Blog entry on laser cutting

WHAT'S UP GUYS! I hope all of you are doing well.

In this blog, I will be sharing with you guys about some of the most exciting things I have ever accomplished in SP--------------Use Laser cutting machine to cut an object.

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In this page, I will describe:

1.The 4 important hazards associated to the operation of laser cutting machine

and their respective safety control measures (administrative/engineering

control).

2.The materials that can be cut and can’t be cut using laser cutting machine.

3.The steps including pictures on the operation of UNIVERSAL laser cutter, that

consist of:

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

extractor.

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

engraving.

c.Sending the coreldraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the

laser cutter power, speed, PPI in the software.

d.Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

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

4.My Learning reflection on the laser cutter activities.

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LET'S DIVE RIHGT INTO IT$$$

1.These are the 4 important hazards and the respective safety control measures on the operation of laser cutting machine:

Hazards	safety control measures	Pictures to support the explanation
1. The material may catch on fire during laser cutting	1) Fire extinguisher is placed outside of the laser cutting room in case the fire is unable to blow off 2) A cloth is provided for students to blow off the fire 3) Emergency button is located inside the laser utting room 4) Air assist shall be switched on before the operation to prevent the workplace from burning
2. Toxic gases produced from lasser cutting	1) Fume extractor has been put in place to remove all the gases 2) Students are required to wait for 1 minute before opening the lid after the operation
3. Severe damage on user's eyes while operating if students stare at the beam	1) Staff-in-charge to brief students on importance of not staring at the beam during the operation
4. Skin burns resulted from exposure to laser beam	1) Staff-in-charge to brief students on safe working procedure i.e. students shall leave the lid closed during the operation 2) All inviduals entering the laser cutting room are required to wear long pants and sleeved shirts 3) Laser cutting machine has a design that when the lid is open, the operation will cease

2.Below are the materials that can be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in FabLab.

Material	Photo of material
Cardboard
2. Wood (Up to 6mm)
3.Acrylic

Below are the materials that can’t be cut/engraved using laser cutting machine in Fablab.

Material	Photo of material
Metal
2. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
3. Polystyrene Foam

3.Below are the 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 explanation
1) Before you start, switch on the power for the laser cutter, Air assist and Extractor
2) Switch on the fume extractor

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

Steps and description	Photos to support explanation
1) Select File > Import > Select your .DXF file and press import
2) Once imported, you will need to make decision on which one to vector cut, engrave or vector engrave
3) Modify the lines/fill for cutting and engraving

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 explanation
1) Click on File > Print
2) Click on "Cogwheel" icon for settings
3) Universal’s Material setting will appear. Click on LOAD for more material settings
4) Select the presets that matches your material type and thickness and select OPEN (Ps. The power, speed and PPI are set beforehand for simplification purposes)

d.Starting the job on the laser cutter machine.

Steps and description	Photos to support explanation
1) On the UCP, CLICK ON THEPOWER BUTTON to activate the laser cutter on the top right of the control panel.
2) There is a built-in ruler in the Laser cutter, we will make use of a small empty space. We will check the Horizontal and Vertical sides of the ruler and use the Move tool (refer here), we will move the object to the empty space of the plywood.
3) With the lid still open, click on the FOCUS Tool, and a crosshair will appear. We will now check if our file is within the safe cutting area, we do not want to have our object cutting over the voids on the Plywood. Click as close as possible to the extreme bottom right corner of the file.
4) Next,we will check the top left corner of the file. (Ps. feel free to check a few more points to make sure your file is within the safe cut zone on your material !)
5) 1.Shut the lid gently 2. Press either the PLAY button on UCP or the Physical button on the Laser cutter

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

DOs and DONTs	Photos to support explanation
DOs: 1)Any flameMUST DIE OUT within1-2 seconds. If the flame persists, lift the lid of the laser cutter and stop the cutting operation. 2)If the fire is negligible, try putting it out by blowing it off 3)If the fire is unable to blow off, a. remove material from the laser cutter b. place it on the floor and step on it to put out the fire 4)If the fire is uncontrollable, go to the closest fire extinguisher and put it out. Get people’s attention by shouting for help
DONTs: Do not leave the laser cutting machine unattended Do not leave the site without informing the staff-in-charge

4.Below is my Learning Reflection on the laser cutter activities.

It's time to summarise what I have learnt from this amazing practical!

First of all, I am proud of myself for acquring the skills on how to operate a laser cutting machine and for succssfully passing the laser cutting test under the supervison of Mr. Mark. (A big shoutout to him for briefing us on how to use laser cutting machine safely and being helpful during the actual test). I am able to perform housekeeping and use coreldraw to design the item that I want to print.

Second of all, I have also learnt the working principles of a carbon dioxide(CO2) laser cutting machine. Mr. Chua also taught us the purpose of air assist and the difference between vector and raster . I understand that the file size of raster is much larger than that of vector and as you zoom in a raster image, it will become blurry as it is made of pixels. On the other hand, vector images are scalable, which means that the image will stay clear despite zooming in/out. Mr. Chua did mention the application of kerf and why it would occur.

Moving forward, I know that the settings on corel draw for vector engraving (scoring), engrave and victor cut are different. For example, if I want to choose vector cut, the colour used should be red and the line weight should be hairline, and no fill is requird. Different cut settings will result in different outcomes as well. For instance, if I do not want the object to be fully cut, I should opt for vector engraving instead of vector cut.

Most importantly, I studied the correct measures that should be taken when the material catches on fire, and other common hazards that happen during the operation, as well as what kind of material is suitable to be cut. I personally believe that safety should always be prioritized before conducting any activities.

This marks the end of this blog and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on gears with all of you in my next blog. Thank you for your time!