Laser Cutting - Operation and Basic Use - SACCNC003
Overview
Hacker Lab's lasercutters are among the most used pieces of equipment in the makerspace. They are fairly easy to operate and allot users to prototype designs, create art, and much more.
This is our Laser Cutter safety and basic use class. It is designed to cover the safe operation of the lasers, Hacker Lab's policy's regarding laser cutter use, and walk students through the lasercutting toolpath.
Please note: this class does not cover design creation. If you have no vector design experience (typically Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Inkscape, AutoCAD, or similar) we highly suggest you take our Vector Design for Laser and Vinyl Cutting class in addition to this one.
We'll Cover:
- High-level overview of design software
- Introduction to components of the laser cutter
- Laser Safety, Rules, and Guidelines
- Overview of materials
- Preparing the machine for operation
- Vector versus raster files and why it matters
- Laser cutter design considerations
- Review errors and ways to prevent them
- Laser cutting in practice
- Positioning the laser and work piece
- Navigating the laser cutter's user interface software
- Operation of the lasercutter for performing a cut
Equipment Covered
- Morntech MT L960 Laser Cutter
- DLM Spartan Laser Cutter
Important Information
It is recommended that students have experience in using vector design software (AI, CorelDraw, CAD, Inkscape, etc.) prior to taking this class. Consider taking Vector Design for CorelDraw in addition to this class (before is preferred but after is okay).