LASER CUTTING

  HELLO EVERYONE!!   

 Welcome to my very first blog entry! In this blog, I will be sharing what I have learned about laser cutting😝Although there is still a lot of information to digest, I will try my best to remember it and put it into practice💆

I will be documenting the following: 

💫The 4 important hazards associated to the operation of laser cutting machine and their respective safety control measures

💫Materials that can and can't be cut using a laser cutting machine

💫Steps to operate the universal laser cutter 

💫My reflection on the laser cutter activities

1.    These are the 4 important hazards and the respective safety control measures on the operation of laser cutting machine:

Hazards	Safety control measures	Pictures to support the explanation
1. Getting blinded by the laser beam	Do not stare directly into the laser beam (administrative) while the laser cutter machine is operating.  Signages can also be put up to warn people of the hazard.
2. Small fires may occur when cutting materials	1. If the material has paper on it, remove the paper from the side of the material that is going to be cut.  2. Before the fire can escalate, gently lift the lid of the laser cutter to fan/blow off the flame, or use a cloth to fan out the flame. Use a fire extinguisher and call for help if the fire gets too big. (administrative and engineering) Training can be provided so that users will be able to use a fire extinguisher properly in the event of a large fire. (Administrative)
3. Hazardous fumes/exhaust may be produced during laser cutting due to the wrong material being used (PVC, chlorine, etc.)	Users should be aware of what materials can or cannot be used (administrative).  Ensure that the exhaust fume switch is turned on.
4. Inhalation of laser dust.	Wait for 1 minute before lifting the lid of the laser cutting machine to remove the material. This will ensure that any harmful fumes/dust will be removed before removing the piece (administrative).

1.  2.    Below are the materials that can be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in FabLab.

Material	Photo of material
1. Wood: plywood, natural wood, MDF (up to 6mm)
2. Acrylic (up to 5mm)
3. Cardboard and paper (art card and technical board)

 

Below are the materials that can’t be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in Fablab.

Material	Photo of material
1. Materials that contain chlorine or PVC
2. Foam
3. Metal

3. The steps including pictures on the operation of the UNIVERSAL laser cutter, that consist of:

a. Starting the compressor, turning on the laser cutter machine and fume extractor.

(T1442) Before starting, switch on the power for the laser cutter, air assist, extractor, and light switch

(Makerspace) Before starting, switch on the power for the laser cutter, air assist, extractor, and fume extractor. 

b.  Importing a .DXF file to CorelDraw and modify the lines/fill for cutting and engraving.

1. Place the material against the ruler on the top left-hand corner of the machine. 

2. Make sure that the measurement of the design will fit the material that will be laser cut (using the ruler). 

3. If the material has paper, remove the top layer of paper. This will prevent the material from catching fire during laser cutting. 

4. Select File > Import > Select your.DXF file and press import

5. Once imported, make a decision on whether to vector cut, engrave, or vector engrave the material  (make sure color settings are in RGB!!)

	Vector cutting	Vector engraving	Engraving
Line weight(outline)	hairline	hairline	Not necessary
Fill	no	no	yes
Colour settings	Cut: red 255,0,0	Engrave: green 0,255,0 Power settings to be adjusted on the machine itself	Engrave: green 0,255,0
	Pen outline Colour : RGB RED Line Width: Hair line	Fill colour: NONE Line width: RGB GREEN	Fill colour: RGB GREEN Line width: none

*Tools can be found on the bottom left-hand corner of Corel Draw.* *Double Click icon to change settings*

6. Modifying lines for cutting/engraving 

c.     Sending the CorelDraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the laser cutter power, speed, and PPI in the software.

Sending to print: 

Click on File > Print 

Click on the cogwheel for settings

Click on LOAD once Universal's material settings appear 

Select presets that match the material settings and click OPEN

(e.g if you are using 3mm plywood, select that one)

Select the appropriate power, speed, PPI, and Z-axis settings and click OK
Click on the Universal Control Panel icon

d.    Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

On the UCP, CLICK ON THE POWER BUTTON to activate the laser cutter on the top right of the control panel.

Press play (green button) to start cutting/engraving 

IF THE PLAY BUTTON IS GREEN BEFORE YOU ACTIVATE THE UCP,  DEACTIVATE AND REACTIVATE IT AGAIN

Click on Estimate time Button and press the START button to check for the timing. Note, this does not start the Laser cut, do not confuse it with the PLAY Button! 

