Laser Cutting
Select and import the DXF files and drag it to Corel-Draw.
Once imported, you will need to make decision on which one to vector cut, engrave or vector engrave
Recap:
Vector Cut – Pen outline Colour: RGB RED
Line Width: Hair line
Engrave – Fill Colour: RGB GREEN
Line Width: NONE
Vector Engrave – Fill Colour: NONE
Line Width: RGB GREEN
Changing Fill colour
1. Double click on the fill tool at the bottom right
2. Select the Solid Colour icon
3. Select RGB in the Colour Model drop-down list
4. Change the RGB colour to R:0 G:255 B:0
5. Click OK
Changing Line colour
- Double click on the Pen tool at the bottom right
- Select colour drop-down list
- A pop-up will appear, select RGB
- Change R:255 G:0 B:0
- Select Width to Hairline
3) Sending the coreldraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the laser cutter power, speed, PPI in the software.
Once you have done the settings, it is ready to be sent for
laser cut
Click on File > Print
Click on the Cogwheel for settings
Universal’s Material setting will appear.
Laser Settings
-
Option 1: Click on Load to view the list of
profiles created.
-
Select the appropriate material profile (.las)
settings that you are cutting.
-
Once done, click OK
-
Option 2: Set the Power and Speed settings
according to the chart provided.
Important details to check before sending the material for
cutting!
1. POWER
-
Describes
the output power of the laser.100% is maximum power (will cause ugly charring).
For dark wood engravings or stamp engravings, you generally need high power, whereas
low values are used for materials such as paper.
2. SPEED
-
Describes the movement of the laser head. Fast
speeds lead to short exposure times, slow speeds lead to long exposure times.
3. PPI
-
Pulses Per Inch, Frequency may also be known as
PPI or pulses per inch and is a way to control how many times the laser pulses
over a given distance during the cutting process. The higher the frequency the
more pulses you have and the more they will overlap resulting in a smoother
cut, however the downside to this is that higher frequency will cause it to create
more heat while cutting which can cause melting or charring on certain
materials.
It will seemed that nothing happened. But in actual fact, the UCP is hidden in the task tray on the bottom right. Select the task tray at the bottom right and select this icon. The Control Panel will pop up after selecting the icon.
1) Activate/ Deactivate the Laser cutter
2) Play Button to start Cut/ Engraving
3) Pause Button to pause/resume the Cut/Engraving
4) Essential tools
- Zoom – You can also zoom in to the work file using your scroll mouse
- Focus – This tool will help you check with the help of a Laser dot.It is used to check if your work is within a workable space
- Move – You can use this tool to move your drawings within the available workspace. Note this is not a live view/action.
- Estimated time – This will help you determine the estimated time for you to cut/engrave your work.
5) Settings – to change or set settings for different material
Zones
As the laser is usually concentrated at the top left corner and cut done at Zone 1 is usually more successful than Zone 4 which will usually have a power drop. Therefore, try to concentrate your cut around Zone 1 and 2
Next, we will check the top left corner of the file.
Do note, as this is a square, we only checked 2 points, feel free to check a few more points to make
sure your file is within the safe cut zone on your material!
If all is good,
1) Shut the lid gently
2) Press either the PLAY button on UCP or the Physical button on the Laser cutter
Monitor the cut by glancing it (do not stare).
Once done, do not lift the lid immediately, let the extractor remove the toxic smell & particles first.
For your own safety, wait for around 1 Minute before lifting up the lid!
Once extraction is done, gently lift up the lid.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE MATERIAL YET!
We need to test to see if the material did get cut through.
Tap on the cut material to see if it is free from its main material
If it didn’t cut through, inform staff in charge as the laser cutter lens might be dirty
Cutting with a dirty lens may cause the lense to crack which will cause the machine to be unusable for yourself and the next users.
Once done,
1) Remove any unwanted materials and dispose them
2) DEACTIVATE the Laser cutter
3) Switch off the necessary switches
4) You need not Shut down the PC
Learning Reflection:
I was nervous about the competency test initially. At first, I am not sure how to really start on my SOP!! I had to watch the video a few times to understand and I also read the Universal Guide in order for me to watch the SOP!! When I did my SOP, I referred to the Universal Guide mostly. I also went to FABLAB@SP under Brightspace to check whether I got my steps right. I sent my draft SOP to my lecturer, Dr Noel to check whether am I missing out on anything. I was relieved that he was OK, it was some minor things that I missed out on the SOP. I took his feedback and edited the SOP and submitted it before the Competency Test starts. Before the test starts, Mr Goh gave us a brief run so that we know what we are doing for the test later on. I was still afraid, afraid I will fail the test. After I finished the test, I PASSED!!! Mr Goh said that I did a good job, it is just that I almost forgot how to locate the points for me to cut my product, I would have almost failed if I really forgotten that. It was probably because I did not include the location part for my SOP when I submitted to Brightspace and printed it out due to the fact that I wanted to keep my SOP as short as possible. I could have included that for my SOP!!! Overall, it was a nice experience for me how to learn laser cutting!!!
Comments
Post a Comment