Laser Cutting

Welcome to the Laser Cutting part 

To be honest, i did laser cutting before in Sec 2 when i went for a hackathon organised by the National Museum of Singapore, to desgin a playground. Our team won and we got a tour of the Autodesk Office in Fusionopolis. On our tour we saw how the working environment for a designer is and got to laser cut a plastic keychain.


 
Video of the laser cutting processs

Picture of the keychain with my name engrave on to it

I also did laser cutting in sec 4 but it is kinda of a meh experience as the teachers really cared about our safety and didnt let us see the process at all. So it is like going for a cooking class but doing the dish washing only (Bad analogy but yah). No feeling at all.
 
Thus, I am very excited to laser cut again, as i miss the trill of laser cutting stuff up and being there when it cuts the material.

In this page, I will describe:
1. The 4 important hazards associated to the operation of laser cutting machine
and their respective safety control measures (administrative/engineering
control).
2. The materials that can be cut and can’t be cut using laser cutting machine.
3. The steps including pictures on the operation of UNIVERSAL laser cutter, that
consist of:
a. Starting the compressor, turning on the laser cutter machine and fume
extractor.
b. Importing a .DXF file to coreldraw and modify the lines/fill for cutting and
engraving.
c. Sending the coreldraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the
laser cutter power, speed, PPI in the software.
d. Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.
e. DOs and DONTs when there’s flame/fire on the material being cut.
4. My Learning reflection on the laser cutter activities.
 
 

The 4 important hazards associated to the operation of laser cutting machine.

Hazards

Safety control measures

Pictures to support the explanation

Fire hazard (Material catching on fire)

  1. Fire extinguisher 

  2. Emergency stop button 

Toxic fumes produced by the laser cutter

  1. Make sure the exhaust and the compressor is turn on when the laser cutting is being turn on 

(Turn on the switches that are in the red rectangles)

Eye damage or blindness (both temporary and permanently) by the laser cutter’s laser

  1. It is a good practice to monitor the cut by glancing at it. But do not stare at the beam.


Cut by the sharp edges of the material

Wear cut proof gloves when placing and removing the material from the laser cutter




 
Below are the materials that can be cut using laser cutting machine.

Material

Photo of the material

  1. Acrylic 

  1. Some types of plastic e.g. ABS, Delrin, POM, High density polyethylene

  1. Cardboard

  1. Some Plywood and Hardwood

  1. Real Leather

  1. Foam (EVA foam) 5mm or thinner

 
Below are materials that cannot be cut using laser cutting machine.

Material 

Photo of material 

  1. Metal 

  1. Some types of plastic e.g. Polycarbonate, PVC 

  1. Fake Leather (contains chromium)

  1. Carbon Fiber

  1. Rubber (some can be cut but only with high end laser cutter)

 
 
3. The steps including pictures on the operation of UNIVERSAL laser cutter, that
consist of:
a. Starting the compressor, turning on the laser cutter machine and fume
extractor.
b. Importing a .DXF file to coreldraw and modify the lines/fill for cutting and
engraving.
c. Sending the coreldraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the
laser cutter power, speed, PPI in the software.
d. Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.
e. DOs and DONTs when there’s flame/fire on the material being cut.



Safety 🦺🦺🦺

  • In case of any unmanageable fire, press the emergency button to immediately cut off the power supply to the laser cutter. 

  • The Fire extinguisher is located outside of the laser cutting room


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

1. Switch on the power for the Laser cutter, Air Assist (Compressor) and Extractor

 

2. Open the laser cutter and place the material inside. Always try to place the material at the corner so the measurement will be accurate (there is a ruler build into the printer)

*take out paper on top to prevent burning leave the bottom paper on*.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

1. Open folder and import files

(Select file > Import > Select your DXF file file and press import)

 

2. Make sure the objects printed are in the box.

 

3. Change the color of the drawings. (Use vector cut from the Quick Guide)

Double click the black box. Change the color from black to red/green, and click “ok”. 

 

 

QuickNote:

  • Vector Cut - RGB RED, Hairline line width, no fill


  • Vector Engrave (Scoring) - RGB Green,hairline width, no fill


  • Engrave - RGB green, Fill green


Changing fill color - solid RGB Green

Changing line color - RGB Red, select width to hairline

  

 

 

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

 

1. Go to files and press Print. Go to Settings.  

 

 

2. Check that all the setting are correct .

 

Vector Cut - RGB RED, Hairline line width 

Vector Engrave - RGB Green 

Engrave - RGB green, hairline width

3. Click “Load”

 

4. Click on “Print” Click on UCP, as known as , “Universal Control Panel”. This will bring you to another page where all the files are.

