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Rabbit Laser Tool Tutorial

Class Handout

The class handout for basic laser operation: laser_101-basic_operation.pdf

Old Tutorial (Possibly Out of Date)

A laser cutter is used to mark, engrave, or cut a wide variety of materials. They work a lot like printers do, where you send a graphic to print. Instead of ink, the laser uses heat to transfer the image onto the material.

Do not use prohibited materials in the laser (see Material Safety for allowed and prohibited materials)

Stay by the laser while it is running!

Class Handout

The class handout for basic laser operation: laser_101-basic_operation.pdf

Tool Anatomy

large_format_laser_tool_tutorial_image14.jpgimage.png

  1. Lid - Absorbs the laser radiation and must be closed when running a job
  2. Exhaust - Allows for the efficient removal of fumes and particulate
  3. Maintenance Tag - Manually tracks the usability status with Green/Yellow/Red cards
  4. Lens Carriage - Houses the mirror, lens, and air assist
  5. Cutting Bed - 1200 x 900mm (~47” x 35”) Consists of a removable, magnetic honeycomb tray. Seated properly, it should feel stable & secure
  6. Emergency Stop - Reserved for emergencies. To deactivate and reset, you must twist the spring-loaded knob.
  7. PowerOn/Off Switch - Key switch turns the machine on and off
  8. Control Panel - LCD interface with commands to operate the laser
  9. Spray Bottle - filled with water; use to put out any smoldering fires / flare ups
  10. Magnets - use these to hold down your stock material

Control Panel

image.png

  1. Jog X-axis and Y-axis
  2. Adjust Z-Axis
  3. Exit Menu/Return to main screen
  4. Select menu item
  5. Set Job Origin
  6. Trace the footprint of a job to check its size and placement
  7. Reset machine, Abort Job
  8. Pulse the laser to mark its precise location
  9. Adjust speed (mm/sec)
  10. Adjust power (0-100%) for the areas the laser approaches a node/edge
  11. Adjust power (0-100%) for the areas where the laser is mid-cut/mid line
  12. Retrieve file sent to the machine (job queue)
  13. Start job, pause job, resume job

Tool Safety

Do not leave the laser running unattended. Lasers can cause fires. If your workpiece catches fire and the fire is not handled promptly, the fire can get out of control, and create an extreme hazard. Always keep watch over your running job, and be ready to extinguish any small fires with the nearby spray bottle, and/or hit the emergency stop if the laser goes out of control.

Keep the laser door closed during normal operation. The door protects those nearby from any possible eye damage or skin burns should the laser hit any reflective material.

Make sure the fan is running before cutting or etching. Running the laser on certain materials can produce gasses and make the studio environment unpleasant: the fans will pull the gasses outside.

Common Hazards

Some

materials
may heatupenough waterorlisted material, Theshockof
FireToxic FumesLens Collision
Listen forfrom the exhaust.laser Itto shouldcatch automaticallyfire. turnIn oncase withof a small fire, use the laser. Bespray mindfulbottles ofto quickly douse any small flames.

Some materials may produce toxic gas when cut or etched. Make sure the safetymaterial ofyou yourare cutting material.

 Loadetching materialis withnot care.
Vacuum beneathin the cuttingProhibited bedMaterials tosubsection.

prevent flammable build-up.		Avoid chlorinated plastics and other prohibited material

Depending on the list.

 Belaser mindfulcutting may produce sharp edges. Always handle materials carefully after they have been cut.

Care

Use care when movingopening and closing the cuttingcover; bed to vacuum.

Avoid foam and other prohibited material.Off-gassing dangerous fumes like chlorine and cyanide is always a concern.Ensure material is flat and willdo not collide withlet the lenscover carriageslam duringclosed. operation.
letting
the
cover
fall

Alwaysfreely pauseonto the chassis has damaged the laser tube in the past; members will be held liable if youa needslid slam causes the tube to step away from the machine!break.

Prohibited Materials

Do not use prohibited materials in the laser (seeSee Material Safety for allowed and prohibited materials)materials.

