Laser Cutter Rotary Axis

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Setup

  • Place Rotary attachment in desired position on bed
    • Set it on top of a piece of scrap material to avoid damaging the honeycomb
  • With the Laser Cutter OFF, plug rotary in to plug at right-hand side of machine
    • Plugging/unplugging the rotary with the machine on can destroy the motor driver. DON’T DO IT!
  • Turn machine on, home, and lower the bed until the laser head clears the rotary
  • Check alignment of red dot laser
  • Move the gantry down to the desired position over the rotary attachment
  • Use the Precision Alignment Tool™ to line up the rotary attachment with gantry
  • Lower Bed to sufficient clearance for the workpiece
  • Position the head at the desired start point (don’t use the Y buttons!)
  • Zero the machine
  • Run the job

Tips & Tricks

  • The magic number is 114.6
  • If you are engraving an Item that has multiple diameters (like a wine bottle) and the diameter that is being driven by the wheels is not the same as the diameter being engraved on, you’ll need to do some math.
    • A Diameter = 114.6 x (Engrave Diameter / Drive Diameter)
  • If you are engraving on a tapered surface, your engraving will also be tapered, unless you skew the image before importing it.
  • If you want the design to wrap all the way around the Y height will need to be equal to the circumference of the workpiece (can be tricky to join perfectly)
    • C = pi x Engrave Diameter
  • If the workpiece is too light and/or smooth it may slip on the rollers.
    • Weights can be used to eliminate this. Chunks of putty/clay work well for glasses.

Links

Example files for class