LASER CUTTER LEVEL 1

Housekeeping

​

​

1. Land acknowledgement
2. Personal intro and pronouns
3. Waivers
4. Structure
1. 30 min presentation
2. 15 min demo
3. 2:00 workshop time
4. 15 min clean up and recap
5. Bathrooms

​

​

Program Overview

​

​

To provide you with the confidence to independently output files on the laser cutter

1. General Expectations
2. What is a laser cutter
3. Laser Safety
4. File types (Raster vs Vector)
5. How to find/make files
6. Personal Use of the Laser

​

​

1

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

General Shop Expectations

What is a Laser Cutter

​

Laser Safety

File Types

How to make/find files

Personal Use

End of session expectations

• Allow enough time to clean up!
• Organize your offcuts
• Cut them into rectangular shapes to ease storage
• Reorganize tools
• Leave the space better than you found it
• Look for general cleanup tasks that need to happen
• Don’t clean for yourself, clean for the next member

PPE

What PPE is required?

• Glasses (Polycarbonate)
• Fire extinguisher

​

Other Considerations

• Tie back hair
• No loose clothing

2

WHAT IS A LASER CUTTER?

General Shop Expectations

What is a Laser Cutter

​

Laser Safety

File Types

How to make/find files

Personal Use

CO2 Laser System

3

LASER SAFETY

General Shop Expectations

What is a Laser Cutter

​

Laser Safety

File Types

How to make/find files

Personal Use

Laser Identification

Class 1: Safe under all conditions of normal use.

Class 2: Considered to be safe because the blink reflex, this will limit the exposure to no more than 0.25 seconds.

Class 3: Hazardous if the eye is exposed directly, but diffuse reflections such as those from paper or other matte surfaces are not harmful.

Class 4: The highest and most dangerous class of laser. By definition, a class 4 laser can burn the skin, or cause devastating and permanent eye damage as a result of direct, diffuse or indirect beam viewing.

​

4

File Types

General Shop Expectations

What is a Laser Cutter

​

Laser Safety

File Types

How to make/find files

Personal Use

File Types - Raster vs. Vector

Vector

• Uses mathematical points to create infinitely scalable text and graphics.
• Laser can follow the line to cut or fill
• Common Programs: Illustrator, InkScape

​

Raster

• Uses blocks of color on a grid to create shapes
• Laser cutter can only etch these file types
• Common Programs: Photoshop, Canva

Cut

• Laser follows a single path moving along that line to the speed and power you set

​

Etch

• Laser moves like a typical printer firing small pulses making dots to create of raster like image

Cut vs Etch

​

5

How to Make & Find Files

General Shop Expectations

What is a Laser Cutter

​

Laser Safety

File Types

How to make/find files

Personal Use

Way of Finding Files

• Google It!
• “Dog with a hat vector”
• “Free vector files”
• “Laser cut box maker”
• “Laser cutter ready designs”
• Etsy
• Instructables

​

Program Flow

InkScape

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Canva

LightBurn

Laser Cutter

OPTIONAL

LightBurn Tutorials

https://lightburnsoftware.com/pages/tutorials

6

Personal Use

Of the Laser

General Shop Expectations

What is a Laser Cutter

​

Laser Safety

File Types

How to make/find files

Personal Use

• Member rate = $1.50/min + 30 mins free each month
• Non-members = $2/min

​

​

​

​

Cost

Membership at CREATE

Members get 75% off LightBurn!

AS A SPECIAL THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY

Take 10% off a Membership or Punch Pass, if you sign up today, to get you started making!

​

(See our front desk after the class for more details)

Member Projects Google Drive

• Member Projects
• Drop your files into the folder from home

​

Free Consultation

• Free 30-minute consultation on your laser project
• Email kiki@createmakerspace.com to book
• To be used within 30 days of class

ANY QUESTIONS?

Laser Cutter Level 1

General Shop Expectations

What is a Laser Cutter

Laser Safety

File Types

How to make/find files

File Flow