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Laser Cutters |
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Faculty, Staff, and Students become eligible to qualify for use of the laser cutters by enrolling in or completing a training course.
-Have a buddy at all times, who is physically present in the room, remains attentive, and is capable of assisting in an emergency.
If you do not have a buddy, even for a brief moment, laser cutter operation must immediately be stopped by pressing the “pause” button, do not resume until you have a buddy again.
-Prior to operating a laser cutter, clean the laser and make sure it is set to the proper height and scan the QR code.
-Know the location of all fire extinguishers, emergency stop buttons, emergency phone, and emergency exits.
-Clean off the laser cutter bed, but don’t try to lift the grid. If you need to get under the grid, get one of the staff to help you.
-Throw out small pieces of scrap in the appropriate bin.
Put scrap pieces that have uncut areas that are at least 3″ x 3″ into the appropriate (same color, same material) storage slot.
Failure to adhere to the above regulations or to cooperate with staff will result in revocation of laser cutter privileges.
Some material cannot be used on the laser cutter because:
-the laser isn’t powerful enough to cut through it
-it is flammable
-or it produces dangerous off-gasses.
acrylic, mirrored acrylic, cardboard, mat board, hardboard, chipboard, museum board, polystyrene, YUPO synthetic paper, MDF (engineered wood), bass wood, plywood, Delrin
Good: Felt, rayon, tightly woven cotton, wool, most natural materials; OK: loose weaves, knotted material
ABS plastic, mirrored glass (the backing contains mercury), Lexan plastics, polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), foam (of any type), any materials containing chloride or vinyl (e.g. PVC), and wood thicker than 1/4″ (6mm). Forbidden textiles: flammable synthetics, vinyl, metallic/reflective materials, neoprene, any material with chlorine. Ask IDeATe staff if you are unsure.
Do not cut any materials that contain chlorine; they can produce chlorine gas when heated. If you are unsure of the chemical composition of your material, you can check the Material Safety Data Sheets on the EH&S website. If you have a questions about a material that you would like to cut, please ask a staff member!
Our laser cutters are incapable of cutting steel, brass, copper, and other metals.