Laser Cutter

Welcome To Unallocated Space's Laser Cutter Wiki Page!

This page was created by Honey_Badger to document his trials and tribulations of learning how to utilize Unallocated Space's laser cutter. Here you will find the following information:

• DOs and DO NOTs
• 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
• DO NOT - Attempt To Lift The Lid While The Laser Is Cutting
• DO - Focus The Laser With The Puck To The Material You're Cutting/Engraving
• DO NOT - Cut/Engrave Materials Listed Under The "Prohibited Materials" List

Laser Cutter Information

Model: Full Spectrum Laser Muse
Laser Tube Power: 45 Watt CO2 Laser Tube
20" x 12" Working Area 

Material Settings

Prohibited Materials
Material	DANGER!	Cause/Consequence
PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride)/vinyl/pleather/artificial leather	Emits chlorine gas when cut!	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.
Thick ( >1mm ) Polycarbonate/Lexan	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, ruins the optics and messes up the machine.
ABS	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.
HDPE/milk bottle plastic	Catches fire and melts	It melts. It gets gooey. It catches fire. Don't use it.
PolyStyrene Foam	Catches fire	It catches fire quickly, burns rapidly, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!!
PolyPropylene Foam	Catches fire	Like PolyStyrene, it melts, catches fire, and the melted drops continue to burn and turn into rock-hard drips and pebbles.
Epoxy	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 )
Fiberglass	Emits fumes	It's a mix of two materials that cant' be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes)
Coated Carbon Fiber	Emits noxious fumes	A mix of two materials. Thin carbon fiber mat can be cut, with some fraying - but not when coated.
Any foodstuff ( such as meat, seaweed 'nori' sheets, cookie dough, bread, tortillas... )	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.

Vector Cutting
Material	Max Thickness	Speed	Power	Current	Passes	Notes/Warnings
Most Woods	1/4"	30	70 - 80	35 - 40	2 - 3	Avoid oily/resinous woods
Acrylics	1/2"	80	35	100	6 - 9	These numbers are intentionally low. With less power and more passes the better the cut will turn out. Higher power/current will cut with fewer passes, however, the acrylic may overheat and chip along the cut line. If you find yourself with small chips along the cut, lower the power/current and up the passes.
Paper	< 0.1 mm	100	Like, 1	50	1	Cuts nice and quickly.

Coming Soon

• Vector Engraving/Etching vs Raster Engraving
• File types and when to use them
• Using the laser cutters web interface
• Maintenance?
• Using the rotary attachment?
• Formal Training?