Trace: • lasercutters
Tools:lasercutters:start
Table of Contents
Laser Cutters
Summary
The laser cutters use high intensity collimated infrared light to cut and engrave various materials, the Artifactory has 2 of these machines for member use.
The LG500 and the LC1290 nicknamed “Little Red” and “Big Red” respectively.
The laser cutters are very dangerous tools that are capable of severely damaging both themselves and anyone using them if used improperly, as such they are not to be used until you have completed the safety induction and been trained in their use.
Hazards
Usage Costs
To cover the cost of replacing the laser tubes as well as power and other consumables the Lasercutters have small usage fees
Big Red Usage Costs MEMBER RATE $0.20 per minute of cutting time with a minimum payment of $2. CASUAL USERS must pay the day rate plus $5 per 10 minutes rounded up to the nearest $5. You must be Artifactory Trained to use the laser cutters.
Little Red Usage Costs MEMBER RATE $0.10 per minute of cutting time with a minimum payment of $1. CASUAL USERS must pay the day rate plus $5 per 10 minutes rounded up to the nearest $5. You must be Artifactory Trained to use the laser cutters.
Please pay for laser time via bank deposit.
- BSB: 086 366
- Account: 16 546 9448
- Description: LASER + Your name
The software will give an estimate of the cycle time however the timer on the machine will display the accurate elapsed job time at the completion of the job.
Approved Users
All users must be certified on the lasercutters before using them, below is a list of certified trainers, users and current trainees. Training times and information are listed on the training page.
< 100% 20% 10% 10% 10% 50% > | |||||
Name | LG500 “Little” | KH7050 “Middle” | LC1290 “Big” | LSO | Availability |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trainers | |||||
Nick Bannon | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Third Tuesday of the month from 6pm |
Steve Hodges | Yes | TBC | Yes | Yes | Ask on Slack |
Glenn Martin | Yes | TBC | Yes | No | |
Lemming | Yes | TBC | Yes | Yes | |
Fletcher Boyd | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Workshop Wednesdays, other times by arrangement |
Iain Graham | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Upon request |
Beau Daley | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Workshop Wednesdays, General Hacking Saturdays, other times by arrangement |
< 100% 20% 10% 10% 10% 50% > | ||||
Operators | LG500 “Little” | KH7050 “Middle” | LC1290 “Big” | Currency confirmed |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alastair Waddell | Yes | No | No | |
DougB | Yes | No | Yes | |
Jeremy Randall | Yes | No | Yes | |
Jason Kongchouy | Yes | No | Yes | |
Hugh Frazer | Yes | No | Yes | |
Stuart McDonald | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Gerard Biles | Yes | No | No | |
Ewan MacLeod | Yes | No | Yes | |
Harry King | Yes | No | No | |
Nathan Thompson | Yes | No | No | |
Ryan White | Yes | No | No | |
Shay Telfer | Yes | No | No | |
Daniel Macnish | Yes | No | No | |
Ben Harris | Yes | No | No | |
Stuart McLay | Yes | No | No | |
Justin Richards | Yes | No | No | |
Lemming | Yes | No | Yes | |
Ricki Barnes | Yes | No | No | |
Steve Hicks | Yes | No | Yes | |
Sylvain Esclapez | Yes | No | Part1 | |
Renee Kestel | Yes | No | No | |
Sam Fitzpatrick | Yes | No | No | |
Jethro Richards | Yes | No | No | |
Ross Sandrock | Yes | No | No | |
Adam Crawle | Yes | No | No | |
Claude Woodward | Yes | No | No | |
Blake Samuels | Yes | No | Yes | |
Jamieson Quin | No | No | Yes | |
Jean-Michel Maujean | Yes | No | Yes | 20160806 |
Kamil Seda | Yes | No | No | 20170506 SJH |
Mel McCarthy | Yes | No | No | 20170714 StM |
Lisa McCarthy | Yes | No | No | 20170714 StM |
John Parry | Yes | No | No | 20171103 Lem |
Steve Garran | Yes | No | Yes | 2018 Nov 21 Lem |
Jamie Moir | Yes | No | Yes | 2018 March 14 GPM |
John Saunders | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
Nathan Munns | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
David Reeve | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
Adam Mellor | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
Fletcher Boyd | Yes | Yes | Yes | 20180824 |
Sean Barry | Yes | No | No | 20181003 FB |
Peter Hillier | Yes | No | Yes | 20181011 FB |
Ryan Adine | Yes | No | No | 20181012 FB |
