LASER CUTTER

A Trotec “Speedy 300” laser is located in Room 302. It is available to students and faculty 48 hours a week. The device can quickly and accurately engrave or 2D cut material using energy from a CO2 laser.

· Materials: any paper or card stock, acrylic, plywood, solid basswood, jelutong etc., provided by client.
· Maximum horizontal dimensions of material: 16” x 28” (400mm x 710mm).
· Maximum thickness: ¼” (6mm).

To prepare files for the laser:
· Laser will etch bitmaps and will cut OR etch vectors.
· All objects and layers not to be processed should be deleted.
· Vectors (lines) should either be pure red (RGB=255,0,0) if they are to be cut or pure black (RGB=0,0,0) if they are to be etched.
· It would be helpful if they were put on 2 layers (i.e. Red and Black).
· All objects must be in 2D only! Please move them to 0 in the Z axis and close to the origin. Use only polylines and splines. No surfaces for 2d cuts.
· The objects should be scaled to the size they are to be cut. (Vectorworks users this means scaling the actual objects NOT working scale). Units should be inches.
· Arrange your objects within a rectangle of the same dimensions as your material
· Ensure that all part outlines are closed. That means that the end of the outline is at the same point as the beginning with no gaps or overlaps. (VectorWorks users – make sure that Grid Snap isn’t over-riding object snap. It is best to turn grid Snap off to be sure you are really snapping to the beginning of your line when you close it).
· Export as pdf (preferred), dxf, dwg, or ai (CS or earlier). Create a separate file for each panel that will be cut.

Note: Because it uses heat to cut the edges of parts created in paper and wood will have a dark, burnt appearance.

The laser is available 12 periods a week, mostly in the afternoon and evening. Sign-up is for 30 minute slots. The cost is $0.30/min with a $5.00 minimum charge.