Laser Cutter

About

The Laser cutter allows users to take designs created on a computer and cut and/or engrave using many diferent materials. Laser cutting is a great way to rapidly prototype projects. Interfacing with the laser cutter is performed with LaserCut v5.3.

The laser cutter does require regular cleaning and alignment. This is to be performed by trained volunteers only.

Machine access policy

Use of the Laser Cutter requires attendance in a certification workshop hosted by one of the approved instructors. Workshops are posted on the calendar.

Usage

Safety

Laser cutters pose a fire hazard. A high intensity beam of laser light can produce extremely high temperatures as it comes into contact with the materials it is engraving, marking, or cutting. When using the laser cutter, remember:

1. You may only use the laser cutter if you have been officially certified according to the machine access policy
2. Never leave the laser cutter unattended while it was powered on (even if it is not firing)
3. Never cut materials that you don't know are safe
4. Never override laser cutter safeties and switches
5. Know what to do if a fire happens
   1. Hint: Hit the big, red, emergency stop button. This will shutdown the laser and the air supply.
   2. A Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) fire extinguisher is located next to the laser cutter

Before starting the laser cutter:

1. Check the coolant window in the back of the chiller before starting any project.

After starting the laser cutter:

1. Before cutting make sure the air compressor and the fan motor are on
2. Refer to the cutting manual for appropriate engraving and speed and power settings for varied materials
3. Beware of flammable materials while using the machines.

Workflow

1. Create design or import
   If importing, unite lines (under Tools menu)
2. Separate layers if necessary (by changing their colors)
3. Set layer modes
4. Set layer speeds/powers
5. Set origin (under Laser menu)
6. Download
   1. Delete all
   2. Download current
7. Load media into cutter
8. Focus laser (in center of media)
9. Move laser to origin
10. Run box / test
11. Close lid and start

Materials

Cutting a bad material in the laser cutter can be dangerous. Only approved materials should be cut, and banned materials should never be placed in or even around the laser cutter. Cutting an unknown material risks bodily harm and damage to equipment/facilities.

For speed/power settings, please look at and contribute to this shared spreadsheet.

Approved materials

Name	Notes	Warnings
Acrylic (aka Plexiglas, Lucite, PMMA)	Cuts well, leaves a smooth polished edge. Higher powers can leave smoke/scorch marks along edges. Some people remove paper/plastic protection sheets before cutting.
Cardboard	Cuts well, can catch fire	FIRE hazard!
Ceramic		Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam
Cloth (cotton, felt, hemp)	Cuts easily	NO plastic coated or impregnated cloth!
Corian
Cork	Cuts nicely, the quality of the cut depends on the thickness and quality of the cork. Engineered cork has a lot of glue in it, may not cut nicely.
Coroplast (corrugated plastic)	Difficult to cut through cleanly, due to the ribs. Multiple passes are usually needed.
Delrin	Comes in a number of shore strengths (hardness), the harder tends to work better. Great for gears!
Glass	Has a sandblasted look, green glass works best	Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam
Leather, suede	Leather is very hard to cut, can be if thinner than a belt thickness
MDF, engineered woods	May experience a higher amount of charring when cut
Magnetic sheet	Cuts easily
Marble		Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam
Matte Board
Melamine
Mylar	Works well if it's thin. Thick mylar has a tendency to warp, bubble, and curl	Gold coated mylar will not work
Paper, card stock
Plywood, composite woods	Contain glue, and may not cut as well as solid wood
Pressboard
NON-CHLORINE Rubber	DO NOT CUT unless the rubber compound has been tested	Beware chlorine-containing rubber! If you're not sure, assume you've got chlorinated rubber, and don't cut it.
Tile		Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam
Wood	Avoid oily/resinous woods	FIRE - Cutting oily woods, or very resinous woods can catch fire.
Wood Veneer	Contain glue, and may not cut as well as solid wood
Anodized Aluminum	Vaporizes the anodized layer away
Bare Metals
Brass
Coated Metals
Painted Metals	Vaporizes the paint away
Stainless Steel
Titanium

Banned materials

These materials should never be processed in the laser cutter.

