Computer Controlled cutting¶

Group assignment requirements¶

The group assignment for this week is the following:
- Characterize your lasercutter’s focus, power, speed, rate, kerf, joint clearance and types.
- Document your work on the group work page and reflect on your individual page what you learned

Laser cutting machine specs¶

A picture of your laser cutting machine

Describe/list the available features and key settings of your laser cutter.

Machine name: [Epilog Helix]
Machine max power in Watts: [80 Watt]\
Machine bed size (work area): [23.5 inches X 17.25 inches (596.9 X 438.15 mm)].\
Machine type (CO2 or fiber): [CO2]\
Toolpath generation software used: [Adobe illustrator]\

Safety¶

As for the safety in the lab we have fire extinguishers around also we have fire protection system in the whole building. As for the laser we made sure to have it near the fire exit doors and beside the windows on the ground floor. In addition to that we are not allowed to leave the machine unattended while working.

Focus¶

The focus position of the laser cutting machine is the relative position between the focus and the upper surface of the workpiece, based on the machined material surface.

Perform one of those 2 Focus tests, take pictures and log the results test1 test2

A picture of the result

[We have made the Line test which is performed by cutting lines on a sheet of material ( for mine “Wood”) each line will be cut with a different distance between the lens and the bed, (We have made 7 lines we started from 20 mm ended with 50 mm )]

As per the test performed, we found the optimal distance between the lens and material to get the best focus is [45.54]mm

Power and speed¶

Make multiple small squares 2X2cm and cut them at different speeds and powers. Write on them the speed and power of each manually after cutting before taking the picture

A picture of the test being done
A screenshot of the speed and power values in the software

A picture of the result which is the cut up squares

The material being tested is [Wood] which is [2.7]mm thick. Multiple different speeds and powers were tested and the best values were found to be a power of [30] and a speed of [10].

Rate¶

The rate at which the laser pulses or fires. For this material we used a rate of [2500]

kerf & joint clearance¶

Cutting kerf is the amount of material that is removed by the cutting process. This information is crucial when designing joints since the design used must account for the cutting kerf to be able to fit properly. the kerf test generator

A screenshot of the kerf test design picture

A picture of the fit being tested
A picture of the results/combs
The test performed is the comb test/kerf test. The material used has a thickness of [2.7]. The slot that worked best with the chosen speed and power settings had a thickness of [2.46] in the design.

[2.7] - [2.46] = [0.24]
Kerf = [0.24] / 2 = [0.12]

Sources¶

The information referenced in this page was found in the following sources:
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4