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Laser Cutter Operation and File Preparation LAB

This document provides instructions for operating a laser cutter. It outlines 8 steps: 1) turning on ventilation and equipment, 2) starting the laser cutter software, 3) homing the laser head, 4) importing a file, 5) selecting raster engraving, vector cutting or both, 6) positioning the laser head, 7) starting the job, and 8) shutting down safely. It also provides guidelines for preparing files, such as assigning colors to vectors, hatching raster areas, and closing vector segments.

Uploaded by

mohamad eslami
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
50 views

Laser Cutter Operation and File Preparation LAB

This document provides instructions for operating a laser cutter. It outlines 8 steps: 1) turning on ventilation and equipment, 2) starting the laser cutter software, 3) homing the laser head, 4) importing a file, 5) selecting raster engraving, vector cutting or both, 6) positioning the laser head, 7) starting the job, and 8) shutting down safely. It also provides guidelines for preparing files, such as assigning colors to vectors, hatching raster areas, and closing vector segments.

Uploaded by

mohamad eslami
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

This is a LAB copy. Do Not Remove.

Laser Cutter Operation Manual


Step ZERO: Before you begin

- turn on the central Ventilation


- turn on the Chiller
- plug in the blower fan
- plug in the compressor

Step 1: Turn on the Laser Cutter

-Turn the engagement key.

-Turn the red switch on.

Step 2: Run the Retina Engrave Software

-Wait for the software to connect to the same IP address that is


indicated on the laser cutter LCD. When connected, you can see the
same IP address on the bottom left corner in green.

-If it did not find the address automatically, you would click on
the refresh to search the network.

Step 3: Homing

-Make sure nothing is the way of the laser head and click on the Home
button. The laser head will return to top right corner of the home
indicator on bottom left of the software interface will turn green.

Step 4: Import your file

-From any software you are using, go to Print and select


Full Spectrum Engineering driver.

- From Adobe Illustrator CC Print Dialogue, change


Defined by Driver to FSL ProLF Series 48x36. Make sure
the design is somewhere in the print area. Hit print, and
the design will automatically be exported to Retina
Engrave. The software should already be running and
connected. (Step 2).

1
Step 5: decide what you are doing: Raster Engrave, Vector Cut or Both

-If you are Raster Engraving, you should have assigned Yellow or Cyan to
your vector lines, and you should not see them in the raster tab. If you do,
adjust the B/W Threshold on right to get rid of the vector lines in Raster tab.
Then, adjust Speed and Power for
rastering. Remember that usually a
number between 10 and 40 is a good
number for Raster Engraving.

-If you do vector cutting, make sure the vector mode is selected (at the top) and you are in
vector tab. If you have assigned different colors to your lines, they should be visible in those
colors. You can have up to seven different colors, and you can change the colors in Retina
Engrave software as well. You need to adjust the setting for each one of them on right. You
can also change the order of cutting. Number of passes could be set to zero if you wish not
to perform a cut on a vector with a designated color.

-Raster and Vector mode together is not recommended. Finish your raster first, and do the
vector cut afterwards.

Step 6: Move the laser head to position

-After adjusting the settings, move


the laser head completely over the
material. The gold gauging part
should also be on top of the material.
Use the cursers on the LCD screen to do so. Do not use the fast Z. Only
use SLOW Z when you want to move the bed up and down. To Change
the mode between XY and Z tap on F/S button under the LCD Screen. You can move the
laser head both using the Laser cutter LCD interface and the Jogging tools in Retina Engrave.

2
-Click on the Autofocus Z button on the top (the blue line), and the machine will
automatically adjust the height. Sometimes, it is recommended to move the bed lower than
what the autofocus suggests. This will increase the distance between the lens and
the material, and it is particularly useful when your material is 100% flat, and
You are afraid that it might hit the laser head in some areas.

-You can move the laser head again if you’d like to. You only need to do the autofocus once
for your material.

Step 8: Run the job perimeter

- Click on the run job perimeter button . The laser head will run the perimeter without
firing the laser. This way you know that your desired cut is within the material boundary.

Step 7: Begin cutting

-If you are ready, make sure the chiller, central ventilation, blower, and the compressor
are on. If you are cutting thin paper, do not turn the compressor on, and set the vector
current setting lower than usual (50 or lower perhaps).

-Hit run (Play symbol by the Stop and Pause) to start the job.

-If you see anything unusual, or you need to stop the machine by clicking on
pause or stop in the software interface. If it is an emergency, in case of fire for
example, hit the red button on the laser cutter.

Step 8: When you are done:

-Turn off the laser cutter, the chiller, the blower, and the compressor.

- Close the Retina Engrave, your email account or any personal information on the desktop.

- Don’t forget your flash drive.

- Remove any debris or left over.

3
- Clean the laser cutter bed.

- Do not leave any leftover or trash in the lab. Take your trash to the dumpsters outside.

DO NOT LEAVE THE LASER UNATTENDED UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES!

IF YOU NEED TO GO AWAY FOR A SHORT TIME, PAUSE THE LASER CUTTER.

4
General File Preparation Guidelines for Laser Cutting

Step 1: Decide what you are cutting


A. Vector cutting
B. Raster Engraving
C. Vector and raster combined

Step 2: Prepare the file


A. Vector:
o You can have up to seven different
colors assigned to your curves:
§ Black, Blue, Red, Magenta,
Green, Cyan, and Yellow from
the RGB color palette. Avoid
Black whenever possible.
§ Each line can have a different
power and speed setting yet
they can be cut together.

o Convert all the lines to hairline. 0.1 to


0.25 would also work just fine.

o For predictable output, vector drawing


segments should be closed as much as
possible. Use Join in both Rhino and
illustrator.

B. Raster:
o Assign Yellow or Cyan to the lines and curves you’d like to engrave. Later in
the laser cutter software, Retina Engrave, we will specify really low settings
to those lines so that they won’t be cut all the way through.
o In Rhino, hatch the areas you’d like to engrave and delete the outline curve.

o In illustrator, turn off the stroke, and fill the area you’d like to engrave with
black.

C. Raster and vector combined:


o The vector cut lines should be Yellow or Cyan

o The raster areas need to be hatched, and Just like the steps above get rid of
the outline of the areas that will be engraved in both rhino and illustrator

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