Category:Laser Cutter

Zone Information
Zone Name	Laser Cutter
Status	Active
Zone Slogan	PEW PEW PEW!!!!1!
Zone Committee Heads(s)	Lew Dennison, Alex Zurowski
Zone Slack	#laserzone
Zone E-mail	laser@i3detroit.org
Zone Color	Yellow
Paypal Button	Pay money to Laser Cutter

Welcome to the Laser zone! The zone contains 2 laser cutters, Wolverine and Cyclops. They are located on the west wall of the shop, you can't miss them!

See Wolverine Rules and Cyclops Rules for information on training for each machine.

Equipment	Authorization	Owner(s)	Status
Wolverine PC	No	i3Detroit	Running
Laser Cutter - Wolverine	Yes	Roger Slykhouse	Running
Laser Rotary Chuck Attachment	Yes	i3Detroit	Running
Laser Rotary Wheel Attachment	Yes	i3Detroit	Running
Laser Zone Vent Fan	No	i3Detroit	Running
Laser Power Meter	Yes	i3Detroit	Running
Cyclops PC	No	i3Detroit	Running
Laser Cutter - Cyclops	Yes	i3Detroit	Running
Strip Heater	No	i3Detroit	Running
Laser Cutter - Chinesium	No	Mike Williams	Down
Laser Cutter - Full Spectrum	No	i3Detroit	Down

To cover the cost of consumables/maintenance, please make sure to pay for your time on the equipment in the Laser Zone. Put legal tender into the wooden cash box or donate via PayPal.

Laser machine time is priced per minute.

Equipment	Price
Wolverine	$0.25/minute
Cyclops	$0.25/minute

• Grey Drawers under Cyclops' desk: Store small scraps intended for open use in the appropriately labeled drawer. These scraps may be culled from time to time.
• Storage for larger sheet goods is in the Wood Shop A-frame and sheet goods racks.

See the individual laser cutter pages (Wolverine and Cyclops) for notes on allowed materials.

See the individual laser cutter pages (Wolverine and Cyclops) for usage instructions.

• https://boxes.hackerspace-bamberg.de fantastic resource for boxes of all shapes
• http://boxmaker.rahulbotics.com/ makes wonderful box patterns that you can put into the laser cutter.
• http://kiguino.moos.io/2014/11/21/announcing-laser-cutter-makeabox-dot-io.html is based on the above and even prettier. It's a Ruby gem that spits out PDFs.
• http://www.keppel.demon.co.uk/111000/111000.html makes nice box patterns right in inkscape, has the ability to specify inside or outside dimensions (so after adding about 0.4 - 0.5 mm all around, you can easily make a snug-fitting box in a box). (Web site went away, try http://web.archive.org/web/20150323111523/http://www.keppel.demon.co.uk/111000/111000.html and http://www.inkscapeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=18315)
• https://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Laser_cutter/LaserCut/Usage

Task Name	Description	Frequency
Fix compressor status on dashboard	The small LED dashboard may indicate that the compressor is on without having the appropriate valve for "Laser A" be open. This is a problem because it can cause someone to run the laser without the compressor. The state of the valves needs to be comprehended by the automation.	One Time
Prevent laser use without chiller and compressor on	The current automation tries to turn on the laser, chiller and compressor. It displays the status on wall mounted boxes. To prevent issues look into changing behavior to not allow the laser to fire if the chiller and air are not running.	One Time
Check chiller water levels	Check water levels in chillers and refill with distilled water as needed (see the gauge on the back of the chiller)	Potlock
Clean chiller dust filters	Remove the chiller cases and clean out their dust filters	Potlock
Cull scrap materials	Sort scrap materials in grey drawers and under Bumblebee's desk into "Usable - keep as is", "Usable - needs trimming” and "Too small to keep.” Throw the latter in the dumpster, and for pieces that need trimming, cut unuseful sections off with the band saw. Sort pieces to be kept into their respective drawers or back under the desk. Guidelines: keep wood items larger than ~50in² and acrylics larger than 15in². Smaller colored acrylics may be kept too. Other materials, use your judgement or ask.	Potlock
Thoroughly vacuum out debris	Vacuum out all of the debris that accumulates in the back and sides of the cutting chamber, as well as all of the debris that has fallen below the laser bed.	Potlock
Sweep underneath each laser	Sweep out whatever debris has fallen on the floor underneath each laser. Some of this might be useful tools or other items that have gotten lost, so look things over before immediately tossing everything in the trash.	Potlock
Clean dust filters on intake fans	Remove and clean the small dust filter on the 120mm case fan on the left side of each laser.	Monthly?
Clean optics and level the bed	Please only attempt these if you've been trained to do them.	As needed

Task Name	Description	Priority	Champion
Add proper limit switches to Bumblebee	Currently, the laser only knows it's position in software, based on initial homing. If this glitches for some reason, which it can be prone to do, the gantry will crash, which is Bad. The functionality for proper "STOP when you reach this point" limit switches exists on the laser controller so this could be done with 4 limit switches and some wiring--some of which will have to run through the flexible wire bundle that moves with the gantry.	1

	TODO
Laser Cutter - Chinesium	Put in new Bed Rewrite Smoothieware - Why? Seems to work? air assist solenoid air assist nozzle replace power switch with sonoff pow add flow switch add door interlock add max endstops better laser focus
Laser Cutter - Cyclops	Get a honeycomb that we can set on the cutting table. Get a handle on the metal cutting mode.
Laser Cutter - Full Spectrum	The focus slide could be redesigned for less flex. Payment counter? New roller design
Laser Cutter - Wolverine	Develop a list of materials, with speed and power settings for various cutting depths. pentest-report-1 Add bumpers under the lid. Add stringer gas shocks so the lid does not slam shut.