Clean the lens:
Clean once at the beginning of your session
Visually check once per hour of use
Load the material.
Set the laser focus and home point.
Assign appropriate speed and power settings for the material type and thickness.
Send the print job to the laser.
Verify that the blast gates are open and air support is turned on.
Turn on the exhaust vacuum.
Close the lid.
Press GO to begin the job.
Monitor the job carefully, especially during vector operations.
Check the lens every 1-2 hours and clean if needed.
Moving the laser head
Move the laser using the joystick and JOG mode:
Press ▲ or ▼ until the light beside JOG lights up
Use the joystick to move the head around. Pressing in any direction will move the head slowly; pressing and holding will first move slowly then speed up.
Cleaning the Lens
Note that Q-tips are abrasive and will wear away the coating on the lens. Always use a lens tissue.
Remove the front cover using the three screws.
Screws are captive - they won't fall out when they're loosened
Wrap a Q-Tip with half a sheet of lens tissue
Spray lens cleaner on half of the Q tip (block with your hand to keep the other half dry). Do not use Windex or anything other than lens cleaner.
Clean the top and the bottom of the lens. Do not press hard/scrub; treat the lens like you would an eyeball.
Dry the top and bottom of the lens using the dry side of the Q-tip.
Clean the mirror (inside the head assembly). Do not attempt to loosen or remove the mirror.
Dry the mirror using the dry side of the Q-tip.
Replace the cover. Make sure the arms of the lens assembly are horizontal and resting on the two support pins of the head assembly.
Setting Home
Turn on the red dot pointer.
Press ▲ or ▼ until the light beside JOG lights up.
Use the joystick to move the head to the home position.
Press the joystick towards the laser (like a button) to set the home position. The screen will read "Setting..." then return to the JOB mode.
Setting Focus
Hang the focus tool on the lens assembly screws.
Press ▲ or ▼ until the light beside FOCUS lights up.
On the screen, look to the left of the word focus. If you see two ^ symbols, the focus is in fast (coarse) mode. If you see one ^ symbol, the focus is in slow (fine) mode.
To change between slow mode and fast mode, toggle the joystick to the left.
Move the joystick up or down to move the bed up or down until the top of the material just touches the bottom of the focus tool.
Laser Settings
Select File → Print or press Ctrl+P.
Choose “Big Blue” from the printer dropdown menu.
Press the Gear icon/Settings button to the right of the printer dropdown menu.
Verify that Auto Focus is not selected.
Ensure Center-Engraving is not selected if Center-Engraving is not being used.
Ensure the Piece Size is the same as the workspace size in CorelDraw.
If using raster mode, set the DPI (typically 600 for wood).
Choose the operation type (Raster, Vector, or Combined)
If using raster mode, set the raster settings according to the provided tables.
Small parts (less than 4” x 4”): Reduce the speed to less than 50% to avoid wear on the belts and motors
If using vector mode, set the speed, power, and frequency according to the table.
Press “Okay.”
Select the Layout tab in the Print menu.
Ensure “As in Document” is selected.
Press “Apply” then “Print.” The job will be sent to the laser. The laser will not start until “GO” is pressed on the control panel.
Step 3: Location of gear iconStep 6: Ensuring piece size is consistent with page size
Laser Warmup
Check Skedda before using the laser. If the laser has not been used in a while (around 6 hours), you may need to warm the laser up to avoid missing parts of your file.
Make sure the lens has been cleaned.
Insert scrap material and focus the lens - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO AUTOFOCUS.
Press ▲ or ▼ until the light beside JOG lights up.
Move the head over top of the material.
Make sure the blast gates are open and the vacuum and air support are on.
Simultaneously press and hold the "Laser On Key" (manual fire button) while moving the head with the joystick.
Release the Laser On key once the laser starts firing. The laser is now warmed up and ready for use.
Final Checklists
Cut lines are red hairlines, vector etches are either a fill or a line thicker than 0.12mm
Piece size in Epilog driver matches page size in CorelDRAW
Speed, power, resolution are set per the manual
Autofocus is NOT checked off in the laser driver
In layout tab, “As In Document” is selected
Laser is focused
X/Y Home is set
Lens has been cleaned
Debris tray has been checked for debris
Vents are open (default position is OPEN)
Air support is turned on (default position is ON/handle parallel to pipe)
