Silvertail A0 Laser Cutter

Silvertail A0 Laser Cutter
Model	Just Add Sharks Silvertail
Sub-category	CNC
Status	Good working order
Last updated	28 November 2024 11:17:00
Training requirement	yes
ACnode	yes
Owner	LHS
Origin	Pledge
Location	Ground Floor
Maintainers	Solexious, Yetifiasco, Russ

Our shiny new laser cutter, purchased in 2014 by pledge.

• 1200mm by 900mm cutting area (A0 sized)
• 80W laser tube

If you're using this laser cutter for the first time, and you've been trained on the previous machine, please read the Upgrade Notes.

Training

You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. The laser cutter is unlikely to hurt you, but you can easily hurt it without training. For more information about laser cutter training, see the Lasercutter Training page.

Costs

• Training - £5 per person (payable to the trainer for that session)
• Usage - £6/hour
• Consumables - Bring your own and/or use what is in the off cuts bin, but always ensure (rather than assume) it's laser safe.

Rules

1) Never leave the Laser Cutter unattended whilst cutting/engraving.

You should always be next to the Laser Cutter and paying attention to it while the laser is active, we have tall chairs and you can sit your laptop on the lid if it's a long job. I cannot state how important it is to monitor the laser cutter whilst it is in use, it KNOWS when you're not watching and will burst into flames the second you turn your back. If you MUST leave the laser cutter unattended (fire alarm/toilet), use the pause function.

2) If the Laser Cutter breaks or behaves abnormally, put it Out of Order AND post to the Mailing List.

If the laser cutter starts behaving weirdly, doesn't cut correctly with the correct settings, makes interesting worrying noises, any of the ancillary machines (cooler/extractor/air assist) are not working properly or if there has been a fire, you MUST make sure the machine is placed out of order on the attached ACnode AND post to the Mailing List detailing what has gone wrong. If you don't use the Mailing List, get someone else to post for you.

3) Do not use another members card, likewise do not let another member use your card.

ACnode is the only system we have to make sure enthusiastic untrained individuals do not use the laser cutter until they are trained, thus protecting what is a very delicate and breakable machine. Every trained member will have access using their card, if they don't, then they do not have access to the machine. If a trained member has forgotten their card, they can either register a new card using the membership kiosk or buy an RFID fob from one of the keysafe holders, then register and use that. You are more than welcome to do a job for another person as long as you are the one using the laser cutter.

4) You must be a member of London Hackspace to use the Laser Cutter.

The Laser Cutter is a machine owned and operated by London Hackspace, therefore you must be a member to use it. If you where a trained member and your membership payments have lapsed, access will automatically be revoked until you become a member again. Having a trained member cut a job for a non-member is perfectly fine.

5) You must always pay for your usage.

The Laser Cutter costs £6/hour to use, you only have to pay for the time that the laser is active for, not any setup or preparation time. All money goes towards maintaining the Laser Cutter and buying consumables like mirrors, lenses and new laser tubes. If there is not enough money to cover the cost of consumables when something needs replacing due to people using the Laser Cutter without paying, they simply won't be bought, rendering the Laser Cutter out of order until we find some other way of raising money to cover the costs.

6) Only cut materials on the Approved List and never cut materials on the Banned List.

If you would like to cut a material that is not on the Approved List, contact one of the maintainers, we will do some research and testing (or instruct you to do the testing) to see if the materials is safe to laser cut, if it is, it will be added to the Approved List.

7) Log all jobs using the Laser Cutter Logbook.

Currently, the logbook is the only way the maintainers can view the status of the cutter and how it's performing on a day-to-day basis, it is vital that you complete this for each job done with any power settings used (you can add multiple jobs together into a single log if they used the same settings, material and they where all successful). A link to the logbook is on the desktop and also on the bookmarks bar.

8) Do not disable any of the ancillary components such as the air assist, extractor or cooler.

These all have their purpose in protecting the Laser Cutter and making it work correctly, please do not disable any of these for any reason whatsoever.

9) Don't place cutting waste in the scrap bins.

The scrap bins are ONLY for usable bits of material you don't want any more, a usable bit of material is defined as any bit 10cm2 or larger WITHOUT any cuts or engraves on it, please snap any waste or bits off to make it as small as possible. Cutting waste is fully recyclable and can be place in ANY bin in the hackspace, PLEASE DO NOT PUT IT IN THE SCRAPS BIN!

Any violation of these rules will result in either a verbal warning, a written warning, having to do the training again, a temporary ban or in the most extreme cases a permanent ban issues by the maintainers. We will try and be as fair as possible, we really don't want to punish people and prevent them from using the machine, all bans will be made public and be able to be appealed against and we will strive to educate rather than punish. That being said, this is no excuse for rules ignorance.

Safety information

• Never leave the laser cutter unattended while cutting: your material may ignite, and an unchecked fire in the laser cutter could be both dangerous and costly. We've also seen mirrors go out of alignment and cut into the cables, This is what a laser cutter fire does to a laser cutter:

• In case of fire: use the CO₂ extinguisher by the laser cutter first. Do not use the powder extinguisher unless you feel that you can't control the fire. Put it in the logbook and tell the Mailing List: tiny flames while cutting are normal; anything more must be reported.
• Never cut PVC or chlorinated plastic: you should always know what material you are cutting, and chlorinated plastics should be avoided because they release chlorine gas when cut. Guidelines for how to test materials.
• You can't cut metal in the laser cutter: if you wish to mark the metal, please use Thermark / Cermark, or use anodised aluminium.

List of allowed and banned materials

Allowed

• MDF (up to 10mm)
• Plywood (Up to 10mm) Note: Denser/poor quality ply will have trouble cutting deeper than 6mm, use poplar or another less dense ply for 10mm
• Balsa wood
• Non-resinous wood IE hardwood (Engraving only)
• Paper (Cut only, don't engrave)
• Card/Cardboard
• Acrylic (up to 10mm)
• Foamcore (non-PVC variety)
• Anodized Aluminium (Engrave only)
• Correx (Genuine non PVC)

Banned

• softwood blocks IE. pine 2x4's
• Food
• Body parts
• Plastics containing PVC
• Plastics containing ABS
• Fibreglass
• Glass
• Circuit boards
• Polycarbonate
• All metal (except engraving on anodized aluminium, no cutting)

You should only be cutting materials on the Allowed list, if you want to cut a material which is not on this list, contact one of the maintainers and get them to OK it first.

Common Cutting Parameters

For a full list, see Cutting Parameters.

Acrylic (Perspex)

Thickness (mm)	Speed (mm/sec)	Power (%)	Corner Power (%)
2	50	100	80
3	33	100	80
4	20	100	80
5	15	100	80
10	5	100	80

Ply (Birch)

Thickness (mm)	Speed (mm/sec)	Power (%)	Corner Power (%)
2	60	100	80
3	50	100	80
6	15	100	80

MDF

Thickness (mm)	Speed (mm/sec)	Power (%)	Corner Power (%)
3	50	100	80
4	40	100	80

Trainers and maintainers

If you have questions or problems with the laser cutter, please speak to one of these people:

• Solexious (talk)
• Yetifiasco (talk)
• Russ (talk)

Technical Specs

• Reci Z2 laser tube (90W rated power, 100W max) - recommended max tube current 25mA
• "MYJG-80R" laser power supply
• Leetro MPC6515C (v2.0) motion controller
• LaserCut 5.3 software.
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