Changes

Old makerspace laser cutter

2,028 bytes added, 01:33, 1 May 2015
/*Usage*/extended laserworks usage instructions
== Usage ==
# '''Prepare your file to cut or engrave'''. You'll need a .dxf file with all the paths stroked at 0.25px, with each different color of the paths representing a different cut/engrave settings layerparameters. You can find such files by searching on [https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=laser+cut&sa= Thingiverse] and other related sites, or creating your own with software such as [[#Inkscape|Inkscape]], [[#Illustrator|Illustrator]], [[#RhinoInventor|RhinoInventor]], or many others. Unfortunately many of the files you find online are in .ai, .pdf or .svg, you'll need to open them in one of these apps and export them to .dxf.# '''Open the file in Laserworks'''. On the machine next to the laser cutter, plug in your USB key, and then import the .dxf via File > Import (ctr + i). If in the preview section you do Laserworks says that it did not see the shapesfind any data, it means that you did not format your file correctly. The same applies if , or you import it and Laserworks says that it did not find any dataused an incompatible file type.# '''Scale and arrange your paths'''. Once you have imported your .dxf, the paths in the file will be shown in Laserworks. You can either select all of the elementspaths, or select just one of them, and scale using the black boxes arrows on the sides, or by changing the values in the scale toolbar on the top. It is also possible to move your paths by clicking and dragging the pink cross in the middle. You can group your paths using the group button on the top toolbar.# '''Add or edit paths'''. You can do some basics edits in Laserworks with the toolbar on the left. If you want to cut/engrave your paths with different settings, you can set each paths' parameters by choosing a colour on the bottom toolbar. For example: you want to engrave a design, and cut a circle around it - so you set the design to red, and the circle to black.# '''Select your engrave/cut parameters'''. On the top of the toolbar on the right, you'll see that each colour has its own parameters, and you can edit each one by double-clicking on it.## '''Output''' Set to yes in order for your paths to cut/engrave (setting it to no could be useful if you have construction/instructional paths or you have multiple designs in the same file).## '''Speed'''. See [[#Materials|Materials]] section below to select the correct speed for cutting.## '''Blowing'''. Set to yes, this is the internal air compressor that blows out of the cutting head.## '''Processing mode'''. <u>Set this first</u> as all the following settings will depend on it. ''Cut'' will cut along the paths as a vector, ''scan'' will engrave between the lines of your paths, and ''dot'' will make a dotted outline of your paths.## '''Power'''. See [[#Materials|Materials]] section below to select the correct power.## '''Scan mode'''. ''Only in scanning/engraving mode''. Unilaterism mode will scan/engrave one line at each time the laser head passes, and swing mode will scan/engrave two lines at each pass, going in both directions. Uni mode gives better results but takes twice as long as swing mode. Set x if the paths are wider on the x scale than on the y scale, and choose y for when the paths are longer on the y scale - this optimises laser time.## '''Interval'''. ''Only in scanning/engraving mode''. Set the distance between each laser pass. 0.1mm is the minimum distance, and will produce results similar to a printer - but it takes a lot of time. 0.2mm is a good average, you can't really see the space between the passes. You can go up to 0.4mm before it starts to be somewhat visible. 
* Always cut with lid closed
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