3. Computer-Controlled Cutting¶
For this week assignment I had to visit the laser cutter station which I did very little with to be honest since I received in our lab as I was always worried and not very confident to use as I felt I might burn something or that something might go wrong.
Compressing Videos¶
I struggled a little bit with this one as I couldn’t figure out what to do exactly. Most of the guidance that I get is in the computer and codes and things like that which is very new to me to be honest. I felt very happy that I am able to use the Command Prompt and play around on this PC.
So I downloaded FFmpeg on my PC using this link:
This is the process that I followed to get it to work on my environment:
Compressing Images¶
I used this code to compress the images that I took using my mobile and I tried to reduce the quality from 70-20% and it looked acceptable so I used the code below:
magick image66.jpeg -quality 20% outputimage66.jpg
Kerf¶
This part took more than 8 different trials, I made a lot of mistakes while making the cuts for the test. Every time I would forget something such as (power adjustment from previous trial, orientation or starting point movement due to a sudden mistake, Not the right piece that I was supposed to use, the cuts go down in the tray and I have no idea which one is the right order to start measuring). I had to decide between three numbers for the kerf (0.212/0.15/0.185). I tried with each kerf and I have included the images below for demonstration. I also needed to follow a tutorial to learn how to draw on LightBurn using the Array attribute.
Parametric Design¶
Laser Cutter Specifications¶
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Model | HME TMX65 50W DC |
| Controller | RDC6445G |
| Laser Type | CO2 |
| Laser Power | 50W |
| Work Area | 600*400mm |
| Max Cutting Depth | 8-9mm |
| Supported Materials | Wood, Acrylic, Cardboard, Leather |
| Max Speed | 800 mm/sec |
| Cooling System | Water Chiller |
| Software Compatibility | Lightburn |
| File Formats | HPGL, BMP, DXF, AI, G-Code |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Power Supply | 220V |
I have requested a fire extinguisher as I didn’t know that I should have one and also a fire blanket.
