Independently Operating the Laser Cutter

Today, I learned a new skill—independently operating the school’s 30W laser cutter without the help of a technician. Here are the key steps I followed:

1.Adjusting the height: Place spacers under the board to ensure the correct cutting height.
2.Starting the laser cutter: Switch the machine to the “on” position.
3.Preparing the file: On the computer, open ApS-Ethos software and log into my email to download the AI file needed for cutting.
4.File setup: When prompted with the restore file option, select “no.”
5.Material settings: Click on Output in the top toolbar, go to Material Manager, and choose the material type, dimensions, and actual thickness.
6.Setting the start and end points: Use the arrow keys on the machine to set the starting point first, then set the ending point.
7.Drawing a reference rectangle: On the computer, draw a rectangle, press M, and refer to the design size (shown in the bottom right) to adjust the length and width by adding about 3cm (approximately 60mm in total). Make sure the rectangle’s layer is set to no-cut, and the required cutting layer is set to cut-through.
8.Start cutting: Click the output icon in the top toolbar to start the cutting process, and wait for it to finish.