Ash Williams | Yes | No | Yes | 20190717 FB |
Andrew Bernsousa | Yes | No | Yes | 20190724 FB |
Patrick Kent | Yes | No | Yes | 20190815 FB |
Lauren Amos | Yes | No | Yes | 20190824 FB |
Iain Graham | Yes | Yes | Yes | 20190905 FB |
Jayden Saw | Yes | No | Yes | 20191009 FB |
Mitchell Robertson | Yes | No | Yes | 20191009 FB |
Adam Mellor | No | Yes | Yes | 20201121 NB |
Narelle Fouche | No | Yes | No | 20201219 NB |
< 100% 20% 10% 10% 10% 50% > | ||||
Trainees | LG500 | LC1290 | Trainer | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philip Wijesinghe | Yes | No | No | |
David Skilton | Yes | No | No | |
William Tran | No | Yes | No | |
Sivash Noorbakhsh | Yes | No | No | 20170506 SJH |
John Hayward | Yes | No | No | 20170506 SJH |
Ivan Fetwadjieff | Yes | No | No | 20170506 SJH |
Alex Fetwadjieff | Yes | No | No | 20170506 SJH |
Joseph Ang | Yes | No | No | 20170603 SJH |
Andrew Leitch | Yes | No | No | 20170530 StM |
Gwyneth Jones | Yes | No | No | 20170603 StM |
Adam Contencin | Yes | No | No | 20170603 StM |
Simon Haynes | Yes | Yes | No | 20170806 NB |
Rick Duley | Yes | Yes | No | 20170920 NB |
Sami Blue Birds | Yes | No | No | 20171007 SJH |
Tim Cowley | Yes | No | No | 20171007 SJH |
James Abbott | Yes | No | No | 20171104 SJH JK |
Caleb Hicks | Yes | Yes | No | 20171104 SJH |
Loren Hughes | Yes | Yes | No | 20171104 JK |
James Palmer | Yes | Yes | No | 20171104 JK |
Mark Finlayson | Yes | Yes | No | 20171217 BlakeS |
William Skevington | Yes | Yes | No | 20171217 NB |
Georgina Hall | Yes | No | No | 20180203 SJH |
Daniel Sargent | Yes | No | No | 20180203 SJH |
Jack Nyenhuis | Yes | No | No | 20180203 SJH |
Scott Simons | Yes | No | No | 20180203 SJH |
Nathan Dunn | Yes | Yes | No | 20180210 NB |
Caitlin Meara | Yes | Yes | No | 20180210 NB |
Adam Mellor | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
Samuel Tennent | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
Yoann Roy | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
Yohan Ratnayaka | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
somsuda kunnikorn | Yes | No | No | 20180407 JK |
Terry Christou | Yes | No | No | 20180606 JK |
Rodrigo Kendrick | Yes | No | No | 20180606 JK |
Vincent Dalstra | Yes | Yes | Yes | 20191031 FB |
Marie Arntzen | Yes | No | No | 20180809 NB |
Chris Head | Yes | No | No | 20180819 FB |
Jon Gregory | Yes | No | No | 20180830 FB |
Hui Shan Lim | Yes | No | No | 20181010 FB |
Rebecca Howard | Yes | No | No | 20181012 FB |
Rhys Porter | Part 1 | No | No | 20181012 FB |
Rita Rizzeri | Part 1 | No | No | 20181020 FB |
Ben Jude | Yes | No | No | 20181020 FB |
Ignasius Krisnanta Setiaputra | Yes | No | No | 20181020 Blake Samuels |
Sarada Lee | Part 1 | No | No | 20181103 FB |
Sean Driver | Part 1 | No | No | 20181103 FB |
Alexey Korolev | Yes | No | No | 20181104 FB |
Brett Haywood | Yes | No | No | 20190201 SJH |
Kassabdra Roderick | Yes | Yes | No | 20190302 SJH |
Simon Cosgrave | Yes | No | No | 20190302 SJH |
Lachlan Hutchison | Yes | No | No | 20190302 SJH |
Constance Titterton | Yes | yes | No | 20190406 SJH |
Travis Bullock | Yes | yes | No | 20190406 SJH |
Adriane Dyke | Yes | No | No | 20190406 SJH |
Gail Wittich | Yes | Yes | No | 20190406 SJH |
Devahuti Chaliha | Yes | No | No | 20190406 SJH |
Kym Lim | Yes | No | No | 20190406 SJH |
Daniel Hart | Yes | No | No | 20190406 SJH |
Michael O'Connor | Yes | Yes | No | 20190623 SJH |
Jenny Truong | Yes | Yes | No | 20190706 SJH |
Tim Telcik | Yes | Yes | No | 20190706 SJH |
Tania Nicholl | Yes | Yes | No | 20190706 SJH |
Joseph Orr | Yes | Yes | No | 20190706 SJH |
Phil Cooper | Yes | Yes | No | 20190706 SJH |
Damien Tonkin | Yes | Yes | No | 20190706 SJH |
Luke Tornilla | Yes | Yes | No | 20190713 JK |
Rouie Roxas | Yes | Yes | No | 20191023 NB |
Liza Mathews | Yes | Yes | No | 20191023 NB |
Addam | Yes | Yes | No | 20191023 NB |
Sam Smith | Yes | Yes | No | 20191220 JM |
Trainees
Trainees have been inducted into the way of the laser cutter and may use them under supervision of Operators or Trainers. To become a trainee you should approach a Trainer and get some test projects started. Trainees can use the laser cutter they are a trainee for under the supervision of an Operator for that size, or a Trainer. Use of a laser cutter they are not trained for must be done under the supervision of a trainer.
