Laser Cutters

EPIC has three laser cutters available in our lab. These are easy to learn how to operate and work with a 2D graphic design. Laser cutting is an appropriate way to cut or engrave detailed designs into a variety of materials. The most commonly used materials are Acrylic and Balsa Wood.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website.

Read through this page to learn about the laser cutters before you take the Quiz.

Quiz for Swipe Access

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a laser cutter?

Our laser cutters use C02 laser technology. The lasers are light produced by applying a high voltage to a gas filled tube, a set of mirrors intensifies the light until it is powerful enough to pass through a partially reflective mirror. The laser is then focused on your material using a lens. The software allows you to set a path of motion for vector cutting or raster engraving. Modifying the settings for speed, power and frequency allows you to cut or engrave a variety of materials.

What materials can I use?

• Acrylic
• Animal Hide Leather
• Corian
• Cork
• Cotton Fabric
• Delrin
• Fleece & Polyester Fabric
• Foam Board made of EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate), polyethylene, or polystyrene
• Mat Board & Paper
• Melamine
• Mylar
• Pressboard
• PVC-Free Vinyl alternatives: PEVA (polyethylene vinyl acetate), PVB (polyvinyl butyral), PVA (polyvinyl acetate), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and Polyester
• Rubber
• Twill Fabric
• Wood & MDF

Engrave Only:

• AlumaMark
• Anodized Metal
• Ceramic & Glass
• Marble & Slate
• Painted Brass
• Powder Coated Metals
• Stainless Steel with Cermark

Prohibited materials

• Materials containing Hydrogen Chloride
• Kydex
• PVC (Polyvinyl chloride), common artificial leather
• PVB (Polyvinyl butyrale)
• PTFE/Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylenes)
• ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
• Carbon Fiber
• Epoxy
• Resin & Ecoresin
• Fiberglass
• Polycarbonate & Lexan
• HDPE (High density polyethylene)
• Polypropylene Foam
• Polystyrene Foam (Styrofoam)
• Polyurethane Foam

What is the maximum material size?

• 60 watt lasers – 24″ x 24″ x 0.25″
• 80 watt laser – 24″ x 24″ x 0.5″

Thickness based on Acrylic

Where can I buy materials?

Vendors we have had success purchasing (be aware some Amazon vendors will say the product is Acrylic/Plexiglas but it is not, make sure it is for C02 lasers):

• Acrylic sheets: McMaster-Carr
• 1/8″ acrylic sheets: Amazon Enoin store
• 1/8″ acrylic sheets: Amazon BESARME product
• 1/8″ acrylic and wood sheets, other laserable products: Amazon xTool store

What are the limitations of laser cutting?

• Cuts are always at a slight angle.
• Kerf is lost, may be large dependent on settings

What tolerance should I use?

• ± 0.005″ | 0.13mm

How to prepare a part for laser cutting?

Our preferred file types for laser cutting are PDF and DXF. Please make sure to export your ready-to-cut part drawing without any text, labels, or extraneous features. Other files, such as images, may be used for rasterizing art or logos.

You should also provide a drawing or hand-sketch that communicates the part size, thickness, and type of material you plan to cut.

What software does the Laser Cutter Lab use?

We use Corel Draw Graphics Suite to print to the laser cutters. Each laser cutter has its own PC associated with it that you can use in the lab. Corel Draw can open other common graphics files like those created in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Compatible file types:

DXF, DWG, EPS, PS, PRN, PDF, SVG/Z, CPT, PNG, JPG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, RAW, ARW, CR2, CRW, DCR, DNG, KDC, MOS, MRW, NEF, ORF, PEF, RAF, SR2, RW2, SRF, SRW, THM, CDR Legacy, AI, CMX, CDT, PAT, CLK, CGM, CGZ, CPX, CSL, DES, DSF, DRW, DST, MGX, EMF (Enhanced Windows Metafile), FH (Free hand), FMV (Frame Vector Metafile), GEM, HTM, MET, NAP, PIC, PCT, PLT, PPT, PUB, SHW, VSD, WMF, WPG, RTF, CAL, CUR, DOCX, EXE, ICO, IMG, JP2, MAC, PCX, PP4, PSD, RIFF, SCT, TGA, TXT, WB, WQ, WK, WP4 (4.2), WP5 (5.0), WP5 (5.1), WPD (6-11), WSD (), (WSD (7.0), XCF, XPM, XLS, PFB, DOC, SWF, TTF

Inkscape is also available.

Laser Cutter Demo Video

Hello this is Geordie and I wrote the "10 Tips and Tricks for Laser Cutting and Engraving" instructable. For close to 2 years I ran the laser cutter/engraver at my local maker space, ADX Portland and I continue to use their laser to make my own artwork and designs.

One of the most common questions I've received since posting the "Tips and Tricks" instructable, is people asking me for advice on buying their own laser. So I've decided to write a quick instructable about that.

Disclaimer:
I’ve only ever used one machine and that is the Epilog Helix laser at ADX Portland. So that is the only machine I can talk about directly. So rather than reviewing specific companies and machines this article is going to be more about what to look for and think about when buying a laser.

There are a lot of cheap imports, mostly from China, on the market. But lasers are complicated machines and they do break and need to be repaired. Make sure the company you buy from is reliable and offers good support for you and their machine after you buy it.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Wanxuan.

Here are some questions to think about:

How hard or easy is it to get replacement parts?

Do they have tech support?

How easy is it to get a question answered?

Do they have a good website?

Are there tutorials on how to use and/or fix the machine?

Can it be upgraded?

The two main issues I would focus on when it comes to picking a machine are the size of the bed and the power of the laser.

The machines bed size will determine how big a piece of material you can fit in the machine to cut or engrave. A bigger bed will allow you to cut or engrave larger pieces and even if your doing something small, like laser cut jewelry, a bigger bed will allow to cut out multiple pieces at once rather than one at a time. Also some machines have a fixed bed and some have a bed that can go up and down. A bed that goes up and down allows you to engrave different sized objects. The cutting depth doesn’t change but if you want to engrave a logo on a leather shoe rather than on a flat piece of leather, having a bed that you can lower to get the shoe in the machine is important.

The next issue is the power of the laser. The strength of the laser is measured in Watts. The more watts the more powerful the laser is. The laser, I used, started out with a 30 watt laser and was then upgraded to a 50 watt. The strength of the laser is most important for cutting. Remember the thickness of material that a laser can cut is determined by the focal point of the lens and not the power of the laser. So adding a more powerful laser won’t allow you to cut thicker material. But it will allow you to cut faster and more reliably. A weaker laser will mean having slow the laser down to be able to make good cut.

I would suggest getting the largest machine you can and starting with a weaker laser. A bigger bed will allow you to work on bigger designs or cut and engrave multiple pieces at once. You can upgrade the laser in it to a more powerful one later.

Hope this information helps out. If you can’t afford your own laser I would suggest looking for Maker space where you can use their laser or find a shop that will engrave and cut for you at a good price.

Geordie

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit open frame laser cutter.