Laser/How to Lazzzor
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How to Lazzzor or "Why you won't use scissors anymore."
Before you begin you should know..
DO NOT HANDLE THE LAZZZOR IF YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO. Only Lazzzorauth key owners are able to operate the mighty Lazzzor. If you are authorized as well because you've successfully completed a Lazzzor_Cutter_Workshop _AND_ you've been given approval by one of the laser admins you may request your own Lazzzorauth iButton.
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Amongst others some friendly helpers are:
So, you want to use the mighty fine lazzzor yesyes? Then you will have to complete several trials to step up to the throne of being a lazzzor king or queen.
Basically, you have 2 options:
- cutting: for this you need a vector graphic,
- engraving: for this you need a raster image
You can also do both! if you put a rasterized object inside a vector graphic. Alternatively you can create a separate file for each job.
prepare your image
Get your favorite vector/raster drawing program and draw some stuff you want to have cut or engraved. Depending on what you want to do, your image file is qualified for print if the following things apply.
for both: your image/graphic should fit into the workspace which is 1300mmx900mm big. Cutting / Vector format:
- deactivate filling on all objects
- set the stroke width on all objects to 0.001 inch (or hairline)
** watch out for duplicated vectors lying on top of each other. it results in the line being cut twice. Ctrl-Cut automatically handles duplicate lines.
- export your model in pdf format (it is also possible to use ai, ps, eps, ctrl-cut vector format and svg, but pdf is highly recommended).
- If you use FreeCAD to export SVG, make sure you set "Max segment length for discretized arcs" (Edit -> Preferences -> Import-Export -> SVG) to something like 0.1mm.
- If you use Inkscape to convert SVG to DXF, select DXF R14 and **not** R12. The R12 crashes LaserWorks (it simply closes on import)
Engraving / Raster format:
- Our current laser cutter has a fixed resolution of 100 DPI.
- Ctrl-Cut supports automatic conversion to grayscale and stretching the contrast, but if you convert the image to monochrome (1-bit) _before_ importing it won't adjust the image at all, so you can manually tweak it.
Repeating Lazzzor Jobs
Using Ctrl-Cut you can save lazzzor cutter jobs with all settings and optimizations applied as .cut file. Next time just open it and press "Send",
Color Mapping
If you use different colors for vectors in your file, Ctrl-Cut automatically creates different cut items, that you can apply settings to individually.
The Materials
If you want to cut or engrave something, bring your own material, though you can also use any leftovers or stuff which does not have a label on it. (of course labels which say "free for all" are ok, too). Feel free to donate a little extra if you use some materials.
