Laser Engraving Machine

The model of the Laser Engraving Machine located in Hackerspace.gr (Ampatiellou 11, 11144, Athens) is HQ-3020B. It is capable of cutting, engraving, and marking a number of different materials quickly and accurately when driven from CAD software such as CorelDraw and Inkscape. The bed size is 35cm x 25cm.

Maintenance

Laser cutter mirrors and lens should be cleaned every time before startup and thoroughly one per month as instructed in this guide.

Once per 6 months the cooling liquid needs to be grained and replaced by new. The liquid is a mix of distilled water and anti-algae solution. With every cooling liquid replacement is also good to perform a cleaning of the cooling system following this guide

Material Information

Materials that can and cannot be laser-cut [1]

Settings

Material	Thickness (mm)	Operation	Power	Feed (mm/s)	Passes
Flexoid Oil Resistant Jointing sheet [2][3]	0.5	Cut	17	10	1
Flexoid Oil Resistant Jointing sheet [4][5]	0.8	Cut	20	10	1
TEMAFAST ECONOMY [6]	1	Cut	40	10	5
Plywood	3	Cut	30	10	2
Plywood	4	Cut	45	10	2
Plywood	Non dependent	Engrave	20	20	2
White glossy vinyl	0.24	Cut	7	20	1
Black matte vinyl	0.24	Cut	7	20	1
Acrylic (transparent)	4.5	Engrave	17	20	1
Acrylic (transparent)	3	Cut	40	10	2
Acrylic (transparent)	3	Engrave	12	10	1
Acrylic (transparent)	3	Raster	12	200	1
Leather (brown)	Non dependent	Engrave	10	20	2
MDF	2	Cut	70	10	1
MDF	2	Raster Engrave	15	200	1
Reflective tape (PVC/red)	0.36	Cut (adhesive on)	7	10	1

How to use it:

Download:

> Inkscape [7]

> K40 Whisperer [8]

To create your file:

> Open Inkscape

> Draw your design with lines

> Make colors in RGB (Blue to engrave, red to cut)

> Select correct Document Properties:

- UNITS must be all in MM

- RESIZE page to content

> Save as .svg file.

To cut your file:

> Connect computer and machine with USB cable

> Switch on the machine:

- Switch power on

- Switch light on

- Plug-in air - compressor

In K40 Whisperer:

( > Open K40 Whisperer )

> Initialize laser-cutter

> Open design file

> Adjust starting point and speed in K40 Whisperer

On the machine:

> Place your material inside (it must be no bigger than A4)

> Adjust power on machine

> Make test

> First engrave (BLUE) and then (CUT) by clicking "Vector Engrave" and "Vector Cut" in "K40 Whisperer".

Make sure temperature does not exceed 30 °C

> Switch off machine

> Clean up gently with vacuum cleaner

> Last cleanup: mirrors - 28/09/22, tube - XX/XX/22

Useful links

> boxes.py [9]

> obrary [10]

> makercase [11]

> geargen [12]

Projects

> what is cosmos / τι είναι κόσμος

This text contains information copied or inspired from http://atxhackerspace.org .