Difference between revisions of "Equipment/Laser Cutter"

Revision as of 02:12, 11 January 2013

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Summary

Training

Instructions

Health and Safety

Maintenance Schedule

Every Job (done by all laser users)

• Clean the laser bed with IPA and cloth
• Clean any debris off laser bed and surround using soft brush

Every Week (done by laser maintainers)

• Clean the laser lens with IPA and cotton buds
• Oil the 3 runners with 3-in-one light oil
• Thoroughly clean the laser bed with IPA and cloth
• Check the water level in the cooling tank
• Clean and remove debris from the machine base and catchment drawer

Every Month (done by laser maintainers)

• Check the water is clean in the cooling tank (i.e. no contamination/organic build up)
• Check filter unit for filter renewal
• Oil the 4 rise and fall lead screws with 3-in-one light oil
• Check mirrors and clean with a disposable sachet lens cleaner cloth (only if needed, mirror coatings are delicate)
• Work through mirror alignment procedure to check alignment of mirrors

Examples

Examples of laser jobs we've run (please add a photo of yours any time you do a job!)

Shopping List

• 3-in-one light oil
• Cotton Buds
• Lens cleaner sachets
• Soft paint/cleaning brush
• Thermometer for water tank
• Hand held CO2 extinguisher

Information

• LS 6090 PRO Laser Product Page
• HPCLaser Technical Info
• Laserscript Forum

Purchase and Repairs

Full Purchase, Delivery and Installation (£6865.00+vat = £8238.00)

• LS 6090 PRO Laser engraving and cutting machine, 600mm by 900mm 60W (£5250.00+vat)
• Laser Fume Filter (£1250.00+vat)
• Delivery (£190+vat)
• Installation/Training (£175+vat)

Maintenance and Spares:

• 60 watt C02 laser tube (£275.00+vat)
• 50 mm Focus Meniscus Lens (£75.00+vat)
• Estimate for Call Out (£200.00)

Whilst tube lifetime is impacted a lot by usage and care, we will initially estimate the need to replace the laser tube every 6 months

Install

Questions and Potential Requirements

• Cambridge Science Centre
  • 600 x 900mm would allow use for exhibit units
• Thickness of materials?
  • 25mm acrylic, 10-12mm ply (depending on ply)
• Do we need a cooler unit?
  • No. More needed for continuous use (we expect regular but intermittent use)
• What are the power supply requirements?
  • 240 V 50hz

--Brian Corteil 00:45, 3 January 2013 (UTC) How much power does the laser and the fume filter, require?

I have looked on their website and it's not clear, I also had a looked on the Bofa Website for information about the fume filter, and there are too many models to be able select the correct model. When you next contact the supplier. Can you ask the following.

What size supply will each item require?

I did read somewhere on the site, that the laser and the fume filter would be interlocked, is this correct? If so, this would suggest that only single supply would be required for both items. and one more question,

does the laser need a assigned PC?

• [User:Barhamd] I'm wanting to cut thin 1mm and .5mm ABS or perspex for model buildings. Would like something that can cut and half-cut a fine ~.25mm line. Not so concerned about massive size. Is this some kind of work something that could be done on a large cutter or do we need a smaller unit too?
  • It states "Resetting position accuracy: 0.015mm"
• How often do the lasers need replacing?
  • It depends on lots of things like care, use level, how much degradation is acceptable, luck - "could be 1 year or 5 years"; we will assume every year for now
• What (if anything) can this do on metals?
• What sort of line thickness does it give?

The bare minimum for me would be something capable of cutting an A3 sheet, which probably means 600x450mm. A 1200x900mm[1] machine from Laserscript comes in at about £6.5K; a used one went on eBay recently for something like £4.5K. The factory gate price for a similar unit from Shenhui, who are a well-regarded Chinese manufacturer, is $4K -sea-freight would come in at $250, and import duty appears to be 4.5%.

I (Dave from the science centre) would be really keen to be able to cut at least A1 on it (840x594mm) As this is the biggest module we are using at the moment.

Laser cutters used by other spaces, and other references

For comparison, a 1200x900 laser cutter from Shenhui (who appear to be the internet's Chinese supplier of choice) comes in at US$4000 + US$250 seafreight + 4.5% import duty + delivery (or collection) from Felixstowe - that's roughly £2775 ex VAT.

Replacement tubes cost £195 ex VAT for a 40W HPC tube (LS3020/LS3060) and £350 ex VAT for an 80W (LS1290). They are rated at 1000 hours, although this is heavily dependent on careful calibration of the machine and will be much lower if it's misconfigured.