Russian A0 laser cutter

RED equipment: Do not use without specific training.

Read Me

This is a new (secondhand) piece of kit it's not currently available for use until it's refurbished

25/09/2023 - Current status

Chain for Z drive has been replaced and now it moves.

All 3 mirrors have been replaced as the existing ones were scrap.

Replacement belt for X axis is on order as the existing one was too short for the new laser head.

Old tube and PSU from small laser cutter has been used to test the laser can be fired, successful however control pad was showing weird fading in and out

Next steps are

• Rewire all stepper motors to ensure connections are solid
• Add XYZ endstops for homing
• Run air line to head
• Replace cooling hoses
• Build laser tube support system from 2020 extrusion
• Replace tube with 90w (100w max) SPT tube from Megacold TR90 with built in coaxial red dot £228
• Replace power supply with this one £150
• Replace controller with RUIDA with pendant £369
• PC / Tablet to run it
• Honeycomb beds
• Extraction

Training

You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. The laser cutter is unlikely to hurt you, but you can easily hurt it without training. For more information about laser cutter training ask on Slack in the lasercutter channel

Costs

• Training - Free
• Usage - £5/hour, £1/10minutes
• Consumables - Bring your own and/or use what is in the off cuts bin or purchase from the HS stock via iZettle, but always ensure (rather than assume) it's laser safe.

How to

• Lasercut Illuminated Acrylic sign

Tech specs

Spec	Value
Laser power:	150W Co2 laser tube
Maximum cutting area:	1200 x 900mm
Body dimensions:	1800 x 1300 x 900mm
Repeatability:	± 0.05mm
Power source:	AC 110 – 220V ± 10%, 50 – 60Hz
Total power:	<1,000 W
Operating temperature:	0 – 45 °C
Humidity:	5 – 95%
Minimum character size:	2mm Chinese character alphanumeric 1mm
Corresponding data format:	BMP, PLT, DST, DXF, and AI
Operating system:	stepper motor
Cooling system:	water-cooled
Control system:	Leetro Controller
Weight:	170kg
Kerf:	0.1mm

Laser Cutter instructions

Laser Cutter Instructions

Rules

1) Never leave the laser cutter running unattended*

You should always be next to the Laser Cutter and paying attention to it while the laser is active, I cannot state how important it is to monitor the laser cutter whilst it is in use, it knows when you're not watching and will burst into flames the second you turn your back. If you have to leave the laser cutter unattended, use the pause button. In case of fire: use the fire blanket first if that doesn't work use the CO₂ extinguisher by the laser cutter and/or raise the fire alarm.

2) If the Laser Cutter breaks or behaves abnormally, put it Out of Order and post on Slack

If the laser cutter starts behaving weirdly, doesn't cut correctly with the correct settings, makes interesting worrying noises, any of the ancillary machines (cooler/extractor/air assist) are not working properly or if there has been a fire, place it out of order and post to Slack detailing what went wrong. If you don't use slack, get someone else to post for you.

3) Do not use if you haven't had training

A trained member can do a job for another person as long as the trained member is the one using the laser cutter.

4) You must be a member of Norwich Hackspace to use the laser cutter

The Laser Cutter is a machine owned and operated by Norwich Hackspace, therefore you must be a member to use it. If you were a trained member and your membership payments have lapsed, access will automatically be revoked until you become a member again. Having a trained member cut a job for a non-member is perfectly fine.

5) Always pay for your usage

The Laser Cutter costs £5/hour to use. You only have to pay for the time that the laser is active for, not any setup or preparation time. All money goes towards maintenance and buying consumables like mirrors, lenses and new laser tubes. If there is not enough money to cover the cost of consumables when something needs replacing due to people using the Laser Cutter without paying, they simply won't be bought, rendering the Laser Cutter out of order until we find another way of raising money to cover the costs.

6) Only cut approved materials of an acceptable thickness, never cut materials on the banned list or materials that are too thick.*

If you would like to cut a material that is not on the Approved List, contact one of the maintainers, we will do some research and testing (or instruct you to do the testing) to see if the materials is safe to laser cut, if it is, it will be added to the Approved List. Acceptable thicknesses are shown on the cutting parameters page.

7) Log all jobs correctly in the logbook - not currently used

Currently, the logbook is the only way the maintainers can view the status of the cutter and how it's performing on a day-to-day basis. It is vital that you complete this for each job done with any power settings used; you can add multiple jobs together into a single log if they used the same settings, material and were all successful. A link to the logbook is on the desktop, on the bookmarks bar or [ here].

