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The hackspace laser is a 60 watt CO2 machine with a bed capacity of 700mm x 500mm. This is extendable through the use of a pass through door.

It is capable of cutting and engraving most woods and plastics, and engraving on other substrates such as stone and glass.

On Windows, put “\\SHHM-WIN10” into the address bar of File Explorer, and type the user/password written on the Laser PC monitor. Create a folder under your name and you can now transfer files between your Windows Computer and the Laser PC.

# create mount point
echo '# laser cutter pc (shhm-win10)
//shhm-win10/Transfer   /mnt/shhm-win10/Transfer        cifs            noauto,user,username=USERNAME,password=PASSWORD,noperm' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

# to mount
sudo mount /mnt/shhm-win10/Transfer/

To use the laser cutter alone you must have an induction

If you do not have an induction (yet), someone at an open night will likely be able to help you laser cut bits and bobs.

The following manual is what will be discussed during your induction session. Please feel free to read it beforehand. It is also a useful reference if you have not used the machine in a while, or simply prefer to have something to hand when using the machine. It contains a summary of the information contained in both the laser manufacturers manual and the Lightburn documentation. Reading this manual is not sufficient on its own as an induction to the laser. You must still attend an in person session with one of the people named above

(requires logging in to view) laser_induction_v1.1.pdf

This is the technical manual from the manufacturer of the laser cutter. It gives more detail on the machine and its technical specifications. It may be of interest to those who wish to get more involved with the upkeep and regular maintenance of the laser. If this is something you would be interest in please contact one of the trainer listed above.

(requires logging in to view) laser_manual.pdf

This is the documentation available from the Lightburn website when we installed the software. It should therefore be aligned with the version number and features we have available to us. Please consider this as a first option when researching Lightburn as the website may include information and procedures that do not apply to our version.

(requires logging in to view) lightburndocs.pdf

In order to get your design into the laser cutter we use a piece of commercial software called Lightburn. While is can do some basic design, and those basic tools are covered during induction, it lacks the power of a “proper” CAD (computer aided design) package. Training on how to use the CAM (computer aided manufacture) tools in Lightburn is provided during induction.

Members may therefore wish to look into other options for their design work. These options include: -

• Inkscape is a free and open source graphics package. It works on Windows, Mac and Linux and has a well supported community and many useful video tutorials on YouTube.
• Autodesk Fusion 360 is a powerful CAD package that extends into 3D design as well as 2D. There is a personal licence available with some restrictions, however commercial usage requires a paid licence. One issue that can come up for laser designs is some exports will have a line on both the inside and outside diameters of your design leading to the laser going over that area twice, so some additional care is required. Again this is a well supported package with many YouTube videos to support your learning.
• Adobe Illustrator is part of the Adobe suite of products that many companies and students have access to as it is an industry standard application. Documentation is good, as is community support, although less members at the space use it compared with the other options so “local” support may be harder to come by.

This is far from an exhaustive list. Any application that can output vector graphics in an SVG or DXF format will work but the above just represent the most common examples.

The laser can process a wide range of materials including wood, most plastics, leather, ceramics, glass, paper, rubber and textiles. Guidance on precise restrictions is given during the induction session. If you haven't worked with a material before, even if you believe it to be a common one, please seek advice first.

The hackspace generally carries a small selection of laser materials for purchase. We try to maintain a stock of 3mm MDF, 3mm plywood and various colours of 3mm perspex / acrylic, all of which are available in sheets of 600mm x 400mm. In addition we have a drawer of off cuts that members are free to take from (or add to!) for smaller projects or materials testing.

Please note that MDF and plywood purchased from most high street retailers, i.e., B&Q / Wickes, are NOT SAFE for laser usage

If you are planning on using a large number of sheets (5+) or simply wish to purchase your own materials for the laser we would ask that you ensure that anything purchased is laser grade. As stated above not all materials are safe to use so you must get “Laser safe” or “Laser grade” materials for specialist suppliers. For the hackspace supplies we use Kitronik who are based in Nottingham so delivery is regularly next working day.

These are the stock we keep (usually):

slate sign £4
https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/materials/products/5519-rough-cut-laser-engraving-slate-signs-horizontal
slate coaster £1 each
https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/materials/products/5511-rough-cut-laser-engraving-slate-coaster-square
clear acrylic sheet £7
https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/perspex-acrylic-sheets/products/43185-clear-acrylic-sheet-cast-3mm-x-600mm-x-400mm
coloured acrylic sheet £7
https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/perspex-acrylic-sheets/products/43157-mixed-colour-pack-value-acrylic-sheets-3mm-x-600mm-x-400mm
mdf £3
https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/mdf/products/3211-3mm-laser-compatible-mdf-600mm-x-400mm-sheet
birch ply £6
https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/plywood/products/32171-3mm-birch-faced-veneered-plywood-600mm-x-400mm-sheet
poplar ply £6
https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/plywood/products/3209-3mm-poplar-laser-plywood-600mm-x-400mm-sheet

Please see inductions