How to Use a Laser Cutter

1) discover a Laser Cutter to use. A middle of the mount Laser Cutter costs about US$1000. This is pretty a tall charge if you are just wanting to trial with a Laser Cutter. confront your local university or polytechnic and demand if you can allowance to utilize their Laser Cutter. This will recent you a occur to discover out what xerox of Laser Cutters you though best, ago investing a large amount of cash at purchasing your own.

• If you wish to buy your hold Laser Cutter, count buying a used xerox to lessen the cost.

2) decide what material you wish to chop or engrave. Laser Cutters can chop and engrave wood, plastic, cardboard, foam, fabric, and slender sheets of metal. Any material containing chlorine cannot exist used due to the toxic fumes they produce. escape PVC, vinyl, and printed circuit boards.

• Glass can exist engraved besides during cannot exist cut.
• Thick metal cannot exist cut.

3) pick an image to chop or engrave onto your chosen material. This could exist a photo, a computer drawing, or computer text. begin with a simple image at first and attempt more sophisticated images though you acquire undergo with the machine.

• If you are using a photo, invent certain it has plenty of compare with and no many shadows.

4) Upload the image into software that is compatible with your Laser Cutter. curb the phase of the Laser Cutter or the user manual to discover out what software to use. preserve the image queue to your computer. vacant the software and click “import” to upload the image to the programme.

• Popular software options are Adobe Illustrator and CoreIDRAW. These can exist downloaded online.

5) lay the dimensions of your image to contest the size of your material. It is significant that the image size is no larger than the size of your material, otherwise you will goal up with sections of the image missing. affect can to the locality of the image and vary the dimensions to contest the size of your material.

• For example, if your material is 10 centimetres (3.9 in) x 20 centimetres (7.9 in), enter 10 centimetres (3.9 in) though the width and 20 centimetres (7.9 in) though the height. invent certain that you dine selected the right unit of measurement.

6) Optimize your image though laser cutting. at the settings of the image, choice “photo-optimised” if you are cutting a photo. if you are printing a digital instance or text, choice a decision of at least 333dpi (dots per inch). This will optimise the image though laser processing.

• As you acquire used to the Laser Cutter you are using, trial with various effects. at the algorithm effects toolbar you can change the depth and patterns of engraving.
• If you are cutting a movie of people, choice “ordered dithering” at the algorithms toolbar. This result will help the nation to lie out.

1) lay the material at the centre of the laser cutting mat. This is the optimal placement to attain a wealth result. if your material doesn’t fit, you will need to neat it down hence it can accommodate even inside the engine without bending up at the sides. journal any key above the keyboard, this will effect the laser to quiz its dimensions across the mat. if the laser moves exterior the fraction of your material, reposition the material hence that the laser doesn’t affect off the edge of the material.

• Don’t neglect to resize your image if you neat the material.
• If your material has a curve at it, lay a heavy metal rod above the edges of the material to embrace it down.

2) mop the lens with rubbing alcohol. Dampen a slice of cotton wool with rubbing alcohol and lightly rub the lens of the Laser Cutter. This can exist done nevertheless the lens is nevertheless at the machine.

• Purchase rubbing alcohol from a drugstore or grocery store.

3) lay the lens height. Most recent Laser Cutter will dine an automatic lens altitude sensor or button. Once your material is at the right position, journal the “adjust lens height” button above the engine if the engine doesn’t accommodate automatically. Adjusting the lens altitude will concentrate the laser at the right level.

• If there is no lens altitude button, you will need to accommodate the altitude manually. devour the user manual of your Laser Cutter xerox to discover out how to do this, though the process varies among models.

4) become above the fume extractor. journal the above switch above the fume extractor. This is the large underground located after the Laser Cutter. The fume extractor sucks entire the fumes and mop from the material out of the laser cutting machine.

• Don’t utilize any materials that involve chloride, flat if you are using a fume extractor.

1) choice the material you are using. at the material settings, choice what friendly of material you are using. This will dictate the settings of the laser. For, instance if you are cutting wood, the stress will exist stronger than if you were cutting foam.

2) choice what classification of cuts you are making. Click above the print menu. A preferences menu will pop up and demand you to pick the cutting method: raster or vector. if you are cutting your image journal “vector print” and if you are engraving journal “raster print”.

3) journal print. journal print and see your image vary to life. Don’t affect your material nevertheless it’s being cut, otherwise, the image components won’t queue up.

• If you wish to print multiple copies of the same item, replace the chop goal with a new slice of material and journal print again.