Fundamental in Laser Engraving
and Cutting
Instructor Workshop
Agenda
9:00am - Overview, Lasers, Application, Industry use
10:00am – Laser Operation, Functions
10:30am – Project 1
11:30am – Project 2
12:00pm – Lunch
12:45pm – Project 2 (continued)
1:30pm – Project 3
2:30pm – Project 3b
3:30pm – Depart
Engineered and Built in the
USA - Since 1988
Laser Engraving and Cutting
C02 and Fiber Laser Systems
YAG Laser Systems
Laser cutting and engraving is a technology that works by directing a highpowered laser onto a material, that produces a high-resolution image or
smooth cut periphery in a 2D plane.
YAG Laser Applications
Manufacturing - engraving,
etching,cutting,semiconductors
etc.
Automotive – Japan is
developing laser ignitors that use
YAG chips in place of spark plugs
in an automobile engine.
Fluid Dynamics – Flow visulation
in fluid dynamics
Military – Laser designators,
rangefinders, Chinese ZM-87
blinding weapon (22 known to
have been produced due to
prohibition of such weapons).
Medical - eye, prostate
surgery
Laser Induced Spectroscopy
(LIBS) – Used in the analysis
of elements of the periodic
table.
Cavity Ring down
Spectroscopy(CRDS) – Used
to measure light concentration
of some light absorbing
substance.
Dentistry –Soft tissue surgery
in the oral cavity.
Two types of Lasers,
Infinite Possibilities.
C02 Laser Systems
Ytterbium Fiber Laser
C02 Lasers by Epilog
Laser:
Engraving
Materials:
Cutting
Materials:
C02 Air-Cooled laser tube, 30-120 watts
Wood, acrylic, plastic, glass, leather,
Corian, fabric, coated metals, anodized
aluminum, ceramics, Mylar, pressboard,
and more…
Wood, acrylic, plastic, delrin, cloth,
leather, melamine, paper, rubber,
veneer, cork, and more…
C02 Lasers
The carbon dioxide laser (CO2
laser) was one of the earliest
gas lasers to be developed
(invented by Kumar Patel of Bell
Labs in 1964[1]), and is still one
of the most useful. Carbon
dioxide lasers are the highestpower continuous wave lasers
that are currently available. They
are also quite efficient: the ratio
of output power to pump power
can be as large as 20%. The
CO2 laser produces a beam of
infrared light with the principal
wavelength bands centering on
9.4 and 10.6 micrometers.
Materials – Woods…
…Acrylics, Plastics and
more…
C02 Laser in Surgery
C02 Lasers by Epilog
Laser:
Marking and
Engraving
Materials:
Ytterbium Fiber Laser, Air Cooled, 1062
nm, 10 to 50 watts
Most metals and plastics, including:
stainless steel, aluminum, black/white
ABS, carbon fiber, polycarbonate,
anodized aluminum, white PEEK, silicon
wafers, colored delrin, magnesium, and
more…
Fiber Laser
How it works
Metal Marking and Engraving
Etching: is often used for industrial purposes to produce a
high contrast mark in the metal – marking tools or parts with
serial numbers, logos and bar codes. The etching process
actually removes small amounts of material from the metal
piece.
Polished: or “mirrored” as it sometimes called, is a laser
effect where the laser beam heats the surface of a material
and as it cools, the material takes on a different finish. Most
common on matte-finish metal, this technique creates
marks that can look almost holographic. No material is
actually removed
Annealed: The laser is used to heat metal to near melting
points, which induces a color change to the top layer of
material. Annealing often gives a dark iridescent look, with
a faint rainbow of greens, blues and pinks that can
sometimes be seen in the text or graphic. Since no material
is removed from the metal, this technique is often used for
medical devices used within the human body. Annealing
leaves no cuts or shallow engravings like those found in
marking and etching and typically produces the darkest
mark of these three methods.
Metal Marking and Engraving
Why an Epilog Laser for
your school?
• Simple and easy to use
• Use as an attractor for your freshman
exploratory
• Rapid prototype projects in plastic
prior to Aluminum
• Create a great finished and
customized look in almost any material
CSM Robotics Team - Winners of the Rookie Inspiration Award
• A great motivational tool for your
students
Laser Cutting and Engraving
Raster engraving is used
for text, clipart, scanned
images and virtually all
graphic artwork.
Vector cutting uses a thin
line and the laser operates
in a plotter style mode
where the laser is turned
on and remains on while it
follows the profile of a line.
Resolution
This illustration shows the concept of raster lines. Each pass of the laser produces a
single raster line. 600 raster lines per inch is the same as 600 DPI.
LENSES
Relative spot sizes
generated by
different focal length
lenses.
LENSES
The depth of field
distance increases
as the focus length
increases. Accurate
focus is less
important with longer
length focus lenses,
but more critical as
the focus length gets
shorter.
LENSES
There is overlap in the uses of the different lenses. The 2.0 inch lens is a very good
general purpose lens and is well suited for most applications. The optional lenses are
more suited to specific applications where the work being done is of a more specialized
nature.
Speed Power and Frequency
Speed and Power are the two most important laser variables. They control
dwell-time of the laser beam (Speed) and depth of cut (Power).
Speed Power and Frequency
Frequency refers to the pulsing of the laser as it cuts in Vector Mode.
Speed Power and Frequency
Epilog provides tables in their manuals for speed, power and frequency setting for most
common material types.
Dithering
Applying one of the dithering
patterns to clipart has the
potential to create a lot of
interesting effects that are not
easily achievable any other way.
Center-Center Engraving
No matter where your image is on your
page, your reference point is the center
of that graphic. When you use CenterCenter your graphic will engrave at
the exact center of where you have set
your Home position.
Rubber Stamps
Stamp mode allows you to engrave and cut out rubber stamps in a
way that was designed specifically for rubber stamp manufacturers.
3D Engraving
This one graphic took an expert graphic artist over a week – full time – to create!
3D engraving requires two or three passes at slow speed to get the depth
required for a great 3D look.
Color Mapping
Color mapping is usually used in vector mode when you want to score some
parts of an image and cut through other parts. Architectural model making uses
this feature extensively.
CorelDraw Workspace
The Engineering Design Process
Just as inquiry and experimentation guide investigations in science, the
Engineering Design Process guides solutions to technology/engineering design
challenges. Learning technology/engineering content and skills is greatly
enhanced by a hands-on, active approach that allows students to engage in
design challenges and safely work with materials to model and test solutions to
a problem. Using the steps of the Engineering Design Process, students can
solve technology/engineering problems and apply scientific concepts across a
wide variety of topics to develop conceptual understanding. The specific steps
of the Engineering Design Process are included in the Technology/Engineering
strand, on page 84 of this Framework.
Massachusetts Technology Engineering Standards
The Design Process
Massachusetts Educational
Standards
HS-ETS3-6(MA)
Use informational text to illustrate how a vehicle or device can be modified to
produce a change in lift, drag, friction, thrust, and weight.
Examples of vehicles can include cars, boats, airplanes, and rockets.
Considerations of lift require consideration of Bernoulli's principle