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Learning to Lasercut
Learning to Lasercut
In the Creative Labs, we have a Flux BeamBox Pro. This powerful desktop laser cutter and engraver has exceptional features, including a powerful 50W CO2 laser, smart camera capture, intuitive software, ready-to-use material profiles, and more.
Wide range of materials
Cut and engrave a vast array of materials to your heart's content. From wood and leather to acrylic, fabric, cardboard, stainless steel, anodized metal, glass, cement, and more. Unleash your creativity with endless possibilities.
Powerful high-resolution laser
With an impressive 0.05 mm width and 1,000 dpi of resolution, the ultra-thin 50 W laser of the FLUX Beambox Pro offers exceptional detail, making it ideal for a wide range of crafts and small business projects.
Safety features
FLUX Beambox Pro prioritizes your safety. When the lid is opened, it pauses tasks automatically and has a simple switch for instantaneous production stops. Its enclosed design and Class 1 laser ensure safe operation for everyday use.
Beam Studio
Beam Studio, the free software, gives you an all-in-one design experience! Dive into editing texts, vector files, and bitmap images with ease. Align objects, tweak designs, and let your creativity flow for a seamless design journey.
Your First Learning Task
Download and install Beambox Studio from the Self-Service app on your school laptop or the flux website using the link above. On the self-service app, search for Creative Labs or Beam Studio to find it and install it. Once installed open it and explore it. Watch the video playlists below to help you learn more.
What is a laser cutter?
A laser cutter is a fabrication tool that uses powerful laser beams to melt, burn, or vaporize materials. It is generally agreed that it was invented by Kumar Patel who developed the first CO2 laser in 1963. A laser cutter’s beam usually has a diameter between 0.1 and 0.3 mm and a power of between 1 to 3 kW. The power is adjusted depending on the type of material being cut and its thickness.
What’s the difference between laser cutting and engraving?
By changing the intensity of the laser beam and the speed of its movements, laser-cutting machines can also engrave and mark wood. The laser can either be used to remove surface material to engrave a design, or mark material by altering the appearance at a surface level.
What are the pros and cons of laser cutting?
There are a lot of advantages to laser cutting. Some of the reasons you might use laser cutting instead of something like CNC milling are:
Laser cutting is highly precise and accurate
Laser cutters have a high production speed
Lasers are more affordable than CNC machines of a similar caliber
Laser cutting has a wide range of material compatibility
There’s no risk of contamination with laser cutting (it’s contactless)
Laser cutting allows for narrower kerf widths
No process is perfect, and there are a few cons associated with laser cutting, such as:
High energy consumption
Risk of toxic emissions release from plastics (IE: why we don’t cut PVC)
Thicker materials can be difficult to fully cut
Burning at the edges can occur (for some people this is a pro because the finish looks cool)
What is laser cutting good for?
Laser cutters are fun, fast and handy tools for fabrication and prototyping. They allow designers to quickly and affordably iterate on designs before producing at a large scale. Laser cutting is a great technique for artists and makers bringing their digital designs into the world.
What are the limitations of a laser cutter?
Laser cutting is not ideal for metals like aluminum and copper alloys because they have excellent heat-conductive and light-reflective properties, meaning they need powerful lasers.
Your Second Learning Task - Your First Project
You are going to create a 'coaster' that you can use yourself or gift to a friend or a member of your family. A coaster is used to put down on a surface to protect it from a cup or glass containing a drink. Your coaster will be a 100mm circular shape with a picture or design engraved on it to personalise it.
Project Steps
1) Open the Beam Studio Software
2) Create a 100mm circle on layer 1 in the top left area of the software.
3) Rename Layer 1 to Cut Layer
3) Create a new layer and name it Engraving Layer
4) Add your creative design to the engraving layer (Could be a piece of text, it could be an imported SVG file, a jpg file, or a vector artwork piece). This part you can take your time, experiment, and explore different ideas.
5) Prepare and place your material in the laser cutter (your teacher can help you with this). Adjust the focal length to make sure it will work. NOTE - Be responsible and sustainable with your material choice. You only need a small piece which will be big enough to cut a 100mm circle.
6) Once the material is placed in the machine and the machine focal is adjusted, close the lid and turn on the air filter to prepare for the cutting and engraving.
7) Using your laptop, adjust the power and speed settings on your two layers to make sure that the cutting layer will cut the material and the engraving layer will engrave the material. You may need to research a little bit on the material you are using and also use the presets in the software.
8) Once you have the correct settings, use the scan and preview function on the software to preview the piece of material in the laser cutter. Once you can see the material, adjust the position of your design so it fits over the top of the material. This ensures that the laser will work correctly on the material. If they don't align, it won't work.
9) Send it! Press the play button and check that the total time is a reasonable amount (minutes rather than hours). If it shows hours, there is an issue with the images you are using so go back to your engraving layer and make adjustments.
10) If the total time is 'reasonable' then send it and the laser cutter will come to life and start making your creation. Well done! You can now use the laser cutter.
11) Once the cut has finished, turn off the air filter, open the lid, and remove your material. Any waste material you must either recycle or place back into the drawer for reuse.
