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LASER CUTTING AND ENGRAVING
LASER CUTTING AND ENGRAVING
SIL laser (3ft x 4ft)- The glass tube lasers (100W)
Features:
• High cutting precision and positional accuracy
• Improved edge quality and surface finish
• Higher repeatability
• Advanced laser tools for material processing applications
• Drilling and engraving in addition to cutting
• Negligible work piece degradation
• Cost-effectiveness
• Minimal thermal stress zone
• Shapes High Speed belt drive plotting unit with precise micro stepping drives
• Red beam pointer
• Z- Axis (Optional)
*Co2 DC Glass Laser Tube / RF Metal Laser Tube
CONTENT
CONTENT
How laser cutting works
How to prepare your drawing file for laser cutting
Suitable materials
How to set cutting/engraving parameters
Starting the machine and its accessories
Setting up material and origin for cutting, focus point
Sending file to machine and start the cutting
Post cutting process
Safety measures
How Laser Cutting Work?
In a CO2 laser cutter machine, the laser beam is created in a tube filled with CO2 gas. Next, with the help of mirrors and lenses, the laser beam is directed to the laser head and focused on the material surface. Electronically controlled motors move the laser head to cut or engrave the desired shape into the material of the workpiece. The shape is defined by an input file which can be a vector or raster image.
When the laser hits the material, a very small area is heated in an extremely short period, causing the material to melt, burn or vaporize.
Possible Operation
Cutting
Engraving
Marking
For Laser Cutting everyone please -
First Get the Material and measure thickness using Vernier caliper.
Draw the sheet size on AutoCAD/Rhino in MM.
Compose your stuff inside that sheet leaving about 10mm margin on all sides.
Minimum distance between two line for full cutting is 1 mm for MDF and Paper, its 3 mm for acrylic
Minimum distance between two line for etching/marking/half cut is 0.3 mm.
Join all the single objects and form a close boundary
For text etching, export it in line format (In Rhino explode text)
Do color coding for cutting/ etching and remove any blocks.
Enter 'Overkill' command and remove any unnecessary objects.
Save it as DXF file
Book slot for Laser machine.
Send file to Fablab for approval (same person who has booked the slot).
Wear Shoes before entering Workshop.
Do your cutting, collect your pieces
Materials
Allowable materials:
Pine MDF (up to 7 mm thickness)
Plywood (up to 6 mm thickness)
Casted acrylics (up to 15 mm thickness)
Papers
Non plastic boards
Wood (for engraving)
Veneers
Prohibited materials:
Polystyrene, polypropylene, polycarbonate
Plastics containing chlorine and fluorine content based material
Any particle board other than Pine MDF
Rubber (All Forms)
Casting resins
Any kind of Metal
Machine Operation Software
Software Used: RDWorks is a free program that which allows you to carry out laser cutting and engraving processes with ease. RD Works is a design and drawing program which supports drawing points, lines horizontal and vertical, polyline, ellipse and circle, rectangular and square, Bezier curve, text, and formats for CAD models such as DXF, AI and PLT.
File Preparation
Import DXF File in RD Works Software
Set Operation Priority
Set Power and Speed
Starting SIL Laser Cutting Machine
Turn ON Switches
Chiller
Air Compressor
External Exhaust
All Switches at Machine Power Panel
" Download " your file into the machine from the computer
Set your material sheet on Machine bed
Set FOCUS
Set ORIGIN
Pulse Laser
Frame the job
START
Close the Machine Hatch
Shutting down Laser Cutter
Wait for 30 seconds, once laser Cutting done
Open the Hatch
Collect your cut Pieces
Put the waste material in Bin
Turn OFF all switches
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