FIFTEEN steps Laser Cutting (with images) - workshop - 2021

FIFTEEN steps Laser Cutting (with images) - workshop - 2021

Goods:

1. Step 1: What is a laser cutter?
2. Step 2: How do laser cutters work?
3. Step 3: Types of laser cutters
4. Step 4: Laser cutting design software
5. Step 5: Cut the vector 
6. Step 6: Laser recovery
7. Step 7: Laser cutter settings
8. Step 8: Designed for laser cutting 
9. Step 9: Carry and material thickness
10. Step 10: Slim features and detail
11. Step 11: Pairs
12. Step 12: Stacking
13. Step 13: Residential hung and flexible material
14. Step 14: Related Technologies
15. Step 15: Resources

FIFTEEN steps Laser Cutting (with images) - workshop - 2021

A laser cutter is a prototype and manufacturer's tool used primarily by engineers, designers, and artists to cut and enhance flat materials. Laser cutters use a thin, focused laser beam And cut through materials to cut patterns and jams specified by designers. In addition to cutting, laser cutters can also mount the work piece or inch design by heating the work piece surface, so restoration operation to burn the top layer of material to change the appearance. was done.

Laser cutters are really handy tools when it comes to prototyping and manufacturers. They are used in industrial machine shops to make cheap, quick prototypes by hardware companies for large-scale disassembly, and as tools by instrument makers and artists. Use on The physical world. In this guide I explain what laser cutters are, what they can do, and how you can use them, and if you want to learn more with laser cutters and I will also provide some resources.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

Goods:

• Step 1: What is a laser cutter?

A laser cutter is a CCC (computer solar controller) machine, which means it is controlled by a computer. The designer can design something in some kind of design software, and then send it to a laser cutter so that it can automatically push a button. Once the design is shipped to the laser cutter, the machine uses a laser beam to insert the material onto the cutting bed. Laser cutters are a great tool all around because they can be used to create many different styles of design; Laser cutters are used to work artwork for anything from carburetor prototypes. Common laser cutters are mainly used for cutting materials such as wood, some plastics, and paper and cardboard, although more powerful laser cutters that can cut through metals and thicker materials. Laser cutters can be very quick, and can pull out design parts in just a few minutes. Like 3D printers, laser cutters are fast prototype machines; They look at their designs before designers mass produce the product quickly and cheaply.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 2: How do laser cutters work?

There are a few different types of laser cutters, but they all basically use the same process using a laser to cut the material. The laser is produced by a laser resonance, which protrudes out of a beam of bright light, reflected in the mirror of the cutting head. Inside the cutting head, the laser is focused through a lens and is limited to an ultra-thin, compact beam. This beam is projected down on the material and can crush or lower the raw stock, which I cover in more detail in more detail. The cutting head is usually installed Called the XY gantry, it is usually a mechanical system operated by a belt or chain that allows precise movement of the head cutting in a stable rectangular area, which acts as a bed. Size. The grating laser allows the head to move back and forth and forward on the work piece so that it can become any minimal cut anywhere on the bed. For the laser to actually cut, the focal point of the lens, where the laser will be at its best, must stay on the surface of the material cutting through it. All laser cutters require a focus method before making their cut to ensure that the laser is correct.

The difference between different types of laser cutters is this type of laser machines. The type of laser specifies that the thickness of this type can be reduced through it, as different laser types have different power limits. Generally, high power lasers are used for cutting large parts of sheet metal or plastic on an industrial scale, while low power lasers are used for a wide range of thin, paper and card stocks, wood, and Some plastics are used for more potentially burning materials such as. . I will include the main types of laser cutters as well as key settings on the laser.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 3: Types of laser cutters

There are three main types of lasers used in laser cutters; CO2 lasers, fiber lasers, and neodymium lasers. Although laser cutters are all built, they are different in that each type of laser has a specific power range, so each can be used for cutting through different material types and thicknesses.

CO2 Lasers: Lasers are produced from electronically dynamic gas mixtures (containing maximum carbon dioxide). CO2 lasers are the most common type of laser cutter because they are low power, relatively inexpensive, efficient, and widely used in both mid and wide equipment.

