Laser Cutter: Difference between revisions

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'''
= Laser Information =
= Welcome To Unallocated Space's Laser Cutter Wiki Page! =
Model: Full Spectrum Laser Muse
'''


This page was created by Honey_Badger to document his trials and tribulations of learning how to utilize the space's laser cutter. Here you will find the following information:
Laser Tube Power: 45 Watt CO2 Laser Tube


* DOs and DO NOTs
Working Area: 20" x 12"
* Laser Information (Make, Model, etc...)
* Materials Settings (Wood, Leather, Acrylic, etc...)
* Basic Checklist To Follow When Operating The Laser Cutter.


= DOs and DO NOTs =


* DO - Check That The Mens Bathroom Fan Is On
Web Interface: http://laser.uas.run/designer
* DO NOT - Attempt To Lift The Lid While The Laser Is Cutting
 
= Getting Started =
 
== DOs and DO NOTs ==
 
* DO - Ask for help your first time
* DO - Check That The Mens Bathroom Fan Is '''ON'''
* DO - Focus The Laser With The Puck To The Material You're Cutting/Engraving
* DO - Focus The Laser With The Puck To The Material You're Cutting/Engraving
* DO - Be careful with the touch screen
* DO NOT - Cut/Engrave Materials Listed Under The "Prohibited Materials" List
* DO NOT - Cut/Engrave Materials Listed Under The "Prohibited Materials" List
* DO NOT - Attempt To Lift The Lid While The Laser Is Cutting
* DO NOT - Bend the material platform
* DO NOT - Factory Reset the laser
== Safety ==
* [https://fslaser.com/blog/five-safety-tips-for-laser-cutters/| Five Safety Tips for Laser Cutters]
== Good things to know ==
* Full Spectrum Laser [https://fslaser.com/laser-101/| Laser 101]
* [https://www.xometry.com/resources/sheet/types-of-laser-cutters/| Types of Lasers]
** CO2 Laser
** Fiber Laser
** Direct Diode Laser
* [https://www.xtool.com/blogs/xtool-academy/raster-vs-vector-engraving| Vector vs Raster] - [https://www.xtool.com/blogs/xtool-academy/raster-vs-vector-engraving| Movement examples]
** Vector is primarily used for cutting a material but can be used for engraving outlines
*** SVG
*** Some PDFs
** Raster is used for engraving
*** jpg/jpeg
*** Some PDFs
== Starting the Laser ==
# Turn on Men's Bathroom fan
## Lock the switch if the cover is installed
# Flip switch on power strip behind laser
# Wait for Laser to boot
# Click Agree after reading the warning on the Touch Screen
# Load the [http://laser.uas.run/designer Web Interface]
## DO NOT FACTORY RESET
== Capturing Bed Image ==
# Move the laser towards the middle of the build area while still being over your material
# Place the black puck or taped stack of quarters under the laser nozzle
# Click the capture image button
## Web Interface - Camera icon in the 3rd Toolbar group
## Touch Screen - Camera Capture button
# Remove the puck or quarters before you start cutting
= Materials =
For detailed material cautions and settings, please check [[laser materials|HERE]]


= Laser Cutter Information =
[https://fslaser.com/material-test/| Material Test files]
Model:
Type:
Laser Tube Power:  


= Material Settings =
== Good Materials to Use ==
* Wood (up to 1/4")
** Basswood
** Balsa
** Birch
* Acrylic
** Make sure it is not poly-carbonate/Lexan
* Paper
* Cork
* Glass (for etching)
* Leather (Authentic only)