12) Now you can think about how you can finish your design. Do you want a cork base stuck to the material to stop it slipping? Do you want to add colour to the design using paint? Do you want to finish the product with a varnish or oil to protect it? Explore the materials cupboard and ask your buddy and teacher for advice if it is your first time using this cupboard. Remember the basic health and safety guidelines when applying glue, oil, or paint.
Your Third Learning Task - Your Second Project
You are going to create your own name tag for your locker or Macbook. Now you have some basic understanding of the Beam Studio software and the Beam Box Pro Lasercutter, your next project is to design a name tag. The name tag can be as creative as you want it to be and this gives you a chance to explore all of the features in Beam Studio.
Project Steps
1) Open the Beam Studio Software
2) Create a rectangle 200mm x 75mm (or whatever shape and size you want to create for your outline shape
3) Rename Layer 1 to Cut Layer
3) Create a new layer and name it Engraving Layer
4) Add your creative design to the engraving layer (Could be a piece of text, it could be an imported SVG file, a jpg file, or a vector artwork piece). In this part you can take your time, experiment, and explore different ideas. Use the text tool and explore the different options within this tool. Remember we are becoming technology champions!
5) Prepare and place your material in the laser cutter (your teacher can help you with this). Adjust the focal length to make sure it will work. NOTE - Be responsible and sustainable with your material choice. You only need a small piece which will be big enough to cut your design.
6) Once the material is placed in the machine and the machine focal is adjusted, close the lid and turn on the air filter to prepare for the cutting and engraving.
7) Using your laptop, adjust the power and speed settings on your two layers to make sure that the cutting layer will cut the material and the engraving layer will engrave the material. You may need to research a little bit on the material you are using and also use the presets in the software. Ask a buddy if you are unsure.
8) Once you have the correct settings, use the scan and preview function on the software to preview the piece of material in the laser cutter. Once you can see the material, adjust the position of your design so it fits over the top of the material. This ensures that the laser will work correctly on the material. If they don't align, it won't work.
9) Send it! Press the play button and check that the total time is a reasonable amount (minutes rather than hours). If it shows hours, there is an issue with the images you are using so go back to your engraving layer and make adjustments.
10) If the total time is 'reasonable' then send it and the laser cutter will come to life and start making your creation. Well done! You can now use the laser cutter.
11) Once the cut has finished, turn off the air filter, open the lid, and remove your material. Any waste material you must either recycle or place back into the drawer for reuse.
12) Now you can think about how you can finish your design. Do you want to add colour to the design using paint? Do you want to finish the product with a varnish or oil to protect it? Explore the materials cupboard and ask your buddy and teacher for advice if it is your first time using this cupboard. Remember the basic health and safety guidelines when applying glue, oil, or paint.
Your Fourth Learning Task - Your Third Project
You are going to create your own box. This could be used as a desk tidy or a toothbrush holder. You will explore and use the 'boxgen' tool in Beam Studio which is a great tool for creating boxes of any shape. You can use the laser cutter to create 3d shapes from 2d shapes and this project will walk you through this.
Project Steps
1) Open the Beam Studio Software
2) Find and click on the 'boxgen' icon on the left-hand toolbar. This starts a wizard.
3) Using the wizard. You can set the height, width, and depth of the box. You can also set the thickness of the material if you want a lid or not, and what type of joints you use. Play around with the settings to create a box that you want to make. Think about the use of the box and this will help you with size.
3) Once you have set your settings, click on 'continue to import' and watch the magic happen.
4) If you want to you can now add an engraving layer and place creative designs on some of the sides of the box to make it more creative and interesting. You could add words, shapes, images, and vector graphics. Use the software to its maximum now to get creative.
5) Prepare and place your material in the laser cutter (your teacher can help you with this). Adjust the focal length to make sure it will work. NOTE - Be responsible and sustainable with your material choice. You only need a piece that will be big enough to cut your design.
6) Once the material is placed in the machine and the machine focal is adjusted, close the lid and turn on the air filter to prepare for the cutting and engraving.
7) Using your laptop, adjust the power and speed settings on your project to make sure that the cutting layer will cut the material and the engraving layer will engrave the material.
8) Once you have the correct settings, use the scan and preview function on the software to preview the piece of material in the laser cutter. Once you can see the material, adjust the position of your design so it fits over the top of the material. This ensures that the laser will work correctly on the material. If they don't align, it won't work.
9) Send it! Press the play button and check that the total time is a reasonable amount (minutes rather than hours). If it shows hours, there is an issue with the images you are using so go back to your engraving layer and make adjustments.
10) If the total time is 'reasonable' then send it and the laser cutter will come to life and start making your creation. Well done! You can now use the laser cutter.
11) Once the cut has finished, turn off the air filter, open the lid, and remove your material. Any waste material you must either recycle or place back into the drawer for reuse.
12) Now you can think about how you can finish your design. Do you want to add colour to the design using paint? Do you want to finish the product with a varnish or oil to protect it? Explore the materials cupboard and ask your buddy and teacher for advice if it is your first time using this cupboard. Remember the basic health and safety guidelines when applying glue, oil, or paint.
Your Fifth Learning Task - Reflection and Evaluation
Complete this questionnaire to reflect on your learning and your performance in your first project for laser cutting. Now you are qualified to use the laser cutter for your projects and consider how you can use it to help build and bring your ideas to life.
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