K40 Laser Cutter

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Revision as of 10:15, 27 January 2024 by Blu (talk | contribs) (→‎Brandon's 1/8" (3.2mm) Acrylic: added alignment notes)
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Chinesium K40 Laser Cutter
K40 LaserCutter.jpg

Location: Electronics Room
Ownership: Mag Laboratory
Status: Fully Working / Upgrades Pending
Usage Restrictions: Laser Cutter Qualification

Laser Cutter

Brand: Chinesium
Model: K40
Quality: Prosumer/Professional
Cutting Area: 315 x 225 mm
Materials: TODO

Getting Started

Welcome on your laser cutter journey. We at MAG Laboratory are proud to host the venerable and storied K40 laser cutter machine. As we should all know, each K40 machine is a unique snowflake upon this world not only because each factory K40 is manufactured differently but also because each K40 owner will apply different modifications to their machine.

Read at least the "General Use" section of the K40 user manual (link).

General Advice and Precautions

⚠ Always use the air assist.

⚠ Always operate with lid closed.

⚠ Do not let machine run without water cooling.

⚠ Do not place hand along laser path.

⚠ Ensure laser cooling water temperature is acceptable.

Software Support

The preferred file format is .svg. Inkscape (link) can be used to create and edit svg files it is under active development, so be sure to update your inkscape.

Materials

Recommended Materials

Material Comment
Acrylic Cuts well. Turns into combustion byproducts immediately!
MDF Mostly turns into smoke. Ash may be an issue. Use air assist to clear the ash.
Laser Rubber Ash may be an issue. Use air assist to clear as much ash as possible.
Acetal Plastic Apparently works if the plastic has additives.
Leather Cuts / Engraves.

Banned Materials

Material Comment
PVC Combustion byproducts are literally hydrochloric gas. Do not cut.

Feeds & Speeds

This section contains a sample of feeds and speeds gathered from various projects over the lifetime of the machine. Beware that different factors will affect cutting performance including but not limited to: machine age, air temperature, water temperature, and cutting location.

Brandon's 1/8" (3.2mm) Edge-Lit Acrylic

Feeds and Speeds:

Path Category Feed Power № Passes
Raster Engrave 100mm/s 8% 1
Vector Engrave 28mm/s 7% 1
Vector Cut 8mm/s 18% 1

Raster Settings

Setting Value
Line Width 0.008 in
Engrave Bottom Up
Halftone
... ...

Alignment should be accomplished such that the raster engraving is vertical when the sign is placed on the LED base. The light reflects better inside the acrylic and provides more consistent lighting of the design in this manner. The axis of the acrylic that is facing up should be parallel to the raster lines to look the best.

History

The K40 is a complex machine with a history of previous activity. This section is where the laser cutter upgrade history is documented.

Gallery

Aluminum Air Assist

2021-05-03 "Cloudray" aluminum air assist nozzle installed

Laser Tube

The laser tube was replaced after being broken from a loss of cooling incident on 2021-03-17.

Laser Path

The focusing mirror was broken on 2021-01-26 and subsequently replaced on 2021-02-01.

Air Assist Upgrades

https://www.maglaboratory.org/w/images/9/98/K40DragChainBracket.stl

File:K40DragChainBracket.stl


User:BLu added a drag chain for the air assist on 2021-01-24.

The air assist pump and PLA nozzle were installed on 2021-01-31.

Alignment

User:BLu first aligned the laser on 2020-12-24.

Acquisition

The K40 laser cutter was purchased by User:BLu on 2020-12-03 and arrived at MAG Laboratory on 2020-12-07.

Laser Guidance

2023-12 Two visible lasers are installed to denote the cutting location of the CO2 laser. The two lasers form a crosshair that marks the location where the CO2 laser beam should hit.

The files for the laser bracket with laser guidance can be found at https://github.com/blu006/blu_BOB_and_MISC/tree/main/2023/laser_bracket

The only vitamins are the existing M3 mounting screws that came with the k40, a square screw, and an M3 internal hex socket head bolt.

Future Upgrades

The K40 is due for many future upgrades including but not limited to:

  • height adjustable table