Project Ideas

5th Generation Hobby Laser from Full Spectrum Lasers in Nevada.

20 x 12 cutting area.
Laser Cut Wood, Acrylic, Paper, Cardboard, etc. Does not cut metal, poly-carbonate or vinyl.
Laser Engrave the above plus glass, stone, tile and some metals (probably need ceramark or similar).

Uses proprietary software called RetinaEngrave 3D which acts as a print driver enabling almost any software to be used to create your cut/engrave jobs.

Download the software from: https://www.fslaser.com/RetinaEngrave or get it off the flash drive. Use the 1.0 version. The 3.0 version is not compatible with this laser.

Cutting and engraving settings are controlled by the color of the lines in the source document and are set in RE3D after you send the print job.

Safety

Important safety information.

Before cutting anything, make sure you know what it is made from and consult this list to see if it is safe to cut.
http://atxhackerspace.org/wiki/Laser_Cutter_Materials#NEVER_CUT_THESE_MATERIALS

• MAKE SURE THE VENT GATE IS SET TO OPEN WHILE OPERATING
• The lid must be closed and the water and air pumps must be running
• Everything is turned on from the green power strip and then you turn the big red knob on top until it pops up to start the laser

Getting Started

You will need to download and install the proprietary software. The software is RetinaEngrave3d. It appears as a printer on your PC when it is running.

Download the software from: https://www.fslaser.com/RetinaEngrave or there is a red flash drive with the laser cutter that has the software on it.

The first thing to do is turn on the power strip under the laser printer. This powers up the air pump for the air assist feature and water pump for cooling the laser tube. There is a separate control for the exhaust fan that is connected to both laser cutters.

Next rotate the red knob on top of the laser as shown by the arrows. It pop up a little and the laser will begin to boot up. When the boot cycle is complete the screen display should look like this. The IP address will be 10.1.10.252.

The bottom right corner is a status message. In this case LOff means that the laser is off.

 

A message showing “NLid” means that the lid is open. The laser will not run if the lid is open.

 

A message showing “NWtr” means that the cooling water is not flowing. The pump may not be plugged in, or it is not working. The sensor might not be working or the water input and output are reversed.

There is an aluminum slug that is used to set the distance between the lens assembly and the surface of your material.

There are two basic modes of operation, Raster Engraving and Vector Cutting.

Raster Engraving burns an image into the surface of your material using a grid of dots.

Vector Cutting cuts into the material using vector lines. At low power Vector Cutting does not cut all the way through the material and is another form of engraving. Vector cutting is done at high power and low speed. Vector Engraving is low power at high speed.

There is a honey comb grid which is required during Vector Cutting operations and actually helps protect the lens of the laser from getting hit by reflected laser light from the bottom of the machine. If you are only engraving you do not have to have it there but only remove it if you need to get it out of the way for thicker material.

I have taped scrap pieces of plastic to the bottom side of the honeycomb to lift it off the bottom of the machine. This helps with ventilating the smoke out of the machine.

I also find it helps to put some spacers under the material you are cutting to raise it up off of the honeycomb a bit so that your cut out pieces to drop free. This especially helps when cutting acrylic.

Resources and Additional Info

Designing for Laser Cutting eBook

Free Laser Cutting Projects

One Hour Build Videos

Laser Talk VLOG

Helpful Videos

Getting Started with Your H-Series Laser

• The version of the laser at fox.build does not have the direct USB connection shown in this video.

Retina Engrave 3D Software Overview

• The material test function shown in the video was removed from the current version of RetinaEngrave.

Laser Tutorial – Make a Puzzle from an Image

Laser Tutorial: Engraved Coaster Set

Importing from Inkscape to RetinaEngrave

• The same basic steps would apply to importing from almost any graphics software.

Owner	Erik Ruud
Manufacturer	Full Spectrum Laser
Model	H-Series 20×12
Serial #	N/A
Product Website	Full Spectrum Laser
Instructions	Manual
Replacement Cost	$4,200
Size/Volume	12in x 20in

Project Ideas

The Big Blue Laser is great for cutting and engraving thin materials (up to 1/4″ thick) that burn – such as plastic and wood. It cannot cut or engrave metal. It has a 50 Watt laser and a cutting area of about 12″ x 20″.

Safety

Important safety information.

