Laser cutting

LASER CUTTING

Hallo, welcome to my first ever blog entry for this semester 👾 This week, i learnt how a laser cutter works and how to operate it and i am gonna share all about it in this blog👼👼👼👼👼

HAZARDS

lets begin with hazards as safety is always number 1 priority and it is very cool😎

Hazards	Safety control measures	Pictures to support the explanation
1.materials catching on fire	1) fire extinguisher at the entrance of workshop (engineering control)
2.inhaling dust from laser cutter	1) fume extractor (engineering control)   2) users are reminded to allow dust debris to be cleared out before opening the cover of laser cutter (wait 1 minute) (administrative control)
3.hazardous fumes/potential fire-starting sparks produced when user is using wrong material to cut	1) users must be trained and know what materials to use and what materials not to (administrative control)
4.staring at laser while it is cutting can cause eye damages	1) users are reminded to NOT stare at the laser beam while cutting and only take glances (administrative control)

Materials that can be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in FabLab.

Material	Photo of material
1.Acrylic
2.Wood (up to 6mm) - plywood - natural wood (contains oils that causes small fires)
3.cardboard (burn marks and fire may occur)

Materials that can’t be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in Fablab.

Material	Photo of material
1.PVC or materials that contain chlorine
2.Foam
3.Metal materials

Steps on the operation of UNIVERSAL laser cutter machine in FabLab

 a.    Starting the compressor, turning on the laser cutting machine and fume extractor.

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
switch on the power for laser cutter, Air assist and Extractor
locate the fire extinguisher for emergency use

   b. Importing a .DXF file to coreldraw and modify the lines/fill for cutting and engraving.

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
Go to file (top left) & select import to import a .DXF file
Select the line(s) that you want to engrave/vector engrave/vector cut using the select tool
Select the tool at the bottom right (double click) and adjust to desired settings vector cut: colour: RGB red line weight: hairline  NO FILL Vector engrave: colour: RGB green line weight: hairline NO FILL Engrave:  colour: RGB green  Line weight: none  Fill: GREEN
EXTRA: How to change to RGB
EXTRA: how to change line width

c.    Sending the coreldraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the laser cutter power, speed, PPI in the software.

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
Go to file > print > select the cogwheel
Select load and choose the material that you are using to laser cut > apply > OK

d. starting the job on the laser cutter

Steps and description	Photos to support the description
Locate the UCP (universal control panel) at the bottom of the computer task bar
click on the activate button to activate the laser cutter  A loud machine motor sound should be heard
Position material and use the different tools to adjust accordingly
Shut the lid gently and click on the green button on the screen or green button on the laser cutter

e.    DOs and DONTs when there’s flame/fire on the material being cut.

DOs	Photos to support the description
Try to blow off fire if its negligible
If fire is unable to blow off         Remove material from laser cutter        Place it on the floor and step on it to put out fire
If fire is uncontrollable, go to nearest fire extinguisher and put it out, shout for help

DONTs	Photos to support the description
Leave the laser cutter unattended
Stare at laser when printing
Use non-suitable materials for cutting

Learning reflection

Before beginning laser cutting, i thought it was a simple task where you have to just import a file and it will automatically be ready for cutting but i was definitely proven wrong in this practical. 

when reading up and learning how to use a laser cutter, i often find myself overwhelmed with large amounts of information entering my head. what made it harder was that i had no idea what a laser cutter looks like in real life and the only closest reference i had was an 18 minute tutorial video recorded by Dr. Noel which had some blurry parts, making it hard to see.

However, this lack of unfamiliarity was accounted for when we were given a quick tutorial on-site on how to operate a laser cutter which boosted by confidence by a bit because it seemed so much simpler. Although i had confidence, there was a lingering sense of uncertainty behind what i was doing. so during the test, i would double check with my SOP to make sure i was doing the right thing.

This then brings me to another issue which is that my SOP is actually poorly done because it was sometimes hard to find which step i am at due to how wordy it is. i should have also included more pictures and circle whatever was important for each step. 

Although i completed the laser cutting competency test successfully, i feel that trying to laser cut a few other objects would definitely benefit me as doing something only once is definitely not going to last long in my head. With that, i hope to be able to implement laser cutting into future projects so that i can get myself familiarised with laser cutting and one day be able to create something that i am proud of