Differences

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--- lasercutter_tips_and_tricks [2019-10-23 22:20] – DavidW
+++ lasercutter_tips_and_tricks [2024-08-26 20:24] (current) – [Resources / Project Ideas] danshearer
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 Page for useful/cool things to do with the laser cutter for new and experienced users
+===== Resources / Project Ideas =====
+  * [[https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:lasercut|Designs for laser cutting on Thingiverse]]
+  * [[https://www.reddit.com/r/lasercutting/top/?t=all|/r/LaserCutting on Reddit]]
+  * [[https://www.makercase.com/#/ | Makercase]], for creating boxes, including with organiser dividers
 ===== Material tips =====
@@ Line 16: / Line 21: @@
   * The laser will however etch off paint and dye from metal. Anodised aluminium works great: [[engravingaluminium|]]
   * To etch bare metal, it can be coated with a heat activated chemical (Molybdenum Disulphide). Sold as “Dry Moly Lube” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ziyB9EEnL8
+  * Settings: 25 speed, 100 power, 0.5mm scan gap works fine (Costa)
   * Thin metal can buckle from the heat - turning off Bi-dir and lowering power helps with this
   * Costa has experience with this
@@ Line 36: / Line 42: @@
   * The edges of the thin [[https://hobarts.com/1.5mm-black-on-white-laminate-610x305mm-ref-2901-|1.5mm laminate]] can get burnt when cutting is done in one pass
   * It might give a better result if cutting with multiple passes at lower power
+**Glass**
+  *Glass can't be cut on the laser, but it can be "engraved", in that the surface of the glass chips when under the heat of the laser, leaving a frosted surface (careful, as tiny bits of glass can break loose).
+  *Engraving: https://www.epiloglaser.com/how-it-works/applications/glass-etching.htm
+  *Engraving lines can be used to score glass for cutting https://www.epiloglaser.com/customer-spotlights/laser-laceworks/
 **Food**
@@ Line 55: / Line 66: @@
   * Human Skin (not a good idea) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-BfsnTw1X4
-**PLA***
+**PLA**
   * It can be cut but smells really bad so we don't recommend long cuts
   * Material has a tendency to warp when heated up
@@ Line 69: / Line 80: @@
 **Box generators**
   *[[https://www.festi.info/boxes.py/|boxes.py]] is a nice site for generating different types of finger joint boxes
+  *[[https://www.templatemaker.nl/en/]] is a generator interesting shaped boxes and 3D shapes, targeting paper/card but useful to play with
 **Engraving Gray scale images**
@@ Line 76: / Line 88: @@
   * Steps:
   * Dither an image in Gimp or this online tool https://29a.ch/ditherlicious/
-  * use Gimp or ms paint to convert the image to a monochrome bitmap
+  * use Gimp or ms paint to convert the image to a monochrome bitmap, alternatively imagemagick using: **magick.exe in.png -monochrome -alpha off out.png** (Windows) or **convert in.png -monochrome -alpha off out.png** (Linux)
   * open the image in LaserCut and scale it so one pixel corresponds to one line of the laser engrave (the height of the image in mm should equal the height of the image in pixels multiplied by the scan gap)
   * You can preview the output by clicking on "Laser" -> "Simulate"
@@ Line 87: / Line 99: @@
 **Painting**
-  * Paint can be rubbed into etched areas in acrylic, then cleaned up with a wet cloth: https://youtu.be/Vl41zsCRWI4
+  * Paint can be rubbed into etched areas in acrylic (with sponge or cloth), then cleaned up with a wet cloth
   * Same can be done for wood: https://youtu.be/9WNd82-K09E
   * Multiple colours can be done with repeated spray painting and engraving the reverse side of clear acrylic https://youtu.be/SxNQgyL0dXY
 **Double sided engraving**
-  * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWMgsjQtyd4
+  * Cut and engrave your object and a mirror image of it next to it at the same time
-  * Cut and engrave your object and a mirror image of it at the same time
   * Switch the 2 copies around
   * run the engrave again
+**Rotary Axis**
+  *The Big laser has a rotary attachment for engraving and cutting cylindrical objects
+  *To use it:
+  *lower the bed of the laser down until you can see 2 switches and a socket on the right wall of the cutting area
+  *bring the laser head to roughly the centre of the bed
+  *plug in the rotary axis and flick both switches, this changes the laser from controlling the up/down motor to controlling the rotary axis motor
+  *cutting and engraving is done exactly the same as before, you may need to adjust the vertical scaling to get a nice result
+  *when you're done, don't forget to return the laser to the state you found it in
 **Making rigid material flexible with living hinges**
@@ Line 107: / Line 127: @@
   * This will require some trial and error
   * Costa has experience with this
+  * Another method is to engrave from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQXuzTTf2QE|both sides of the material]], using a jig to make sure the two cuts are aligned
 **Hatching**
@@ Line 113: / Line 135: @@
   * TODO: insert image
+**Acrylic bending**
+  * Can be done with hair straightener or hot air gun
+  * Costa has made a nice jig for bending acrylic at precise angles, consisting of nichrome wire, 2 board boards and a hinge https://www.instructables.com/id/Acrylic-Bending-Tool/
+  * This can also be done on the laser, using an out of focus beam or with the lens removed https://a-e-mag.com/features/try-bending-acrylic-laser
+  * Another cool example of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arjRtCjI9AQ
 ===== Design =====
 **Removing duplicate lines**
@@ Line 120: / Line 147: @@
 **Kerf correction**
+Example of this in action (slope may be different for different materials and settings) in figure below:
 {{https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jetro_Pocorni/publication/287815638/figure/fig4/AS:309555671126016@1450815231017/Kerf-width-data-for-aluminum-plate-cut-with-a-6-kW-CO-2-Laser-over-a-range.png}}
+  * Pattern for testing out different tolerances for tight fitting finger joints: [[https://www.festi.info/boxes.py/BurnTest?language=en]]
   * Good explanation: http://archive.fabacademy.org/2018/labs/fablabsiena/students/giuseppe-allocca/laser%20cutting.html
   * The laser cutter has something called “kerf”, if you send a 1cm square to the laser, the part will come out slightly smaller (~9.8mm)
-  * This difference is about 0.1mm, so paths need to be offset by 0.1mm to compensate for this.
+  * This difference is about 0.1mm, so paths need to be offset by 0.1mm to compensate for this using the offset tool in Lasercut 5.3
   * Fusion 360 has a plugin which does kerf correction automatically: [[https://apps.autodesk.com/FUSION/en/Detail/Index?id=7634902334100976871&os=Win64&appLang=en|link]]
   * This should also be possible with the “offset path” tool in any vector editing software like Inkscape or AI
@@ Line 135: / Line 165: @@
   * [[https://github.com/DiatomStudio/Piccolo/wiki/Piccolo-Assembly-Instructions|Piccolo assembly]]  – “Draft angle on the laser-cut edges”
   * [[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286652510_Laser-cutting_Pneumatics/figures|Lasercut pneumatics]] – Fig. 4
+**General Laser cutter inaccuracies**
+  * https://youtu.be/sEUol9R1OhQ
 ===== Material sourcing =====