Before cutting anything, make sure you know what it is made from and consult this list to see if it is safe to cut.
 http://atxhackerspace.org/wiki/Laser_Cutter_Materials#NEVER_CUT_THESE_MATERIALS

• MAKE SURE THE VENT FANS ARE BOTH ON WHILE OPERATING! One is on the bench to the right of the laser and the other is is by the light switch.
• Wear the Laser Safety Glasses Whenever looking at the Laser
• Never put your hands inside when the machine is running – the cutting laser is invisible!
• Keep the lid closed when running the machine and while it is not in use

Getting Started

There should be a computer next to the 3D printers.

RD Works is loaded on it. The password for the computer is on the pegboard by the computer. If a file is loaded on this computer you can transfer the file to the laser cutter.

You can can also download RDWorks onto any windows computer and follow the instructions on the front of the laser cutter for setup.

RD works can accept many types of image files but most end up being scans. To actually cut outlines you need a vector file. I have had good luck with DXF files but scale is often off. You also have to be careful about center-lines on circles and delete them before importing. From Solidworks, I have been able to make 2D drawings of my parts, and cut and paste the 2D drawings onto one file to be able to cut multiple files at once. If the drawing scale is in millimeters and 1:1 the DXF files have been coming out quite well.

File Types

Import dxf to Rdworks on the computer between the 3D printers. Inkscape SVG → Save as .dxf or output from CAD.
Image files like jpg, png or GIFs can be used for scanned images but the laser will not cut the lines all the way though. These should be used for engraving only.
You can draw your own basic shapes in Rdworks. Worry about layout in Rdworks, not your CAD software. Anything you bring in as a .dxf will be much easier to adjust and be at least 10 times faster to cut. Again SVG → Inkscape → Save as DXF → Import to Rdworks

Materials

The Big Blue Laser will cut up to ¼” in materials that will burn, such as Wood, plastic, cardboard, leather. Do not put in vinyl or Lexan (Polycarbonate). The fumes are poisonous.

Power and Speeds

NOTE: Since we replaced the power supply using too high of a power will actually REDUCE the cutting ability. Start around 40% and go up or down from there until you get the desired cuts.

Speed and power is trial and error. Start with a spare piece of a similar material and see what looks good.

Acrylic – 10 mm/s @ 80% to cut 0.1”

Wood – 8 mm/s @ 80% to cut 3mm wood. Slower for 5-6mm.

Scan is meant to run faster 50-200 mm/s and it is run at a lower power.

Click on a layer in RDworks and you can adjust the power and speed.

Check out this Youtube video for some great tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dz8w9rlrHc

For acrylic, I have been struggling to get a good press fit. The press will be different with different speeds. Wood does not seem to be as sensitive. I have found that for 2.2mm acrylic, 1.76 mm is loose on a 2mm shaft and 1.74 cracks. I am seeing some promise on an ellipse with 1.74mm on the minor diameter and 1.8mm on the major.

Tips and Tricks

Focus your work. (Use the 6mm acrylic piece on the side of the machine with the red ribbon to set the height between the work and the nozzle. The correct setting is the taller orientation). The toggle switch on the side of the laser moves the platform up and down.

Make sure air is blowing from the nozzle and the water pump is going.

Keeping the lid on while cutting will prevent you from cutting off your fingers.

The bow of a sheet will make the difference between cutting through and not cutting. Use weights around the sheet to flatten it if necessary.

If you are just cutting, check if everything cut and if not, run it again.

The speed of a cut will change the kerf. If you want consistent parts, use the same speeds.

Small parts that jump when cut out can hit the nozzle and move the work. Cut them last. You can change cut order by placing them in the lower left corner or with layers.

There is a way to offset the laser called sew compensation. Use this if the 0.1mm kerf is an issue. You can cut on either side of the line by adding a positive number for outside and negative number for inside.

When etching acrylic the cast sheets work better than the extruded sheets.

1/4 “sanded exterior plywood” from Home Depot cuts and marks really well. 60% power, 7-8mm/s to cut.

Owner	Paul K.
Manufacturer	Thunder Laser
Model	N/A
Serial #	N/A
Product Website	Thunder Laser
Instructions	This listing and the blue manual by the machine
Replacement Cost	A Lot
Size/Volume	12in x 20in

Troubleshooting Guide

Click to download