8) Do not disable any of the ancillary components such as the air assist, extractor or cooler

These all have their purpose in protecting the Laser Cutter and making it work correctly, please do not disable any of these for any reason whatsoever.

9) Don't place cutting waste in the scrap bins

The scrap bins are only for usable bits of material you don't want any more. A usable bit of material is anything 10cm² or larger without any cuts or engraving on it. Please snap any unusable bits off to make it as small as possible. Cutting waste is fully recyclable and can be placed in any bin in the hackspace, PLEASE DO NOT PUT IT IN THE SCRAPS BIN!

Violation of these rules will result in either a verbal warning, a written warning, being made to redo the training, a temporary ban or in the most extreme cases a permanent ban issues by the maintainers. We will try and be as fair as possible and we really don't want to punish people and prevent them from using the machine, we'd much rather educate about the correct way to use it. However, this is not an excuse for rules ignorance.

*Violation of rules 1 or 3 (or excessive violation of rule 6) will result in an immediate ban without warning.

All bans will be made public and be able to be appealed against.

Software

• Lightburn - The greatest lasercutter software ever
• Halftone vector generator - Takes a picture and converts it into a representation of the image using ploygons. Its a cool way to get around the lack of greyscale functionality

Where to get supplies/consumables/materials

• [1] - Barn Road, Norwich - 4 and 6mm ply
• Hamar - 16A Bidder Street London, E16 4ST. 8am-5pm Mon-Fri
• Hobarts - mail order
• Kitronic - mail order, good ply
• Bluprint models Arch 258, Paradise Row, Bethnal Green, London. E2 9LE - On Cambridge Heath Road - & mail order - good for MDF, their perspex is shit
• MDF Cut to Size - 413 Wick Lane, Bow, London, E3 2JG - Pay for the size you want cut
• The Natural Workshop (Website) - The Natural Workshop (eBay)- mail order
• Jennor Timber, Lockfield Avenue, Enfield EN3 7QL, or 13 Braintree Rd, Ruislip HA4 0EJ. Laser grade birch ply. Not listed on their website, but they do it - it's in their catalogue, and they know their stuff. Give them a call.

List of allowed and banned materials

Allowed

Woods

• Laser-grade plywood
  • Birch ply (max 9mm)
  • Poplar ply (max 9mm)
• Balsa wood
• Paper (cutting only)
• Card/Cardboard (cutting only) tips on lasercutting card
• MDF - small amounts of MDF or engraving on MDF products is ok'ish

Plastics

• Thin Polypropylene sheet (<1mm)
• Acrylic (max 10mm)
• Foamcore (non-PVC variety)
• Correx (Genuine non PVC)
• Depron foam (Fire risk, must be closely monitored)
• EVA Foam (if real)
• Delrin (max 8mm)

Textiles

• Cloth/felt/hemp/cotton (Not plastic-impregnated fabric)
• Polar Fleece

For engraving only

• Stone (Engrave only)
• Ceramic tile (Engrave only)
• Non-resinous wood IE hardwood (Engrave only)
• Glass (Engrave only)
• Anodised Aluminium (Engrave only)

Explicitly banned

You should only be cutting materials on the Allowed list.

If you want to cut a material which is not on this list, contact one of the maintainers and get them to OK it first.

• Food (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• Body parts
• Plastics containing PVC (laser contamination, emissions)
• Plastics containing ABS (laser contamination, fire risk, cyanide emission)
• Fibreglass (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• Circuit boards (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• Polycarbonate (laser contamination, fire risk)
• All metal (except engraving anodized aluminium)
• Polystyrene (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• Polypropylene (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• HDPE (high-density polyethylene or polyethylene) (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• Carbon fibre (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• Shuttering ply (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)
• Latex (laser contamination, fire risk, emissions)

Cutting Parameters

For list of material settings, see Cutting Parameters.

Trainers and maintainers

If you have questions or problems with the laser cutter, please speak to one of these people:

• Ben - Plexer

Technical Specs

• Glass laser tube (150W rated power) - recommended max tube current 22mA
• "Uknnown" laser power supply
• Leetro motion controller
• LaserCut? software.
• water cooler

Tips&Tricks

• Print&Cut - Saving a job that didn't cut all the way through