== Prohibited Materials ==
== Prohibited Materials ==
{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center"
* PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather  
|-
** PLA can contain PVC and thus is also not recommend to be laser cut
! Material
* Thick ( >1mm ) Poly-carbonate/Lexan  
! DANGER!
* ABS
! Cause/Consequence
* HDPE/milk bottle plastic
|-
* Polystyrene Foam
| PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather  
* Polypropylene Foam
| Emits chlorine gas when cut!
* Epoxy
| Don't ever cut this material as it will ruin the optics, causes the metal of the machine to corrode as chlorine is released and ruins the motion control system.
* Fiberglass
|-
* Coated Carbon Fiber
| Thick ( >1mm ) Polycarbonate/Lexan  
* Any foodstuff
| Cuts very poorly, discolors, catches fire
 
| Polycarbonate is often found as flat, sheet material. The window of the laser cutter is made of Polycarbonate because ''polycarbonate strongly absorbs infrared radiation!'' This is the frequency of light the laser cutter uses to cut materials, so it is very ineffective at cutting polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a poor choice for laser cutting. It creates long stringy clouds of soot that float up, ruin the optics and mess up the machine.
= Rotary =
|-
 
| ABS
= Jellys Lessons learned
| Melts / Cyanide
 
| ABS does not cut well in a laser cutter. It tends to melt rather than vaporize, and has a higher chance of catching on fire and leaving behind melted gooey deposits on the vector cutting grid. It also does not engrave well (again, tends to melt). Cutting ABS plastic emits hydrogen cyanide, which is unsafe at any concentration.
* Always run a perimeter before cutting
|-
* Do move the laser "up and down" before every print to verify that the laser is aligned to the center of your material.
| HDPE/milk bottle plastic
* Enable rotary in web UI by going to Settings and something in the second tab. The UI on the engraver doesn't alwatys work.
| Catches fire and melts
* Do always align your material with the buck. Also check the level of your item. You always want to cut at a consistent level. ESPECIALLY important when working on glasses that are inherently uneven.
| It melts. It gets gooey. It catches fire. Don't use it.
* It doesn't matter where you place your stencil/image/shapes in the laser engraver software. The SIZE is what matters.
|-
 
| PolyStyrene Foam
= How to use?
| Catches fire
 
| It catches fire quickly, burns rapidly, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!!
1) Remove existing bed. Insert some wood about 4 inches thick
|-
 
| PolyPropylene Foam
2) Insert rotary and connect 4 pin molex like connector
| Catches fire
 
| Like PolyStyrene, it melts, catches fire, and the melted drops continue to burn and turn into rock-hard drips and pebbles.
3) Switch Muse to rotary mode in web ui
|-
 
| Epoxy
4) Place material to cut on rotary. Modify the 12 knobs such that your material is consistently level.
| burn / smoke
 
| Epoxy is an aliphatic resin, strongly cross-linked carbon chains. A CO2 laser can't cut it, and the resulting burned mess creates toxic fumes ( like cyanide! ). Items coated in Epoxy, or cast Epoxy resins must not be used in the laser cutter. ( see Fiberglass )
5) Cry on the inside and outside because it's really hard to do all of this manually.
|-
 
| Fiberglass
6) Use the left <-> right move buttons we typically use to move the laser, to now rotate your material.  
| Emits fumes
* Watch the back of your material to make sure it doesn't "lift up" (super important with lighter materials).
| It's a mix of two materials that cant' be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes)
 
|-
7) Place laser over center of material, or wherever you intent to center your cut.
| Coated Carbon Fiber
 
| Emits noxious fumes
8) Calibrate laser height with puck.
| A mix of two materials. Thin carbon fiber mat can be cut, with some fraying - but not when coated.
 
|-
9) Place images/shapes in the UI.  
| Any foodstuff ( such as meat, seaweed 'nori' sheets, cookie dough, bread, tortillas... )
10) VERIFY that the orientation of the material is consistent with the orientation of the rotary.
| The laser is not designed to cut food, and people cut things that create poisonous/noxious substances such as wood smoke and acrylic smoke.
| If you want to cut foodstuffs, consider sponsoring a food-only laser cutter for the space that is kept as clean as a commercial kitchen would require.
|}


= Maintenence =
* How to align the mirrors - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln_VayQBWc4| Video]
* How to align the mirrors (Archived) - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKdp_mEwdJw| Video]


''' Ply Wood (Cutting) '''
= Coming Soon =
* Power: 30
* File types and when to use them
* Current: 70
* Using the laser cutters web interface
* Speed: 40
* Using the rotary attachment?
* Passes: 2 - 3
* Formal Training?


