Mutant Lasers

Now that I had figured out basic engraving and cutting for decoration, I decided I would try to make something structural that needed to assemble tightly. Before all this could take place I had to see how precise and accurate my laser was. Completed a basic process capability analysis for cutting through 1/4" thick MDF in one pass. Turns out the machine is very precise but not accurate. Easy to fix. Just adjust the size of the desired shape by .02" in Corel Draw. It fit together beautifully with the box panels properly adjusted and cut. Just applied a few dabs a glue and I had a sturdy box with a hinging top. Fits so tight the lid stays shut without a latch.

After playing around with cardboard for a few hours I moved up to some MDF board. (Medium Density Fiber) Purchased a 2'x4' board to cut up. Spent an hour testing power settings and feed speeds. MDF is far more difficult to cut then I anticipated. In the end I finally made an acceptable part. Pictured below is my final work. A 10"x12" engraved and cut wall hanging board of Live Local Apparels North Park art. The only downside was the digital image used was too small, left a pixelated image that didn't look well when looked at closely. You may be able to see it in the picture. In the future Ill be sure to ask for the largest image size possible.

My first project was a business card for Phil at Live Local Apparel. Was a good way to learn my chosen software. (Corel Draw and LaserCut) The image of California with "SAN LUIS OBISPO. HAPPIEST PLACE IN THE USA" was designed by Phil and is one of his best selling t-shirts. Picture is of my design tested on a sheet of single corrugated cardboard. The design needs a few tweaks before I start cutting them out on nice material.

Purchased an 80W laser from Rabbit Lasers. Was delivered a few weeks ago and setup by Ray from Rabbit Lasers a few days later. The one day of training and setup with Ray was fast paced and very informative. We took the machine from the crate to cutting out shapes in the matter of hours. With the machine all setup and dialed in we started cutting up some of the cardboard it was shipped in. Cut out a very cool howling wolf and decorative badge in a few minutes. Both are about 20" around. Later we tested the machine on acrylic and some old pieces of fiberglass/carbon fiber. It didn't cut through the carbon fiber but made quick work of the fiber glass.