Laser Cutting

In this page, I will be sharing about my experience learning about laser cutting and going through the laser cutting competency test😀. 

This page is segmented into 5 parts:

1. Important Hazards and Safety Control Measures on Laser Cutting Operation
2. Materials that CAN be cut/engraved using laser cutter machine
3. Materials that CANNOT be cut/engraved using laser cutter machine
4. Operation of Universal Laser Cutter Machine in Fablab
5. Learning Reflection 

4 Important HAZARDS and SAFETY CONTROL MEASURES on operation of Laser Cutting Machines

	Hazards	Safety Control Measures	Image
1	Fire	Always be present when operating a laser cutting machine. Extinguish fire by blowing on it or removing the material from the laser cutter, placing it on the ground and extinguish the fire by stepping on it. If the fire is uncontrollable, go to the closest fire extinguisher and put it out.
2	Physical; severe or permanent vision loss	Do not stare into a laser beam while cutting.
3	Physical; explosion and flying materials cause major injuries	Do not increase power when material cannot be cut through. Stop operation and check focus lens as it might be dirty.
4	Chemical; hazardous and toxic fumes	Switch on exhaust.

Materials that CAN be cut/ engraved using laser cutting machine in Fablab

Material	Image
Plywood (up to 6 mm)
Acrylic (up to 5 mm)
Cardboard
Paper

Materials that CANNOT be cut/ engraved using laser cutting machine in Fablab

Material	Image
Metals
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Polystyrene Foam
Glass

Operation of Universal Laser Cutter Machine in Fablab

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

Steps	Image
1. Before you start, switch on the power for  Power for laser cutter, Air Assist and Extractor Light switch

b. Importing a .DXF file to CorelDraw and modifying the lines/fill for cutting and engraving.

Steps	Image
1. To import a file from Fusion to CorelDraw Click File > Import > Select your .DXF file and press Import
2. Once imported, decide on which one to vector cut, engrave or vector engrave. Note: Vector Cut Pen Outline colour : RGB Red Line-weight : Hairline Vector Engrave Pen Outline colour : RGB Green Line-weight : Hairline Fill Colour: NONE Engrave Line-weight : NONE Fill Colour : RGB Green	*Tools can be found on the bottom right-hand corner of CorelDraw* *Double Click icon to change settings*   *RED - (R:255 G:0 B:0)* *GREEN - (R:0 G:255 B:0)*

c. Sending the CorelDraw drawing to laser cutter software and setting the laser cutter power, speed and PPI in the software.

d. Starting the job on the laser cutting machine.

e. DOs/DON'Ts when there is a flame/fire on the material being cut.

DOs and DON’Ts	Image
DO open the lid, stop the operation of the laser cutter and extinguish a small fire by blowing on it.
DO stop the operation, remove the material from the laser cutter, place it on the ground and extinguish fire by stepping on the material with a shoe.
DO go to the closest fire extinguisher and put fire out if fire is uncontrollable. Get people’s attention by shouting for help. *The closest fire extinguisher can be found at the entrance of the lab of T1442.*
DON’T continue operation.

💭Learning Reflection from Laser Cutting Activities

Before sitting for the competency test, I had to watch the Universal Laser Cutting Machine operation in Fablab video. To prepare myself better for the test, I watched the tutorial video more than six times so as to not miss out on any information and steps. As I had no physical practice on how to operate the laser cutting machine, I was nervous and anxious about executing the operation smoothly during the test. However, before the laser cutting test, I was briefed the crash course on the how to carry out the laser cut test. The physical walkthrough reassured me because it allows me to recollect the steps that I already knew in my mind and the reiteration of steps allows me to also take note of the important steps that most students tend to miss out. This is because if a step is skipped, I will encounter an error or nothing will seem to happen. 

During my competency test, all was smooth sailing until I had forgotten to click on the Cogwheel to navigate the Universal's Material settings as a result of my nervousness. When this happened, I tried to remain calm and tried to backtrack my steps. Once I was back on the right track, I was faced with another problem. After I was done checking whether my drawing was within the safe cutting area, I was ready to proceed with laser cutting. After I had closed the lid gently and clicked the physical button on the laser cutter, nothing happened. I was confused initially because, I was sure that I had carried out the steps correctly. Under the guidance of Mr Louis Goh, I soon learned that this was a common occurrence and he taught me on what I had to do. The buttons on the UCP were grey so, I had to activate the UCP again and resume the laser cut by clicking the play button on the UCP. The laser cutting took a very short time and since the product is very small sized, I learned that I need not need to wait a full minute for the extractor to remove toxic fumes.

After the competency test, I am glad that I can familiarise myself with the Universal Laser Cutter Machine on site at least once so that I can use it in future projects in CP5070 module without much difficulty. Crafting a safety operating procedure (SOP) myself allowed me to think through and analyse in depth, the steps to carry out the laser cutting operation thoroughly and safely.

This is my finished, first laser cut product😛.