Basic

Operation

Inspection

Set

Before you start usingUp the toolLaser
you

    are
  1. Turn expectedon the large format laser.
  2. Make sure chiller is powered on and working. Look for the green status light on the front of the chiller.
  3. Make sure the exhaust fan is running.
  4. Carefully open the lid. The lid is heavy; letting the lid slam closed will damage the laser.
  5. Secure the workpiece to dothe angrid. initialUse inspectionthe andprovided assessmounting itsmagnets readinessto forhold use.the workpiece in place.

    6. Setup

    RASTER VS. VECTOR Rastered data is an image that is made of pixels. Much like an inkjet printer,

  6. Position the laser willhead scanover the artworkworkpiece. onUse athe scaledirectional from blackbuttons to white. The laser will vary the number of dots it fires depending on the tone of each pixel.

    Common file formats like .jpeg, .gif, and .png are all rastered data.

    Vectored data is made of paths that form lines and shapes. They contain mathematical data that allowsmove the laser tohead traceacross the bed.

Workholding

Use magnets to secure the workpiece to the grid.

Make sure that the laser’s path likewon’t following coordinates on a map. This allowscause the laser to cut the magnets, or scorefor the laser head to crash into the magnets.

Focus the Lens

Use a linefocus as well as etch a filled shape.

Common file formats like .ai, .dxf, and .svg are all vectored data.

  1. Powerblock on the laser
    workpiece to set the height of the lens and bring it into focus.

    1. Press the Z/U button to change to bed height control.
      The screen will display a menu with Z move highlighted in blue.
    2. Press
      Importthe ← (right arrow) and → (left arrow) buttons to align the focus gauge to the second ring of the lens carriage.
      The right arrow lowers the bed, and the left arrow raises the bed.
    3. Press the Esc button to return to the main screen.

    image.png

    Set the Origin

    1. Position the laser head over the workpiece at the location you want to set as a boundary for your art.
      Use the directional buttons to move the laser head across the bed.
      Optional: Press the Pulse button to verify the exact location.
    2. Press the Origin button to set the origin point for the job.

    Set up the Job in LightBurn

    These steps detail loading a single vector art file into Lightburn

LightBurn, and using that file to run a job with the laser. LightBurn is capable of much more: with LightBurn, we can load, manipulate, and compose multiple images into one job. For more about LightBurn, please
see the Software section further down.

Import the Art
  1. Open LightBurn on the computer connected to the large format laser.
  2. Click
    File > Import.
  3. Select the art file to import.

The art will be automatically placed on the LightBurn canvas. You may need to zoom and/or pan the view to see all of the art.

(Optional) Manipulate the Art

LightBurn is a capable image editor, and has many features that a specific to preparing artwork for the laser.

Work that is commonly done in LightBurn prior to cutting or etching:

  • Duplicating the art to cut multiple copies.
  • Putting portions of the art into layers, for different cuts and/or ordering the cuts.
Set the jobReference Origin

Set the reference origin in Lightburn

LightBurn
  • Checkwith the Job Origin tool:

    image.png

    Set the Speed and Power

    In the Cuts/Layers panel, each layer mode

    will
    • have
  • a
    Adjustlisted speed and power in the Spd/Pwr column. These settings must be adjusted for the material (wood, acrylic, natural leather) and purpose (cutting or etching). To adjust the speed and power settings
    settings:

    1. Click on the value in this column to bring up the Cut Settings Editor dialog box.

      image.png


    2. Use
      Sendthis yourdialog filebox to adjust the Laser
      Speed and Max Power settings for the cut.
    3. Click OK

    • See

    Lightburn Setup

    300Materials Lightburn accepts a range of file formats.

    Supported vector files: .ai .pdf .dxf .svg .lbrn

    Supported image files: .jpg .jpeg .png .tif .tiff .bmp

    1. 200 Import your file into Lightburn.
    2. 200 Set the job origin.
    3. 200 Check the layer mode:
      • fill—fills a vector shape to etch
      • line—traces along a vector line
      • images—will only etch and optimize for agood rastered photo
    4. Adjust thestarting speed and power settings.
      values
      5. for
    5. both
      200Sendcutting and engraving.

