Laser cutting

After the practical on laser cutting, I am tasked to write an improved standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in the operation of the laser cutter. 

Start up:

  1. To start a laser cutter, turn on the air compressor.



  1. Turn on the fume extractor.



  1. Turn on the main switch of the laser cutter.



Operation of the laser cutter including the basic use of Corel-Draw:

  1. While waiting for the laser cutter to initialise, import the file that is needed to be cut.



  1. Set the line weight, colour and fill depending on your needs according to the table below. (Cutting, engraving or scoring)



  1. Send the file to print:  File > Print (CTRL -P), Press PRINT.




  1. For Fusion Pro machine: Choose ‘thickness’ for Auto Focus.



For Fusion M2 machine: Turn on Auto Focus and Air Assist. Ensure each setting for Air Assist is on.



  1. Choose which material is going to be cut and measure the thickness of the material using a vernier caliper or a ruler.


  1. Load material library to choose the material selected. Do it for both objects.



  1. Key in the thickness of the material on the right hand side of the Epilog dashboard.



  1. Place the selected material in the laser cutter machine such that it aligns with the position it is on the computer.


  1. Click print at the bottom right of the screen.


  1. For Fusion Pro machine: To cut, check your file name and estimated time to cut on the LCD Touch screen. Once confirmed, press the ‘PLAY’ button.

For Fusion M2 machine: To cut, check your file name and estimated time to cut on the LCD screen. Once confirmed, press the ‘GO’ button.



  1. After the material has been cut, wait for a few seconds for the smoke to clear before opening the cover of the laser cutter machine.


  1. Check that the material has been fully cut by placing one finger on the cut out material and the other hand on the uncut material and gently shaking it to see if the material has been fully cut.


  1. If the material has not been fully cut, close the laser cutter machine and allow the machine to cut the material for another round and repeat step 11 and 12 thereafter.

Shut down:

  1. Switch off the main switch of the laser cutter.



  1. Turn off the fume extractor.



  1. Turn off the air compressor.



Here are some pictures of products I have cut out.


This is a tiny product I created when doing the laser cutter machine competency test.




These parametric joineries are created by me and my group members.




Reflection:

I learnt the full procedures of how to operate the laser cutter machine. This task is important because I may need to use the laser cutter machine in future for projects where I can make my own product to visualise the outcome better so that I can make amendments to my draft for a better result in the product when being cut out again. It is interesting because it teaches me to be more meticulous with my work. For example, cutting various joinery parts. If the size of the fittings are too big or too small, the pieces cannot join with each other to help me form an eventual product. This task is useful for the project in CP5070 as I can make use of the laser cutter machine in projects where I have to create my own product. I used to think that it was very troublesome and difficult to operate the laser cutting machine due to its huge size. Now I think that after getting familiar with the laser cutter machine, it is not as difficult as expected. So next I will continue to brush up and explore the different ways I can use the laser cutter machine to my advantage.

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