Materials Wood, paper-based products (cardboard, etc.), leather, acrylic, glass, some plastics, and some foams (can be mounted on anodized metals)

Neodymium lasers: The laser is made of neodymium doped crystals. These lasers have much smaller dimensions than CO2 lasers, which means they have higher intensity, and can thus cut through thicker, stronger materials. However, because they are so much more powerful, the machine requires parts to wear and replace.

Materials metals, plastics, and some ceramics

Fiber lasers: These lasers are made from a "seed laser", and then produced through special glass fibers. Lasers have the same intensity and wavelength as neodymium lasers, but the way they are built requires less maintenance. It is mostly used for laser marking process.

Material: metals and plastics

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 4: Laser cutting design software

A laser cutter works like your daily inkjet printer. Laser cutters come with specific drivers that allow them to be carried on a computer, convert it into a format that can read laser cutters, and then allow laser cutters to do their job. Many design software packages support laser cutter drivers; This is very common among 2D design programs, and some 3D design software can even support laser cutter drivers when dealing with 2D drawings or sketches. Here are a couple you might already know or try:

2D design:

• Coral Draw: Graphic design software with a wide range of tools and applications
• Adobe Illustrator: Powerful graphic design software for creating high quality designs
• Auto Sed (free for students): Great drawing software, primarily used by engineers and architects to create detailed drawings and product representations.
• Inkask (free): Free, open source graphic design software

3D design:

• Hard work: Engineering 3D design software with multiple packages to help design for specific applications
• Autodesk Inventor (free for students): Professional mechanical design software used to create and refine design systems
• Autodesk Fusion (free for students): Uses a cloud-based seeded platform to assist designers through the entire designing, engineering and manufacturing process.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 5: Cut the vector

During the cutting operation, the cutting head gives a continuous laser fire on the material to cut through it. To find out where to cut, the laser cutter driver reads all the vector paths in the design piece. Once you send your file to a laser cutter, it only lines the register Which will cut by hairline or vector graphics laser with the smallest possible thickness. All other graphics, like any images or thick lines, will be annoying, which I'll describe a bit. The laser, when provided with the correct settings, will cut the whole substance through you, so vector cutting is usually used to cut the part as well as any features or holes that you need. Want to extract from the content.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 6: Laser recovery

Racking is very different from vector cutting; Instead of cutting all the way through the workshop, the laser will burn the top layer of cutting using the effects you create two colors (and sometimes grayscale). For restaurant materials, the laser will usually be set to low power, telling them to shoot a light beam instead of cutting vector-cutting material. So it creates a fine view at the selected dpi (dot per inch) so the laser doesn't really cut all the way. DPI connects directly to the image resolution and affects how well the image is displayed, just like the image resolution on a computer. By adjusting the DPI you can control the effect of the laser on the material. Restarting on some content is really obvious, while doing things that you can't expect at all on other content. Before you reset for the first time, make sure you experiment with the settings until you get the desired effect.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 7: Laser cutter settings

Before we go into the vector cutting and routing process, I want to quickly find the settings you will encounter. The laser cutter has four basic settings, as follows and below. Although both strength and speed apply to vector cutting and routing, vector cutting and resolution only apply to frequency. Laser cutter "print" according to your material before your work "print" Properties "dialog box needs to be changed (remember, laser cutters are connected to computers such as normal printers). Requires more power and lower velocity so that the laser can actually be strong enough and successfully reduce the amount of material used to move slow speeds. Weak materials can cut with less power and faster.

Power: No matter how hard the laser comes from, it will cut through a high-strength, strong, thick material, but more than that, the floss stock burner may end up slimmer. Low power may not be powerful enough to get through the material completely. During laying, high strength will burn more layers out of the material, creating a deeper image.

Speed: The head of the laser cutter moves with its grating. The speed will be faster, but can't cut that way if you have thick or strong material. A high speed will definitely cut, but it is potentially capable of burning or melting the edges of the material. During the operation of the restaurant, the laser moves very fast, so can wear high-speed gantry on a large piece.

