Laser Cutter
CAD Software
I used Laser Maker 1.5 & 2.0.
Laser Maker 2.0 needs a license (registration code) to export as DXF file, so I used v1.5 to export as DXF if needed. To use the laser cutter, I could save the files as .lcpx, so DXF is not the must.
Laser Cutter
We used Thunder Laser Nova 51 with a cutting area 900 mm × 1300 mm.
Here is the picture of the laser cutter:
In the group work, we tested the tolerance.
Here is the link of Our group assignment
The result was:
Positive features (material to be preserved): Actual width = Design width − 0.1mm → Design compensation: +0.1mm
Negative features (slots/grooves to be cut): Actual width = Design width + 0.1mm → Design compensation: −0.1mm
The safety precautions of the laser cutter are:
We should always wear the safety goggles when we are using the laser cutter.
At the beginning, while we were observing the laser cutter machine, we were not wearing the safety goggles, we all got warned by the lab technician.
Another important thing for using laser cutter is to notice the thickness of the material. Every time, an auto-focus operation will be suggested to be performed.
There is a camera on the laser cutter, we can align the patterns with the camera view easily, but there might always be a shift, so to let the head go through the path first is highly recommended.
Laser Cutting Project
I used Doubao AI to generate a picture of horse (the Chinese traditional paper cutting style), then I used Photoshop to edit the image. Then I imported the image into Laser Maker.
The AI generated picture of horse.
The edited picture of horse.
I used Thunder Laser Nova 51 to cut the horse. I used the 3mm-thickness plywood to cut it.
The assembly of the horse.
The assembly of the horse.
The assembly of the horse. When I tried to assembling the horse, I found that even I considered the tolerance, some parts were still not fit perfectly, some were too tight, while some were loose. I also realized that the wood board was not exactly 3mm thick.
The assembly of the horse. After I finished assembly, I found the horse was strange as it looked like to be with 8 legs.
The assembly of the horse. My daughter liked it very much and she helped to color the horse.
The original file for Laser Cutter is here: horse_laser.dxf
Vinal Cutter
We have a vinyl cutter in the lab.
Here it is:
The software I used is AIDCut, it's installed on a Windows PC.
I just tried to cut the simple text "FAB ACADEMY", it could edited directly in the AIDCut.
After I edited the text, it could sent to the vinyl cutter to cut.
Here is a video of the vinyl cutter cutting the text "FAB ACADEMY":
After I cut the sticky paper, I put it on my personal laptop.
