Laser cutting

Laser Cutting Practical ✂

This week I got to learn how to function a laser cutting machine. 

Pre-Practical 📝

We were instructed to read/watch through all the materials/videos on blackboard. Then we had to complete a Fab Lab laser cutter certification quiz. This was definitely challenging for me. I took 6 tries to finally get 90% on the quiz.

As a group, we prepared a Standard Operating procedure (SOP) for the operation of the laser cutter machine. We can then use this SOP to help us with our Practical Test on the day of the practical. This was quite challenging at first because we were unsure of the arrangement and the whole operation. However, after discussing and going through the notes and videos on blackboard, we managed to construct a useful SOP. 

Below is our SOP:

                                         Laser cutting SOP

Group: 4 Members: John, Jessica, Jun Ying, Kevan, Trisyia

Procedure   START UP: 1.       Turn on the air compressor at the back of the rig switch   2.       Turn on the film extractor   3.       Turn on the main laser cutter using the switch at the bottom right of the machine and wait until initialisation is complete   4.       Proceed to the software station to proceed with the operation of laser cutting   Operation of Laser Cutter: 1.       Import the DXF/SVG file into the software 2.       Highlight the and set the line weight, colour, and fill depending on your needs at the bottom right of the software (refer to the table below)     3.       Click file and press Print (CTRL-P) 4.       Auto focus must be set to ON (for Epilog M2 machine) or THICKNESS (for Epilog Pro machine) 5.       On Epilog Dashboard, Choose Auto Focus: Thickness 6.       On the Right-hand side, it will show you the process of each object’s action. Any object’s line-weight set as hairline are considered as VECTOR and with thickness is considered as ENGRAVING 7.       Set the thickness 8.       select import material settings (vector tab) at the top right corner. (For red line) 9.       select material that are using, and press import from the library. 10.   Turn on air assist and auto focus on Epilog dashboard for both cut and engraving 11.   Click print at the lower right corner to send the job to the laser cutter 12.   If the job has been received by the laser cutter, the laser cutter would show the title of the job and the time needed to complete it. If Epilogue Fusion M2 laser cutter is used, check the file name and estimated time on the LCD screen. If everything is in order, press ‘Go’ button that place on the machine. If Epilogue Fusion PRO laser cutter is used, check the file name and estimated time on the LCD touchscreen. If everything is in order, press the play button on the LCD touchscreen. 13.   When the laser has been done, wait for 1 minute.   SHUT DOWN: 1.       Clean the surrounding area of the remaining parts after laser cutting 2.       Return excess material and dispose of waste material in the recycling bin 3.       Turn off the main laser cutting switch 4.       Proceed to turn off film extractor 5.       Turn off the pump

Safety Precaution -          Long hairs must be kept neat and tidy to prevent hair from getting caught -          Remove any loose/hanging object on your body -          Full open the cover of the printer when placing material inside -          Do not put your head on the inside of printer -          Wear appropriate attire (long pants and covered shoes) -          Do not slam the cover when closing it -          Do not look directly at the beam during the operation -          Do not lean on cover (Triggers safety interlock and operation will stop) -          Turn on the exhaust to allow the air to escape -          Do not leave the laser cutter unattended when in operation -          Do not use materials that contain Chlorine or foam -          Do not cut or engrave metal materials. -          When the material cannot be cut through, stop using the laser cutter and clean the lens if it is dirty, this is to prevent the lens from cracking. -          When using wood ensure the appropriate thickness is used to prevent burning. -          Clear all clutter and flammable materials that are at least one meter away from the laser cutter -          Ensure one has done the quiz before going for practical to ensure they are competent

During Practical (Groupwork) 👷👷👷👷👷

The class was split into 2 groups. The first group will be doing the practical test and the second will work on a parametric design on fusion 360 which will be printed at the end of the class.

I was in the group where we had to do the practical test. I was nervous 😬 at first but I managed to pass and create a small piece of acrylic with the word 'Test' engraved. It was a nerve-wracking but fun experience. After my test, I took over for the design of the fusion 360. 

2 members of my group did one of the parametric designs we agreed on which is a circle wheel design as shown below:

I designed the rectangle shape below:

We then transferred the file and printed it out using the laser cutter machine ✂📁

However, we found that the puzzles don't fit 😞. This was super devastating at first but we realized our mistake which was that we did not measure the thickness of our material. We realized that for our puzzle pieces to fit, we need to make the slots the same size as the thickness of the material. So we decided to try again. 😄

So, the next day my group and I came back to school to make adjustments 🏨🖉

Below are some of the structures we made using our parametric designs! 👍😁🔨

Individual work 👷

For the individual assignment, I had to design my own handphone stand using fusion 360. This was a chance for me to play around with the software! 

Here is  a brief explanation on how I did it:

First I created a new sketch and selected a plane

Then I made the first piece of the handphone stand. I created a rectangle and added filets to remove the sharp corners. Then I made 2 rectangular holes for my 2nd piece of the handphone stand to slide through. I also made a rectangular hole for aesthetic purposes. 

Then, using the parameters feature, typed in the height and length I want both the overall piece and the rectangular holes to be. I then used the sketch dimension tool to edit the lengths mentioned above.

The same was done for the second piece of my handstand.

Above are the finished sketches 😁

 

Then I used the extrude tool and gave dimensions to my finished sketch. 

Using the copy and paste tool, I copied the sketch of the second piece of my handstand and pasted it in the same file as my first sketch. 

After giving the second piece dimension, I used the move copy tool and moved it into the right place.

Above is the finished product!

Since I had extra time, I actually came to the Fab Lab to laser cut my product. Above is my product in action hehe ~

Reflection 📜

For our very first practical we made parametric designs using fusion 360 and print it out using a laser cutter. In this experiment, we got to work on our laser cutter and fusion 360 skills. This practical is important as both skills that were practised during this practical are very useful for our future projects, specifically our Final Year Project. I used to think that the laser cutter was a very complex machine and difficult to use. After this practical, I think that it's actually pretty easy if I just continue practicing. Overall this practical was super fun and engaging. I learned a lot more about fusion 360 and how to use the laser cutter machine with ease. I really enjoyed this practical and hope that the next practicals will be just as fun!