      Run the file to the laser, keeping the filename “LIGHTBRN”. This saves over old job files and helps maintain a manageable memory in the machine’s job queue.

    Common Cut Settings

    MaterialThicknessPower(%)Speed (mm/s)
    Bass Wood1/8“5015
    Balsa Wood1/8”5045
    Birch Plywood3/16”7010
    Acrylic1/4“5512
    Leather1/16”7012

    Common Cut Settings

    MaterialThicknessPower(%)DPI
    Acrylic55300391
    Anodized Aluminum25325391
    Cermark50300362
    Granite85150299
    Glass12350462
    Leather45325299
    Powder Coated Metal25325299
    Romark12325254
    Wood14350300

    Operation

    1. Listen for the exhaust to ensure that it is on
    2. Check that your material is safe to cut
    3. Load material
    4. Focus the lens on your material
    5. Set the originJob on the laser
      Laser
      1. Check the footprint of your job
        job.
        In LightBurn, press the Rectangular Frame button to command the laser to trace out the
        box boundary of the job, or the Circular Frame button to trace out the exact boundary of
        the job. The laser will trace out the area of the job. Make sure that the traced path does
        not leave the media, or run over any of the hold-down magnets.
      2. Press
        Startthe yourstart file
        button.
      3. Monitor the machine until the job is completecomplete.
        While andthe cleanup
        job is running, remain nearby the laser to make sure nothing goes wrong.

    Cleaning

    Focusing the LensUp

    1. Select Z (Control Panel 2) to change to bed height control.
    2. Use ↔ (Control Panel 1) to align the lens carriage to the focus gauge (Right raises bed, left lowers)
    3. Select Esc (Control Panel 3) to return to the main menu.

    Setting the Origin

    1. Use the directional arrows (Control Panel 2) to jog the lens carriage to the desired location.
    2. Optional: Press Pulse (Control Panel 8) to verify the exact location.
    3. Select Origin (Control Panel 5) to set the Origin
    4. Select Frame (Control Panel 6) to check the footprint of job. (framing can also be managed from Lightburn control)

    Cleanup

    1. Power off the Laser
      Laser.
    2. Reset any modified computer settings to default
      default.
    3. Vacuum the interior so material does not build up beneath the honeycomb
      honeycomb.
    4. Note any maintenance needs or concerns on the tag and at protohaven.org/maintenance
    5. Recycle waste in the single-stream scrap bins
    6. Empty the bin when full
      bins.

    Report

    any maintenance needs or concerns at protohaven.org/maintenance, or by
    alerting a shop tech on duty.

    If the single-stream scrap bins become full, alert a shop tech

    Scrap Breakdown

    There areis twoa black scrap binsbin reserved for laser waste. Maintaining thesethis is a shared, communal responsibility.

    When you notice the scrap binsbin areis full, it’s time to take it to the dumpster out back. Feel free to enlist a helping hand.

    If you notice valuable material while emptying the bins,bin, use your judgement to selectively save a few pieces or take it home for your personal use.

    Troubleshooting

    Problem Likely Cause Potential Solution  
    Cut does not go through the material The speed is too fast or the power is too low Use a scrap piece of the same material to make a series of tests with incremental adjustments until you find the sweet spot  
    The lens or mirror is fogged Alert the staff or volunteer on duty to the issue  
    Slop in the frame The origin in Lightburn is not set appropriately Adjust the origin point in Lightburn  
    The artwork is too large for the cutting bed: 1200 x 900mm (~47 x 35”) Adjust the overall artwork size
    Burn marks on the back of the material Hot debris is scorching the edges of the cut lines Lay a sheet of paper beneath the material and the bed or line it with a laser-safe vinyl free tape  
    No visible cutting happening Lid safety switches not engaged, or software issue Confirm the lid safety switches click when the lid closes. Turning the machine off and on again may also help if that isn't the problem.  

    Special Setups

    Notes

    • Register your material on the cutting bed using magnets or tape when doing a production run.
    • Use the front pass-through door for extra long pieces.
    • Use surface treatments like Cermark or paint to etch designs onto metal surfaces.

