THIS OVERVIEW IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR TRAINING, ONLY A REMINDER FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY TRAINED

The instructions on this page are not meant to be exhaustive but rather checklist reminders of use process. Browse through the ‘laser binder’ on the desk in the laser room, it contains documentation and troubleshooting tips.

Start-Up Checklist

1. Ensure the door to the hallway is closed and the Honeywell Air filter is turned on.
2. Turn on the system via the main switch on the wall. (Confirm the laser is completely on see the red and green buttons on the side)
3. Check the filter type and time left on the filter and adjust if needed for your job. (instructions)
4. Do a draw test. (See wiki for instructions)
5. Confirm the chiller is on, pumping water, and the water level is in the good zone.
6. Check that the chiller temperatures are in the right ranges – Approx. 19 – 24 degrees
7. Confirm air compressor is running
8. Use your fob to authorize access

Shut-Down Checklist

• 1. Move the laser head to the very back, center
  2. Log off the laser access point with your fob
  3. When done, turn off the main switch to power down the system.
  4. Remove any bits and scraps from the laser bed, use brushes and pipe cleaners when needed. Be careful not to cast dust on the head. Check for clogged honeycomb cells. 
  5. Clean up any waste material you may have generated. If you made a lot of waste material you can grab a trash bag from the closet to take it home. All waste material must fit under the top of the trash can.
  6. Use the dusting tools and shop vac next to laser and vacuum underneath honeycomb and small parts off and in the bed. Make sure not to knock bits into the main exhaust pipe in the center of the waste tray.
  7. Carefully wipe down the interior of the laser after each use using the microfiber dusting tools or a dry cloth. NEVER USE SPRAY CLEANERS or solvents or scratchy things. (Okay to use a damp cloth as long as it is water only for soot smudges.)
  8. DO NOT TURN OFF THE COMPUTER
  9. If the room is stinky it is okay to leave the Honeywell Air Filter on.

Basic Focus and Test Cutting

1. Set up the bed and materials
   1. Zero the Z (see How to adjust the bed height (Z-axis) for additional information)
   2. Prepare your material for a test cut on the laser bed
   3. Jog laser head over to the material using arrow buttons to move a little bit, and hold down to move a lot.
   4. Use the focus tool to get a good start point for the focus process. Adjust the Z axis by raising/lowering table On laser (Z+/Z-) BUT NEVER WITH SOMETHING UNDER HEAD.
   5. Fire test dot On laser*:  Press “Pulse”, while looking at your material. You should see it burned dot. Check the dot for roundness.
   6. Focus by raising/lowering table On laser (Z+/Z-). You are aiming to land the focal point of the laser in the middle (Z) of your material. For thick material, you may need to refocus on multiple passes. NEVER ADJUST THE Z WITH SOMETHING UNDER THE HEAD.
2. Cutting a test file
   1. Open LaserSoft (always start with a new file)
   2. Set the parameters for your workspace (i.e. Set relative origin point) – click “Parameters”, then “Workspace”:
   3. Set Platform -> Relative Position setting for how you want laser to cut relative to your material.
   4. Draw a shape to test with; set the power and speed (see the binder or poster for settings for your specific material). It should be relevant to the art you are cutting.
   5. Download your test art to the laser
   6. Position the laser head over the material (mindful of relative origin)
   7. Press “origin”  –   ANY time you move the laser head PRESS ORIGIN
   8. Click the ‘Run Box’ command to confirm you will be on the material  ( Rectangle icon with arrows on control panel)– this will move the laser in a rectangle around the area it will operate, without turning on the laser.
   9. Confirm the temperature readout on the laser cutter is below 24. Also check the chiller, it should be below 17.
   10. Start the cut– click Start! DO NOT LEAVE THE LASER WHILE IT’S CUTTING. You need to watch it at all times to make sure nothing bad happens (eg burning down the building).
3. Adjust the focus, power and speed settings as needed and continue test cutting until you are getting the cut you desire. Tip, take pictures of your settings as you go so you remember what you did.

Cutting imported artwork

1. Set the parameters for your workspace (i.e. Set relative origin point) – click “Parameters”, then “Workspace”:
2. Set Platform -> Relative Position setting for how you want laser to cut relative to your material.
3. Import shapes/graphics (Or draw them manually with the tools in the software)
4. Assign items as relevant to layers and apply your power and speed settings
   1. You can run a simulation to see how it will cut
5. Download the program to the laser: Click ‘Download’, then ‘Download’ again.
6. Position gantry over your material where you want to start cutting.
7. Press “origin” on laser.
8. Confirm material/cut position- Click the ‘Run Box’ command — this will move the laser in a rectangle around the area it will operate, without turning on the laser.
9. Start the cut– click Start! DO NOT LEAVE THE LASER WHILE IT’S CUTTING. You need to watch it at all times to make sure nothing bad happens (eg burning down the building).

Tips

• Before putting your material into the laser cutter, test your image on paper. If you don’t test on paper first you will ruin a lot of the material you are cutting. Once it looks good on paper you can place your material on the paper so you know it is positioned properly, and refocus if the material is thick.
• When engraving raster images, they go much faster if you use a lower DPI. Experiment to find the lowest DPI that still looks good while providing a good mix of speed. Generally using a scan gap much smaller than the actual spot size of the laser is a waste of time.