Equipment/HPC LS3060 Laser Cutter

Logbook

15/09/2010 Operator Russ

• Cut some 1.5mm neoprene fairly successfully - needs high power and it's a bit smelly. (Settings in the book.)
• Circle issue is fixed. It was a problem with the tension on the frontmost X drive belt.
• Did some awesome etching onto black anodised aluminium - 450mm/sec, 90% power.

13/09/2010 Operator: samthetechie

Todo: Test CorelDraw X3 with 20mm circles on paper and compare to test using LaserCutter Software

12/09/2010 Operator: samthetechie

• Setup CorelDraw X3 with LaserCutter Add-on Toolbar.
• Cut Mic On Sign 3mm Perspex.
• Cut MusicMetric Sign 6mm MDF.

Model

• HPC LS3060 "plus" laser engraver and cutter.

Specification

Laser:	40W - water cooled CO2 laser.
Working area:	320 x 600mm honeycomb bed (cutting area possibly about 300 x 550mm)
Features:	Air-assist (removes debris from cutting region), red-dot pointer (to show beam location)
Water cooling:	Simple tube cooling circuit connected with (9mm OD, 6mm ID) latex tube. Uses supplied submersible pond pump (2.8m head, 2800L/H flow).

Safety information

*** Please don't touch or fiddle with the laser cutter unless you've had permission from either Russ or Jonty. ***

• Please don't affect the cooling system without consultation - overheating or rapid cooling can damage the laser.
• Never leave the laser cutter unattended - Your material may ignite, and an unchecked fire in the laser cutter could be both dangerous and costly.
• In case of fire - Use only the CO₂ extinguisher positioned by the cutter.
• 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.
• Do not try to cut metal in the laser cutter - If you wish to mark the metal, please use "Thermark Laser Engraving Spray / Paste", or use anodised aluminium.

Instructions

Powering on

TODO

• Pre-checks
  • CO₂ fire extinguisher to hand
  • Water pump
  • Extractor fan
• Caution regarding length of use and water temperature.

Uploading your data file

TODO

• Different file types pros/cons
• Setting the scale
• Setting the origin - what to watch out for
• Layers - how are they used
• How do you know when the file is sent successfully

Positioning your material

TODO

• Caution - know your material
• Caution regarding live areas inside the cabinet
• Setting the bed Z-axis
• Viewing the bounding box with red-dot pointer

Cutting

TODO

• Caution - never leave the machine unattended
• Initiating the cut
• Monitoring progress
  • What to watch out for
  • What to do in case of problems
• What to try if the result is not what you expect

Parameters for different materials

Cutting

Material	Thickness	Speed	Power	Corner power	Examples
Ply wood	3mm	?	?	?	some images

Engraving

Material	Speed (mm/sec)	Power (%)	Corner power	Examples
Anodized aluminium	450	90	?	LHS logo on black phone

Tips

• Some useful laser info from Adafruit - the settings section in particular gave a good idea of what we can expect.
• More information about the controller card used by the cutter
  • http://www.leetro.com/english/sale/20.html
  • http://www.leetro.com/english/sale/23.html

Consumables

• HPC sheet products - Laser ply, perspex, engraving laminate - where we purchased the cutter.
• The Plastics Shop - mattp purchased the plastic for the first batch of Hackspace key rings from here.