1. Click on the focus button (second from the right)

2. Move the laser to the area where the material is going to be cut. Move the laser around the 4 corners of the area to ensure that there is sufficient space for the material to be cut. As you are doing so, look at the laser cutting machine at the same time to ensure that the laser is going to the place you have selected on the platform. 

This will ensure that the design is within the safe cut zone of the material. 

(you can also key in the distance shown on the ruler so that the laser pointer will be accurately moved to the area you want to cut the material at)

3. Click on the top left-hand corner of the design you are going to cut. Click on the "move to pointer" button. This will ensure that the design is moved to where the laser pointer is and will be cut on the area you have chosen. 
When ready to cut, shut the lid gently and press the play button (on UCP) or the physical button on the laser cutter. 

Once laser cutting is done, wait for around 1 minute for the exhaust fumes to be removed. After 1 minute, slowly open the lid. Tap on the cut material to separate it from the rest of the material. 

If the material does not come out, try and laser-cut it a second time. If it still does not separate from the rest of the material, call staff for help. This may be due to the dirty lenses of the laser cutter. 

Afterward, clean up and dispose of the scrap material. Turn off all the switches behind the PC (except the PC button!!), as well as the exhaust fume button. 

e.   DOs and DONTs when there’s flame/fire on the material being cut

DOs

1. Open the lid gently and blow/fan the fire out (or use a cloth to fan the flame out)

2. If the fire still persists, use a fire extinguisher. Call for help from staff.

3. Remove the material from the laser cutter and place it on the floor. Step on it to put out the fire. 

4. If the fire is unmanageable, hit the emergency stop button to cut power to the laser cutter machine.

DONTs

1. Wait for the fire to go out by itself.

2. Go out of the room and leave the fire unattended.

3. Throw water at the fire.

4. Open windows/doors. The oxygen outside the room will further fuel the fire and the fire may become bigger. 

4. My Learning reflection on the laser cutter activities.

 The main thing I learned from the laser cutting competency test was to have confidence. During my first try, I was very nervous and this caused me to be extremely anxious to the point where I forgot where some of the controls were. This resulted in me taking more time than needed to prepare the material for laser cutting. I also realized that the SOP I had prepared did not have very clear instructions, especially for the section where I had to import the design to the UCP software to be laser cut. On my first try, I did not import the design properly and the design that appeared was not the one that I chose. This was because, in the CorelDraw software, I did not select the "print" option. This was due to me being unsure of whether or not I should click on it (as my SOP did not include that part of the steps)

Furthermore, when my material was being cut, it was cut so close to the edge of the material and this was dangerous as the laser pointer almost cut on the platform of the laser cutter machine😰. I soon realized this was because I did not move the laser pointer to the correct spot beforehand, and when I moved the top left-hand corner of the design to where the laser pointer was, the rest of the material was below the area of the laser pointer. This caused the material to be cut lower than where I placed the laser pointer to be. 

What I learned from this: if I were to move the material to the laser pointer using the top left-hand corner of the material, I should ensure that the laser pointer is far away enough from the edge of the material. This will ensure that it will not cut onto the platform of the machine (which will damage the machine). Additionally, I can just move the material to where the laser pointer is using the "Move" button (third button from the left). 

I am thankful that I was able to return to the FabLab the next day for another session of laser cutting. Dr. Noel mentioned that I should try laser cutting for a second time to familiarise myself with the machine. This time, I was able to reflect on the mistakes I made and I made sure that I did not repeat them. During my second try, I was more confident and calmly operated the machine based on what I did/learned about the previous day. Besides, I learned additional things like how I could just key in the distance on the ruler to make the laser pointer move to that area of the material. I could also just move the design using the "Move" button, instead of using one of the corners of the design to the laser pointer. This makes sure that the design will not be cut close to the edge of the material. 

 Through this experience, I can confidently say that "practice makes permanent". If I had only done the laser cutting operation one time, I may have forgotten some of the steps, and I will not be that aware of the mistakes I have made. However, going through it more times will help me as I will take note of what I did wrong the previous time, and correct it the next time. I hope to be able to practice laser cutting more times to help myself be more comfortable with the operation😊

Overall, this was a fulfilling experience and one of the skills I hope I can hone in time to come😄See you guys in the next blog!