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The Laser Cutter is technically under the shared equipment authority and requires the user to have fund and group number in order to use. If you are part of a design group (senior design, freshman design, etc) you are free to use the laser cutter so long as you respect the reservations that others have made.
Focusing The Laser
Before you do any cutting on the laser cutter, the laser must be properly focused. VIDEO HERE!
To properly focus the laser:
- Retrieve the laser focusing dongle that is stored inside the laser cutter bed on the left edge. PIC
- Remove ALL materials from the bed of the laser cutter (not doing so could result in damage to the head in the next step)
- Press the Z button on the laser cutter
Modes Of Operation
Raster vs. Vector
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- Beware that the laser cutter does remove material (albeit a very small amount) when it cuts. Pieces will become loose in the laser cutter bed if you cut them out. Ex: You want to etch a Rice Logo into a circular piece of acrylic so you make the logo red and the circular border black. So far so good. But the laser cutter may end up cutting the circular outline first and THEN etching the inside. At this point the circular piece is just "floating" on the laser cutter bed, it has been cut away from the larger rectangular stock and the gas assist from the laser cutter may very well push it around a bit and the etching may suffer in quality.
Abilities and Restrictions
The laser cutter has the following abilities:
- Minimum features size: TBD
- Focused laser point size: 0.007 inches
- Max width of material for full cut: Varies by material... no more than 0.5 inches
Important Settings
Speed and Power
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