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The LAser-Cutter
The LAser-Cutter
The laser-cutter is a powerful and effective tool for making plates of desired shape in a wide range of materials. The laser-cutter in the Makerspace lab is a medium-sized cutter and, unfortunately, not the freshest piece of equipment. But it is relative in good shape, and perform quite well in most cases. Below you will find a guide for zeroing and adjusting the height of the laser, how to import files, and start the cut. At the bottom of the page, you will find a table with profile values for different types of materials, which is a product of a lot of attempts and failures of former students. So show them some gratitude if you are successful, if not, feel free to propose updated values.
How to use
How to use
Make a DXF file
Make a DXF file
With the laser-cutter, you can cut out any 2D shape that is 800mm x 400mm or smaller. The cutter needs a DXF file to cut. This is made by modeling the part in SolidWorks, then opening a new drawing and choose custom sheet size, and typing in 800mm on width and 400mm on height. Press the OK button and then press Ctrl+q to update the sheet size. Then apply a view of the part and place it in the upper left corner. The drawing can only contain solid lines, so remove all the centerlines and construction lines from the drawing. Make sure that the view and sheet scale are 1:1. Check over the drawing that it contains all the cuts you want to make, all the solid lines represent a cut. Then, press Ctrl+q again and save the drawing as a DXF file.
Prepare the cutter
Prepare the cutter
Before you can start cutting, you need to turn on the ventilation and the cooling to the Laser-cutter. The switch for the ventilation is mounted on the box behind the entry door to the Makerspace. Below the laser-cutter, you can find the button for the cooling on the box. Then the cutter can be turned on with the red switch on the control panel of the cutter. Make sure that the laser is turned off, the button is located to the right of the emergency stop. Open the laser-cutter and place the plate you want to cut on the table of the cutter. The table needs to be adjusted with the up and down buttons on the control panel. The edge of the laser should be 50,8mm above the plate you are going to cut. A measuring tool made of acrylic should be found on the top of the cutter; this tool and the measuring method are shown in the figure
profile numbers by experience
profile numbers by experience
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