Frequency (for cutting only): Determines how quickly the laser pulses during the cutting operation. When making a laser cut the laser rotates faster and farther away, so a higher frequency will become a cleaner cut, but if the material is burning it can extinguish the fire, so a lower frequency will be preferred.

Resolution (for blowing only): Determines the solution and quality of roster operation. A higher resolution will produce a better, deeper image, but if there is too much heat concentrated in an area, it can severely melt, burn or damage the work.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 8: Designed for laser cutting

As I mentioned earlier, laser cutters define the limits and limitations of materials. Some of this is due to the force that it wants to cut through certain materials, some material limits come from gases that burn or cut some materials with lasers. Other materials can cut, but respond weakly to heat and can tear or melt. Like any other machining technology, there are definitely things you can and cannot do on a laser cutter. Laser cutters seem quite limited because they can only cut flat things, but there are amazing amounts of things you can do with laser cutters that you can't expect. I will explore a couple of design techniques, cool ideas and design limitations so you can get acquainted with the technology and start designing.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 9: Carry and material thickness

As I mentioned earlier, the focal point of a laser cutter lens focuses on the surface of the laser cutting material. This means that on the other side of the material, the laser is not focused, and its beam is actually at a slightly larger overhead point. The space created by the laser is cut by the substance, which is called the cuff. All cutting machines are embroidered because the cutting tool is thick. For example, the carf on a saw blade is usually the width of a rectangular blade. A laser cutter bracelet is slightly bactericidal. Because the laser beam expands after its focal point Because, the width at the bottom of the material is wider than the top. The material of the curve of the given laser cutter determines the maximum thickness that it can cut, because the thick material will either fail to cut well, or it will have an angle cuff, which is for the designer Can be incredible More and more small-scale laser cutters can cut the material from just an inch to an inch, because after that time the width of the curve becomes very large.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 10: Slim features and detail

Because the laser beam itself is too small to cut, laser cutters can often make very fine, small details in general, even when routing. The curve of a laser cutter is usually thinner than a hole or a milling bit, for example, so the laser cutter can work with some great detail. However, there is a limit to how small features can be. Just because laser cutters can have small features, doesn't mean the material will handle it well.

Small features and details concentrated in a specific space means that the heat from the laser stays in that area longer. This produces too much heat, which can cause the fire to catch or melt, especially if the material catches fire. A good rule of thumb is usually to leave at least one inch between two inch parallel lines which you will have the option to cut to avoid the laser participating.

Also, be careful about creating very thin features in your design. Slim features tend to break down a lot, just because they have a very small cross section, and more and more parts are cut very badly by laser cutters like wood, acrylic and plastic, so They will be much easier. If the designed features are too thin.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 11: Pairs

There are many different ways to make pairs from flat pieces, and not all are laser cutters, but many techniques are taken from fields like woodworking and metalworking. Here are some easy joining techniques for two pieces of flat stock. There are plenty if you are willing to explore and experiment, but basically get started.

Pair of fingers

The finger joints are basically two flat plates together to form a corner, the basic joint for inserting angles at right angles. It consists mainly of tabs on the dependent sides that are attached. The tabs are usually thick enough to form a nice, clean cell.

Death and cold couples

The death and cool pair are very similar to the pairs of fingers, except for the "fingers" on one piece of a stick through the hole in the other piece of material. These are useful for making structures like "T" and easily extending the internal support beam for more complex laser cut structures.

Slotted joints

Slot pairing is another very common type of simple laser cut joint. Each of the connecting pieces of the two is cut halfway through them, which can slide into each other to form a structure like "X" from the slide-cut material.

Dovetail and Jigsaw pairs

Dovetail joints and jigsaw joints are commonly used in laser cutting to flush two mounts to each other, even with up and down surfaces. Although it is more widely used in woodworking, it can come in handy if you are looking for a special effect.