 

 

 

d. Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

 

1. Click on the middle red icon and type in the values of the coordinates if you want to relocate it (For pieces of plastic that is not a nice big sheet. A sheet with holes.)

This is to have the exact location of where the cut is going to happen!

 

If it is at the corner

[coordinates of (0.51,0.51) is better than (0,0) as sometimes the material may not be straight, and it will also save material]

 

 

2. Click on the “estimate” view to see how long the laser cutting process would take. 

 

 

3. Close the laser cutting machine cover. 

 

 

4. Make sure the laser cutter is connected to the computor (Green button is lighted up)

 

 

5. Press on any of the 2 green buttons to start the laser cutting process. (Do not touch the cutter)

It is a good practice to monitor the cut by glancing at it. But do not stare at the beam. 

 


 

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

 

Small fire
DOs 
- Stop the laser cutter
- Blow the fire out
- Use a cloth that is bigger than the fire and beat the fire/press it to remove source of oxygen to continue the burning.
- Inform the lecturer/adult in charge

 Donts

- Ignore it and continue cutting 

- Use water to put it out

- Use you bare hands to put it out

- Do not tell anyone about it (Keep it a secret) 

 

Big/Uncontrollable fire 

Dos 

- Stop the cutting immediately 

- Press the emergency stop button 

- Use the fire extinguisher to put it out 

- Inform the lecturer about the incident 

- Evacuate if fire gets too big/uncontrollable 

- Call 995 if fire gets too big/uncontrollable 

 

Dont 

-  Ignore the fire/flame and continue the printing

- Not pressing the emergency stop button or stopping the cut

- Running away without letting anyone know about the flame/fire

 

 

4. My Learning reflection on the laser cutter activities.

It was such an amazing experience. 

Firstly the safety stuff and the quiz and test before we even got into the lab was definitely a hassle. But i did learn some useful information from there. For example, the materials that we can and cannot print. We can print acrylic but not metal. Also the video really went in detailed on the settings on how to laser cut and engrave. It is sort of like a laser cutting 101 from youtube but engaging and to the point. If we can try it on our own then, it would be amazing! 


Secondly is when we did the SOP. It is kind of a boring as I had to write down everything the person said. To add on, I had to screenshot almost every few seconds and it took me days to complete. However, as the deadline approach I realise i wrote too much (as usual as my reflections are always long). My SOP was 15 to 16 page long but it should only be 3 to 8 pages max. So i had to cut down a lot. This process made me realise i could remove a lot of information while still being able to refer to it and understand. In the end, i got about 5 pages and i read it so many times it was already memorised in my head !!!!


When we actually went into the FabLab, I was nervous as it was the competency test which if we failed we cannot touch the Laser Cutter. To add Salt sugar and MSG to the wound, I was going second. So the amount of sweat and tears begging to come out of me was insane! 😱😨😩😫 Thankfully, he gave us a brief walk through of the whole lab and how to work the laser cutter. It was exactly like the video and he gave even more advice too. It was so helpful as it allowed me to clarify so doubts like the exact location of the switches, how everything looks like and types of materials IRL. I was so thankful and grateful for the briefing 😁😁😁 When i did the competency test, I was quite nervous but he was kind and guide me to new ways to deal with situations. For example in the from Brightspace we learn to blow out the small fire. But he said we can use a cloth to cover the fire and extinguish it. 


After the test, I was relieve and happy that I have passed and is qualified to use the laser cutter under supervision !!! 

I even get to bring back what I printed 💓💓

 

 

 
 
 
My fellow Classmate and friend Jianye also pass me his which is a cute little Dog :)
 
 
Overall, It was a fun and interesting experience. For this reflection, it got me thinking about the skills I have and just acquired. I feel it would be very useful for me this semester and ones that are yet to come. I even fell i might use laser cutting for my Capstone project too. I realise some objects can be laser cut rather than 3D printed. As 3D printing takes very long and I can be at the lab for 8hours straight for 1 piece of my project work. But I feel with laser cutting it is a small and limited piece of material so it would be faster but more cuts. This is much better for me as I like action and doing something. For 3D printing it is waiting for hours for the product and if it fails you are screwed and you have to wait again!!!!😡😡😡 For laser cutting, it looks and is fun to do. It is definitely a lifelong skill to have. It was very awesome and I really did had fun 👀👊

 

 

 

Thats all for laser cutting, go to the other tabs on the top to read more about my life 😮👀

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

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