BOOKING THE LASERCUTTER NO MORE THAN ONE BOOKING PER DAY PER PERSON CHARGES PER HOUR; BARTLETT STUDENTS/STAFF ALUMNI OTHER UCL STUDENTS COMMERCIAL
3.
£5.00 £10.00 £15.00 £30.00
CONDITIONS
- A BOOKING IS ONLY CONFIRMED ONCE THE FEE IS PAID SO THE FEE SHOULD BE PAID AT THE TIME OF THE BOOKING - BOOKING CAN BE DONE UP TO 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE - NO MORE THAN ONE BOOKING PER PERSON - BOOKING CAN BE CANCELLED MINIMUM 6 HOURS BEFORE THE ALLOCATED TIME (OTHERWISE THE FEE IS NOT RETURNED) - THE BED OF THE LASER HAS TO BE VACUUM CLEANED WHEN YOUR JOB IS FINISHED
general information
4.
FILE TYPES
Please bring with you the following three file types;
LASER CUTTING
1. 2. 3.
EPS ILLUSTRATOR 3 FILE AI ILLUSTRATOR 3 FILE DXF 2000 take your drawing file into Illustrator and for 1. and 2.(save as EPS or AI) But remember to back safe as an Illustrator 3 file.( NOT CS3) For 3. You need to export as DXF 2000 from Illustrator. For all files coming from Microstation ; please plot your drawing file as PS file and then take it into Illustrator for the above mentioned process.
5.
THE MACHINES
1/ SMALL LASERCUTTER; maximum bed size maximum machinable thickness
800 x 600 mm 6mm
2/ LARGE LASERCUTTER; maximum bed size maximum machinable thickness
1200 x 800 mm 3 mm
general information 6. MATERIALS
MATERIALS ARE NOT PROVIDED MDF CAN BE BOUGHT FROM THE (CONVENTIONAL) WORKSHOP
LASER CUTTING
MACHINABLE MATERIALS;
1/ REFLECTIVE MATERIALS the lasercutters can NOT machine reflective material (metals, mirror, glass) 2/ PLASTICS the only plastics we machine are; a/ perspex b/ acetate c/ polyprop
(= acrylic) (thinner than 0.5 mm) (thinner than 0.5 mm)
3/ WOOD a/ soft and hard wood b/ mdf c/ ply
up to 6mm up to 6mm up to 3mm
stricktly no ply thicker than 3mm!!! 4/ PAPER AND CARD
Setting up the software
LASER CUTTING
1.Open aps-ethos software
fig 1.
2.Open your file from the memory stick
fig 2.
fig1/when opening Ethos there is no password so just click ok fig2/Open your file from your memorystick straight into the software, dxf 2000, AI and EPS(both backsaved to illustrator3)are the most consistent file types bring your data as all 3file extensions
Setting up the software 3/ASSIGNING CUT EFFECTS
LASER CUTTING
Cutting effects are assigned by colour, so all data drawn in the same colour will automatically be assigned the same effect. The three most commonly used effects are; -kiss-cut -engrave -cut-through
fig 1.
1 /select the cut effect editor 2 /it is helpfull to click “remove unused”, this will delete all colours that are not used in your drawing. 3 /select one of the colours,select the desired effect and click “set” repeat this procedure if needed (for different effects) you can change the colour of a line by simply going back into the “cut effect editor and clicling on a different colour.
Setting up the software
LASER CUTTING
4/setting up the material manager
fig1 fig1/ click on Output in the toolbar select Material Manager>setup fig2/ the “choose material manager to delete”-window appears. always choose delete (this refers to the previous job) fig2 fig3/ In the “Material window” there is a material library in the drop down menu,from where you select the relevant material. If the material you want to use is not in the settings, please talk to a memeber of staff. fig3
Setting up the software
LASER CUTTING
5.checking if the scale is correct
To check scale, go to EDIT> RESCALE in this window go can rescale %-wise or type in the required dimensions
6.ORGANISING CUTTING ORDER
To organise the cutting order of your drawing, go to EDIT > RE-ORDER > RE-ORDER CUT PATHS Here you can also order which geometry gets processed first (ex. all engraving before cutting)
Setting up the laser 7/ CALIBRATING THE LASER
LASER CUTTING
THE FOCAL POINT OF THE LASERBEAM NEEDS TO BE CALLIBRATED TO THE RIGHT DISTANCE ABOVE THE MATERIAL
screw nozzle callibration plate material
1/ LOAD THE MATERIAL IN THE MACHINE (WHEN IN OFF-LINE MODE, THE LASER CAN BE MOVED AROUND ) 2/ MOVE THE LASER ABOVE THE MATERIAL (WHEN IN OFF-LINE MODE, THE LASER CAN BE MOVED AROUND ) 3/ ADJUST THE SCREW SO THE HEIGHT OF THE NOZZLE CAN BE ADJUSTED 4/ PUT THE CALIBRATION PLATE ON TOP OF THE MATERIAL AND DROP THE NOZZLE TILL CONTACT 5/ TIGHTEN THE SCREW
Setting up the laser 8/ SETTING MATERIAL EXTENTS
LASER CUTTING
online/offline load media jog pad
enter
1/ LOAD THE MATERIAL 2/ MAKE SURE THE LASER IS ONLINE 3/ PRESS ENTER 4/ SET THE ORIGIN MOVE THE LASER TO THE LEFT BOTTOM CORNER OF THE MATERIAL USING THE JOG PAD 5/ PRESS ENTER 6/ SET THE EXTENT OF THE MATERIAL MOVE THE LASER TO THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THE MATERIAL USING THE JOG PAD 7/ PRESS ENTER (THIS SHOULD RETURN THE LASER TO THE ORIGIN)
Setting up the software 9/sending the data to the lasercutter
LASER CUTTING
Before you send the data to the machine please make sure the laser is set up properly (calibrated) and the material is in place.
1/ select the data you want to process. (press Ctrl+a to select all the data)
2/ select “output setup details” from the toolbar. in the selection tab, select current selection (this will only process the selected data) 3/
in the output tab, check or uncheck rotation to rotate the data 90 degrees to match the orientation of the drawing with the orientation of the material in the laser