Using bolts

The above joints will work fine with some glue around the edges, but you don't want to make such a permanent seal on your parts. To slide through a bolt and fit a slot press for a nut, you can easily secure the joints of the laser cut parts.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 12: Stacking

In addition to adding laser cut pieces to create 3D shapes, you can also stack laser cut pieces on top of each other to create sculptures. It has an island map as the whole 3D shape is defined by the differences in the cut lines between each layer. Autodesk's 123D Create software allows you to take a 3D model and cut into layers of laser cut pieces that you can cut and then assemble into scale models. If you are preparing to stack your pieces, make sure you label each piece and create some kind of guide to simplify the assembly and alignment process.

FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 13: Residential hung and flexible material

Most of the material you can cut in the laser cutter will be beautifully twisted. However, by cutting parts and patterns out of the material, you can actually make them very flexible! These hearts are said to quarrel or survive. They usually use the curve of the laser cutter to create nuts in the material, which removes the tension in the material and shocks it. Scanches are ready to deal with the area where you want to twist your content, and it reduces the content considerably so throw it away. Can be used to take advantage of flexibility along with other structural techniques, as well as maintain closed images.

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FIFTEEN Steps Laser Cutting (with Images) - Workshop - 2021

• Step 14: Related Technologies

Other 2 DCNC machines

In addition to the laser cutter, there are other 2 DCC machines that use a cutting head to cut from different materials on a gantry or dispersion. Machines like cutting water cutters with a highly powerful, water-connected chain of water. Widgets are more powerful and have a much larger bed size, so they're great for massively cutting large pieces of metal and wood. Plasma cutters are another example of high power 2D cutting machines, they use a plasma beam to cut metal by melting. On a much smaller scale, machines such as vinyl cutters are a pointed cutting tool used to cut through thin materials, paper, card stock, and vinyl.

3D printers

Laser cutters and 3D printers are really quality fast prototype machines. They are both CNC machines that have a wide variety of applications. While laser cutters are very versatile when it comes to 2D geometry, 3D printers can be used to create complex models, prototypes, art and much more by building 3D surface to 3D dimensions.

If you are interested in learning more about 3D printing, check out this introduction for an introduction.

CNC router

CCC routers are another type of computer control machine. Like water jets and laser cutters, they have cutting heads that travel on a grinder and use to cut materials. Rotors vary in that they use metal cutting heads, and can move the cutting head forward on the third axis, giving it another degree of freedom and allowing it to form more complex shapes with the third dimension. Is.

• Step 15: Resources

Laser cutter

• Email: Many different sizes of laser cutters, industrial scale cutters and markers from desktop machines
• Trotec: Many different types and sizes of high speed, efficient laser machines
• Integrated: high power laser cutter and laser machines, with massive materials, including metals
• Full spectrum: affordable, small production laser cutter
• Ruffin: Large range of different types of laser cutters and other tools

Laser cutting services

• Ponoko: Fast and affordable laser cutting and 3D printing service
• Create Lab: Design and Manufacturing Service with Printing, Laser Cutting, and 3D Printing Capabilities
• LaserJet: Laser manufacturing service with laser cutter and other laser technology
• Laser logic: laser cutting service with a focus on paper and card stock materials

2D design software:

• Coral Draw: Graphic design software with a wide range of tools and applications
• Adobe Illustrator: Powerful graphic design software for creating high quality designs
• Auto Sed (free for students): Great drawing software, primarily used by engineers and architects to create detailed drawings and product representations.
• Inkask (free): Free, open source graphic design software
• Draft III (free options): Professional 2D drafting and design software
• LibreCAD (free): Open source, community based 2 DCD program

3D design software with laser cutting capabilities:

• Hard work: Engineering 3D design software with multiple packages to help design for specific applications
• Autodesk Inventor (free for students): Professional mechanical design software used to create and refine design systems
• Autodesk Fusion (free for students): Uses a cloud-based seeded platform to assist designers through the entire designing, engineering and manufacturing process.
• Create Autodesk 123D (Free): Allows you to import 3D models and cut them into laser cut sheets that can be cut and assembled

Laser cutting resources

• Innovables: Material sellers with all kinds of interesting materials, especially for laser cutting
• Epilog Laser Resource Page: Resource page with content sites, vendor sites and samples