Equipment/K40 Laser Cutter

Basic Safety
This is far from an exhaustive list, but here are some extremely basic and fundamental safety tips:


 * Do not use the laser cutter before attending a safety induction
 * Never fire the laser with the cover open.
 * Never operate the laser without the water pump functioning, and proper ventilation.
 * Never look at the laser directly. Reflections from the laser can permanently blind you. Even reflections off of a wall or material being cut can be incredibly dangerous.
 * Never leave the operating laser unattended.
 * Have a fire extinguisher on hand, and be able to kill power to the unit immediately in case of emergency.

Materials
The laser cutter has been tested with acrylic and laser-safe MDF so far, we've purchased this from Kitronik. If you want to try a new material (and it's not on the dangerous materials list) please let the Trustees know first.

Laser Cutter Setup

 * Ensure the Laser Cutter, cooling pump and exhaust fan are all turned on and running. Make sure the laser switch is in the off (raised) position
 * Place the material on the laser bed, aligned to the marker-drawn guides in the top left corner
 * Close the lid and put on a pair of laser safety goggles
 * Turn the laser switch on and press the test switch briefly (around 1 second)
 * Turn the laser switch off, open the lid and make sure the laser left a small dot in the top-left of your material
 * Close the lid, turn the laser switch back on, and start the cut from CorelLaser

Corel Laser Usage

 * Open Corel Laser from the Laser PC taskbar
 * Set the page orientation to horizontal
 * Add your SVG file from the File -> Import menu
 * Click in the top left of the canvas to add your design
 * Click on either the "Cutting" or "Engraving" button in the top right corner of the screen, depending on your design
 * Ensure the cutting speed is set to the correct value (10mm/s for cutting, 340mm/s for engraving)
 * Click the "Starting" button
 * Stay with the laser cutter until it's finished.
 * Turn off the laser switch and remove the finished piece from the bed