    Software

    Inkscape

    Inkscape is software for creating and editing vector graphics: https://inkscape.org/ 

    Inkscape is a valuable tool that’s useful in many parts of the shop.

    A common use of Inkscape is to prepare art for import into the software that drives
    various tools around the shop. Protohaven members use Inkscape to create and edit
    designs for use with:

    • Large Format Laser (LightBurn)
    • CNC Embroidery (Artistic Designer)
    • Vinyl Cutter (Sure Cuts A-Lot)
    • CNC Router (Vcarve)

    Inkscape can be used to prepare art for the Large Format Printer.

    Inkscape is also a good general purpose tool for creating visuals: drawings, infographics, logos, title blocks, icons.

    Download

    Inkscape is freely available to download and use for Linux, Windows, and MacOS: https://inkscape.org/release/ 

    Help and Tutorials

    Manual

    The Inkscape project maintains a comprehensive manual: https://inkscape-manuals.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

    The manual is updated regularly, and available for both online (HTML) and offline (PDF, ePub) reading.

    Video

    A short tutorial to get started with Inkscape:

    A comprehensive tutorial series for Inkscape is available from TJ Free:
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqazFFzUAPc5lOQwDoZ4Dw2YSXtO7lWNv 

    Some videos from the series that are good places to start:

    LightBurn

    LightBurn is layout, editing, and control software for the large format lasers: https://lightburnsoftware.com/ 

    LightBurn is only available on the desktops dedicated for use with the lasers.

    LightBurn is capable of handling all stages of a laser project, from art design through to running the job on the laser.

    LightBurn can also import vector and raster art from other sources: you can work on your project in other software and then import it into LightBurn when you’re ready to run the job.

    Help and Tutorials

    LightBurn software has a YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@lightburnsoftware
    7189/) with lots of content to help with projects. For those new to laser cutting and etching, these videos are a good place to start:

    Concepts

    Image Types

    For computers to work with image data, the image data needs to be encoded in some way so that the computer can understand it. There are many approaches to encoding visual data, but most of them fall into two categories:

    • raster images, where the image is encoded as a grid of dots
    • vector images, where the image is encoded as a collection of objects

    Raster Images

    Raster images are composed of lots of dots: a rectangular grid of points, each point encoded with color information. If we zoom way in on a raster image, we’ll see that it’s made up of this grid of dots. In the following image, we can see from the zoomed in portion of the image that it’s made up of lots of tiny dots of color:

    image.png

    These dots are often referred to as pixels.

    The number of pixels we have in an image partially determines its quality. The more dots in the image, the better the image will look (to a degree) and the more we’ll be able to adapt it for a variety of uses: we can, for example, scale up an image with lots of pixels and still have it look reasonable for most applications.

    Raster images are useful for rich graphics: photographs, non-technical line art, etc. Raster images are particularly good for photographic material. Raster images are a poor choice for transmitting text (particularly if scaled), or vector art like line drawings, schematics, etc.

    Common file formats like .jpeg, .gif, and .png are all image raster data.

    Vector Images

    Vector images are built from logical instructions. In a raster image, a line might be encoded as a string of dots on the grid. In a vector image, a line is encoded as a logical connection between two points. A nice property of vector images is that they scale very well: they can be re-rendered with precision at any size. In the following image, we can see in the zoomed in portion of the image that there is no loss in precision or quality of the image:

    image.png

    Vector graphics are made of objects.

    The objects in a vector graphics file logically describe the visual contents of the file. For example, the file my specify that at a particular coordinate on the canvas there is a square, filled in with a particular color. The information is not encoded in dots, like a raster image: the image contents are described instead by a collection of objects that describe an image.

    Vector graphics are useful for any image that requires precision: vector formats are good choices for infographics, technical line drawings, schematics, and similar art. Vector graphics are also useful for any art that has a text component: labels, legends,
    titles, etc. With a vector graphic, the text is also stored as vectors (the glyphs of the font, or objects derived from it), and the image can be scaled without any loss of quality for the text or the art.

    Common file formats like .ai, .dxf, and .svg are all image vector data.

     Most vector file formats can also contain raster images, but raster formats cannot contain vectors.

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