Name	DANGER	WARNING
ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)	Emits cyanide gas and tends to melt	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).
Chlorinated plastics (PVC/Poly Vinyl Chloride, vinyl/pleather/artificial leather)	Emits pure chlorine gas when cut!	Don't ever cut this material as it will ruin the optics, cause the metal of the machine to corrode, and ruin the motion control system. Bubbles yellow, smokes alot, STINKS!!!!!
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
Fiberglass	Emits fumes	It's a mix of two materials that cant' be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes)
Galvanized metal	Emits dangerous fumes	Zinc fumes are poisonous. Galvanized metal should never be super heated (so don't weld on it either).
Metal		Power needed for LASER to cut metal
Milk bottles/HDPE	Catches fire and melts	It melts, gets gooey. DON'T. Someone has to clean the hex worktable.
Mirrored surfaces	Will not cut, reflects laser beam	Mirror surfaces can reflect the laser beam, damaging the cutter's interior components. Some mirrored materials can be placed reflective-side down and cut.
Polycarbonate/Lexan	Cut very poorly, disbackground-color, catch 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.
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.
PolyStyrene Foam	Catches fire	Like PolyPropylene. It catches fire, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!!
Pressure treated wood	Emits dangerous fumes	Should never be burned -- not in your fireplace, and definitely not in our LASER
Printed circuit board (FR4 and other material types)

Other resources

• Identifying Unknown Plastics by Make Magazine
• Beilstein test
• Polymer Identification (video) by Burnination
• Polymer Identification (PDF) by David A. Katz
• Density Column Using Recyclable Plastics

Laser Cutter Certified Users

Name	Certification Date
Anna Lenhart-Murray	2015-12-16
Audrey Barba	2015-12-14
Brock Milford	2015-12-16
Brad Cooley	2015-11-16
Brian Hertz	2015-12-18
Bryan Barr (FabLab BD)	2015-08-07
Cat Barba-Abay	2015-12-16
Charlie Fair	2015-11-11
Charles Griesel	2015-12-02
Chris Batcheller	2015-12-14
Christian Kindel	2015-12-12
Cory Kertz	2015-11-11
Curt Gridley	2015-12-12
Dana Danaver	2015-12-05
Daniel Towle	2015-12-20
David Springs
Dean Day	2015-12-12
Dominic Canare (instructor)	2015-12-02
Geoffrey Kisch	2015-12-05
Helen Haskin	2015-12-16
Ivan Quiroz	2015-11-16
James Classen	2015-11-11
James Lancaster	2015-12-05
James Seymour	2015-12-12
Jeremiah Loder	2015-12-14
Jerry Carpenter	2015-08-07
Jerry Shubert	2015-11-11
Jim Hammer	2015-12-12
Joel Ewy	2015-12-05
John Alexander (instructor)	2015-12-02
John Harrison	2015-10-30
Jonny Fosnight	2015-11-16
Judah Hansen	2015-12-20
Kenton Hansen	2015-12-20
Kevin Elledge	2015-12-14
Kim Lujan	2015-12-18
Kip Landwehr	2015-12-18
Logan Pajunen	2015-11-11
Marcus Mosley	2015-12-20
Mark Esau	2015-12-20
Melanie Jenney	2015-12-14
Melissa Soutiere	2015-12-14
Mike Barushok	2015-12-18
Mike Doolittle (instructor)	2015-08-07
Mike Hutton	2015-11-11
Mitzi Trout	2015-12-18
Paul Wilson	2015-12-20
Rick Boyd	2015-12-20
Stephen Reckers	2015-11-16
Samuel McConnell	2015-12-02
Samuel Schurter	2015-12-05
Skyler Lovelace	2015-12-02
Stuart Smith	2015-12-14
Thomas Bloom	2015-12-12
Tom McGuire	2015-08-07
Weston Vice	2015-12-05
William Davisson	2015-12-18