''' Acrylic (Cutting) '''
[[Category:Station]]
* Power: 80
* Current: 35
* Speed: 100
* Passes: 6 - 9 (Cut Without Cracking (Cracks/Shards from too much heat))

Latest revision as of 06:41, 13 May 2024

Laser Information

Model: Full Spectrum Laser Muse

Laser Tube Power: 45 Watt CO2 Laser Tube

Working Area: 20" x 12"


Web Interface: http://laser.uas.run/designer

Getting Started

DOs and DO NOTs

  • DO - Ask for help your first time
  • DO - Check That The Mens Bathroom Fan Is ON
  • DO - Focus The Laser With The Puck To The Material You're Cutting/Engraving
  • DO - Be careful with the touch screen
  • DO NOT - Cut/Engrave Materials Listed Under The "Prohibited Materials" List
  • DO NOT - Attempt To Lift The Lid While The Laser Is Cutting
  • DO NOT - Bend the material platform
  • DO NOT - Factory Reset the laser

Safety

Good things to know

Starting the Laser

  1. Turn on Men's Bathroom fan
    1. Lock the switch if the cover is installed
  2. Flip switch on power strip behind laser
  3. Wait for Laser to boot
  4. Click Agree after reading the warning on the Touch Screen
  5. Load the Web Interface
    1. DO NOT FACTORY RESET

Capturing Bed Image

  1. Move the laser towards the middle of the build area while still being over your material
  2. Place the black puck or taped stack of quarters under the laser nozzle
  3. Click the capture image button
    1. Web Interface - Camera icon in the 3rd Toolbar group
    2. Touch Screen - Camera Capture button
  4. Remove the puck or quarters before you start cutting

Materials

For detailed material cautions and settings, please check HERE

Material Test files

Good Materials to Use

  • Wood (up to 1/4")
    • Basswood
    • Balsa
    • Birch
  • Acrylic
    • Make sure it is not poly-carbonate/Lexan
  • Paper
  • Cork
  • Glass (for etching)
  • Leather (Authentic only)

Prohibited Materials

  • PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather
    • PLA can contain PVC and thus is also not recommend to be laser cut
  • Thick ( >1mm ) Poly-carbonate/Lexan
  • ABS
  • HDPE/milk bottle plastic
  • Polystyrene Foam
  • Polypropylene Foam
  • Epoxy
  • Fiberglass
  • Coated Carbon Fiber
  • Any foodstuff

Rotary

= Jellys Lessons learned

  • Always run a perimeter before cutting
  • Do move the laser "up and down" before every print to verify that the laser is aligned to the center of your material.
  • Enable rotary in web UI by going to Settings and something in the second tab. The UI on the engraver doesn't alwatys work.
  • Do always align your material with the buck. Also check the level of your item. You always want to cut at a consistent level. ESPECIALLY important when working on glasses that are inherently uneven.
  • It doesn't matter where you place your stencil/image/shapes in the laser engraver software. The SIZE is what matters.

= How to use?

1) Remove existing bed. Insert some wood about 4 inches thick

2) Insert rotary and connect 4 pin molex like connector

3) Switch Muse to rotary mode in web ui

4) Place material to cut on rotary. Modify the 12 knobs such that your material is consistently level.

5) Cry on the inside and outside because it's really hard to do all of this manually.

6) Use the left <-> right move buttons we typically use to move the laser, to now rotate your material.

  • Watch the back of your material to make sure it doesn't "lift up" (super important with lighter materials).

7) Place laser over center of material, or wherever you intent to center your cut.

8) Calibrate laser height with puck.

9) Place images/shapes in the UI. 10) VERIFY that the orientation of the material is consistent with the orientation of the rotary.

Maintenence

  • How to align the mirrors - Video
  • How to align the mirrors (Archived) - Video

Coming Soon

  • File types and when to use them
  • Using the laser cutters web interface
  • Using the rotary attachment?
  • Formal Training?
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