Lasercutter

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How to use the lasercutter

Please follow these steps to lasercut your designs at our lasercutter.

This tutorial describes preparations for access and materials how to turn on the laser, using CorelDraw to load and print your designs and operating the lasercutter from the control panel.

There are also tutorials on advanced settings and material settings.

Quick jump to:

- advanced settings (colormapping) - laser settings for different materials - using the rotary tool - material tips & tricks

Preparations

1. Make a reservation for the lasercutter at the front desk (or email to [>mailto:sciencecentre@tudelft.nl] on Mondays)

2. Buy / Bring materials suitable for lasercutting (no MDF!) (find more on materials to laser: materials to laser)

3. Retrieve the laser keys from the front desk of the Science Centre

How to turn on the lasercutter?

1. Check if the main power switch is on

2. Turn up the central ventilation (extraction) system to 5

3. Turn on the power socket on the ground

4. Check if the secondary ventilation is on

5. Open the cabinet under the lasercutter and turn on the power socket

6. Turn on the computer

7. Turn on the lasercutter with the big black switch on the right side of it

Loading & printing designs from CorelDraw

1. Open CorelDraw from the Taskbar or Startmenu

2. Open the files for lasercutting (preferably .dxf AutoCAD 2007)

3. Copy the geometry into a new file (File > New > just keep default settings). You now have a workspace of 600x300mm representing the dimensions of the laser.

4. Make sure the geometry you want to cut (vector) is "hairline" geometry, if not; select all lines and then click on the pen icon in the left toolbar > select hairlines. The laser will only cut hairline or 0.1mm thick lines. The rest will be engraved (raster).

5. Select the items you want to cut

6. File > Print: a print window pops up, select "selection" at the print rage option and click preferences (top right)

7. Set the correct laser settings for your document and material. Choose between vector (cutting) raster (engraving) or combined (both) and enter the correct speed, power and frequency. Find the default settings for various materials here. (Learn how to apply multiple settings at once in one go by using color mapping).

8.