Operators
Operators are users that have completed a number of laser cutter projects and has shown sufficient proficiency to be allowed to work the laser cutter unattended provided they stick to approved materials. Operators can access the laser cutter keys. Operators are initially approved for the small laser cutter only and must still be supervised for the large laser. After an unspecified time they will be approved for both.
Trainers
These are experienced and super experienced laser cutter users, able to clean, calibrate and extinguish the laser cutters. Trainers are the ones that the new users must approach before they are allowed to use the lasers. Trainers must trial and approve cutting of new materials.
Specifications
< 100% 10% 10% 50% 30% > | |||
Machine | Working Area | Description | Power / Feedrate Reference |
---|---|---|---|
LG500 | 500×300 (honeycomb area is 485×285) | http://www.wklaser.com/pro_183.aspx Smaller machine, better for fine engraving and small jobs. | LG500 Parameter Reference |
LC1290 | 1200×900 (honeycomb area is 1165×862) | http://www.wklaser.com/pro_190.aspx Larger machine, more laser power and working area but less capable of fine work. | LC1290 Parameter Reference |
Materials are available in pre-cut sheets to fit in the LG500
Instructions for Use
Laser Checklists
These are little checklists operators should be working through as they go about their laser cutting jobs with each machine.
Click images To view Larger Version, then click that image again to get the full resolution version:
LaserCut Software
The software which drives both the LG500 and LC1290 is called “LaserCut” and can be found on the desktop of the computers linked up to their respective cutting machine.
A PDF of the “LaserCut” Manual is available from the Leetro website. It's not a fantastic piece of documentation, but may be useful.
Please don't alter any of the machine settings without checking with a trainer first!
File Format
The LaserCut software accepts only DXF (Drawing eXchange Format) Files.
Which can be created using most CAD programs out there, The most commonly used ones at the Artifactroy are Inkscape and V-Carve which are installed on the CAD machines in the CAD Room which can then saved in the internal network the PC connected to the laser cutters can access.
Relative or Absolute Positioning
The machines can operate in either absolute positioning mode (The machine will cut the vectors in the position they are located on the outline of the bed in the software) or in relative positioning mode (The machine will cut the vectors starting at the current location of the cutting head).
For most jobs it is easier to operate in relative positioning mode as it allows you to manually reposition the cut much faster by simply jogging the head. Absolute positioning mode is however preferable if you are using a jig to cut or engrave multiple parts. To switch between cutting modes you simply need to toggle the Immediate checkbox, if the checkbox is checked then the machine is operating in relative positioning mode, if it is not then the machine is operating in absolute positioning mode.
Note: You will need to re-download your job after changing the positioning setting in order for it to take effect.
Cutting Extra-Large Sheets
The lasercutters are capable of being opened to allow for the cutting of sheets larger than the normal cutting bed however by doing so the machine can no longer be considered a Class 1 laser device, but allowing potential contact between the operator and the cutting beam radiation the machine becomes a Class 4 device.
To operate the cutter when it is classified as a Class 4 device a certified laser safety officers must be present. Access to the keys that unlock the lasercutter external panels is restricted to members holding certification as a Laser Safety Officer (LSO) under the Radiation Safety Act (1975)
Note that when operating as a Class 4 device (in addition to the above), all doors to the space need to be closed, all people present must be wearing appropriate IR laser safety glasses, and warnings need to be posted to warn people against entering the space. The practicalities of this are left as an exercise to the student.