MD6003 Week 20 - Laser cutting induction

Large laser cutter

On 25th February 2015, laser cutting and 3D printing technician Anatol Just gave me and two other students an induction on laser cutting. Although I attended a similar induction in my second year, I thought I'd attend this one to refesh my memory. I learnt the following points during the induction;

The large laser cutter above cuts out vector drawings in Maya and Illustrator but not Photoshop in wood and other materials. Maya is not the best software for real world dimensions.

A drawing is Photoshop becomes pixelated when zoomed into. Vector drawings in illustrator do not show their pixels when zoomed into, which shows that vector drawings in Illustrator have sharper detail than images made in Photoshop, therefore making them more suitable for laser cutting.

3D Studio Max is similar to Maya but more straightforward.

3D objects can be made by slotting together 2D objects, for example a house or a squirrel.

In 3D Studio Max, the dots on an outline can be moved to change its shape.

MDF, plywood, acrylic plastic, paper and foil are all good materials for laser cutting. Toxic and flammable materials cannot be used due to health and safety reasons.

The CASS laser cutting page can be found here.

To prepare drawings, outlines must be made cyan for cutting out and made green or red for engraving.

Illustrator profile prepared for laser cutting.

Trotec laser cutter for smaller items is in room CR5-16.

Illustrator files should not have gaps in the drawing otherwise the laser cutter will not cut.

Anatol is available for laser cutting Mondays - Wednedays 11am - 12pm. Students must bring an Illustrator file on memory stick and their chosen material to him.

Text can be placed in an Illustrator file for laser cutting. It is good to experiment with fonts, for example the Stencil font is thick enough for laser cutting and makes the letters more legible. Thin, elaborate fonts are less suitable for laser cutting. Letters must be made red for engraving.

Inside the machine is a 100 watt laser and mirrors. The mirrors bounce the lasers onto the material to be cut. The machine also has a cooler to cool the laser since it gets hot easily.

Piece of wood prior to cutting

Video of the laser cutting process

After the session students were given cuttings of their names and I was pleased to have received some to take home. Anatol suggested I put mine together to make a puzzle. I found the induction particularly useful for my Exhibition and Representation module because I would consider it for business cards and set designs for the summer show.

Laser cuttings of my name

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