Laser Subcommittee Meeting 2018-11-19

Attendees:

• BlakeS, NickB, FletcherB

Notes:

• Review machine operation checklist
  • Accepted by Blake, Nick and Fletcher

Big Red
 - Start LaserCut on the computer and set up your job
 - Turn laser power on
 - Download your job to the laser
 - Position your material on the bed
 - Ensure that your material is lower than the z-probe (pink)
 - Datum the z axis in the center of your material
 - Test your job to ensure that it fits entirely within your material and has enough clearance for engraving
 - Check temperature on cooler is below 20C
 - Open air valve at the rear of the machine and check that air is blowing out the head
 - Check that air is being extracted from the rear of the laser bed
 - Begin cutting laser job by pressing Start/Pause
 - Clean laser bed after any significant use (especially if cutting MDF) and remove all excess scraps of material from the laser area
 - Close air valve at the rear of the machine and power down the laser

Little Red
 - Start LaserCut on the computer and set up your job
 - Turn laser power on
 - Download your job to the laser
 - Position your material on the bed
 - Ensure that your material is lower than the z-probe
 - Reset the z axis in the center of your material
 - Test your job to ensure that it fits entirely within your material and has enough clearance for engraving
 - Check temperature on cooler is below 20C
 - Check that air is blowing out the head
 - Check that air is being extracted from the rear of the laser bed
 - Begin cutting laser job by pressing Start/Pause
 - Clean laser bed after any significant use (especially if cutting MDF) and remove all excess scraps of material from the laser area
 - Power down the laser

• Review laser trainer checklist
  • Draft laser trainer checklist

Laser training
- big red vs little red
- process for becoming an operator
- laser costs
Software / design
- lasercut vs vcarve etc
- vector vs raster
- lasercut engrave/cut/speeds/colours
- cut vs engrave vs etch
- engrave safe zones
- immediate vs absolute
- cut order
Job setup
- checklist exists
- downloading job
- z probe (including emergency stop)
- laser button on the machine
- squaring material/what is actually square
- fine adjustments can be done by moving the material
- start/pause/stop/e-stop
Post job
- how to clean
- fire supprression (where and how)
- repeating jobs
- materials you can cut
- who to talk to about new materials
- who to contact when something is wrong

• Additions/changes to above:
  • Gentle treatment of little red
  • More detailed fire suppression
  • Add reference to laser safety standard IEC60825 which is described on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_safety
  • Consideration of steve's more thorough training
• Discuss big red x axis slippage
  • Discuss occurrence of issues in the past
  • Review belt tension, looks ok
• Big red hour meter 426.9 hrs
• 25W table top laser cutter visiting for canning show (little blue)
  • Currently borrowing kellogg's compressor
• Kellogg progress
  • Interlocks fitted
  • Pulleys progressing
  • Todo
    • Building trolley
    • Computer laser
    • Finish pulley and z-axis
    • Chiller
    • Extraction out back - hole in wall
• Little red
  • Needs end enclosure
  • Cut rates down to 7mm