Using the Epilog Legend 36EXT Laser Giorgos Nikoleris 2007

Parts made in our laser 2008Giorgos Nikoleris2

Specifications Maximum Engraving Area: 900 X 600 mm Maximum Material Thickness: 300 mm (350mm) Effect: 60W CO 2 laser 2008Giorgos Nikoleris3

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Materials Engrave: Wood, Acrylic, Glass, Plastic Coated Metal, Anodized Aluminum, Ceramic, Delrin, Leather, Marble, Granite, Matte Board, Melamine, Paper, Pressboard, Rubber, Wood Veneer, Fiberglass, Circuit Boards, Stainless Steel, Painted Metal, Cork, Corian, Cloth, Mylar, Tile Cut: Wood, Acrylic, Plastic, Delrin, Cloth, Leather, Matte Board, Paper, Mylar, Pressboard, Rubber, Wood Veneer, Fiberglass, Cork, Melamine, Corian 2008Giorgos Nikoleris5

Cutting of non-metals Melt shearing –Thermoplastics: (Nylon, Polystyrene, …) Vaporization –Acrylic: BEST CHOICE, perfect cut edges –Polyacetal (large volumes of gaseous formaldehyde) Chemical degradation –Thermoset polymers, cellulosic material, rubber, epoxy resins Cellulosic material: 2000 °C –PVC: Dangerous !! Highly toxic HCl fumes 2007Giorgos Nikoleris6

Laser process 2008Giorgos Nikoleris7

Cutting wood or other grained material 2008Giorgos Nikoleris8

Lowering the table before focusing 2008Giorgos Nikoleris9

Auto Focus 2008Giorgos Nikoleris10

The Printer Preferences window 2008Giorgos Nikoleris11

Table of line weight that will Raster engrave at a given resolution 2008Giorgos Nikoleris12 Resolution (dpi) Line Weight less or equal than (mm) No 0.125No Yes 0.150No Yes 0.175No Yes

Table of line weight that will Vector Cut at a given resolution 2008Giorgos Nikoleris13 Resolution (dpi) Line Weight less or equal than (mm) No Yes 0.125No YesNo 0.150No YesNo 0.175No YesNo

Summary Use always 600dpi Use line weight 0.025mm to cut Use line weight greater than 0.175mm to engrave Or if you are doing something very special consult the tables … Note: Check for hidden lines 2008Giorgos Nikoleris14

Raster engraving 2008Giorgos Nikoleris15

Piece size 2008Giorgos Nikoleris16

Top-down and bottom-up engraving 2008Giorgos Nikoleris17

Center Engraving 2008Giorgos Nikoleris18

Center Engraving 2008Giorgos Nikoleris19

Image Dithering 2008Giorgos Nikoleris20 Clipart Modes: Standard, Brighten and Low Res Photograph Modes: Floyd Steinberg, Jarvis and Stucki

Image Dithering 2008Giorgos Nikoleris21

Vector Cut Settings 2008Giorgos Nikoleris22

Creating a Perforation using low Frequency 2008Giorgos Nikoleris23

Advanced Properties 2008Giorgos Nikoleris24

3D mode 2008Giorgos Nikoleris25

Stamp Settings 2008Giorgos Nikoleris26

Color Mapping 2008Giorgos Nikoleris27

Multiple passes 2008Giorgos Nikoleris28

The Operator Panel 2008Giorgos Nikoleris29

Air assist 2008Giorgos Nikoleris30 Cone style air assist

Lifting the table 2008Giorgos Nikoleris31

The Rotary Option 2008Giorgos Nikoleris32

Leveling the surface 2008Giorgos Nikoleris33

Pin Table 2008Giorgos Nikoleris34

Advanced Combined Work 2008Giorgos Nikoleris35

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Safety Rules 2008Giorgos Nikoleris37 NEVER let the laser system operate if it will be unattended. KEEP the area around the machine clean and free of clutter, combustible materials, explosives, or volatile solvents such as acetone, alcohol, or gasoline. ALWAYS keep a properly maintained and inspected fire extinguisher on hand. ALWAYS use air assist when vector cutting. BE CAREFUL! when vector cutting. Many materials have the potential to burst suddenly into flames – even materials that may be very familiar to the user. Always monitor the machine when it is operating. KEEP YOUR LASER SYSTEM CLEAN – A build up of cutting and engraving reside and debris is dangerous and can create a fire hazard in its own right. Keep your laser system clean and free of debris. Regularly remove the vector grid to clean any small pieces that have fallen through the grid.

Acrylic - Tips & Tricks In principle it is very easy to cut acrylic. Generally speaking, the maximum laser output is set and the speed is adjusted so that the material is cut through. High-quality cutting results, however, can only be achieved with carefully selected parameters. At slow speeds, the cut edges achieved are rather more polished. However, if cutting is too slow, the resulting cut is wide and extends outwards towards the bottom. However, this also depends on the point of focus and the focal length used. Use a focal length of 2.5 inch for thicknesses between 3 and 8 mm, for thicker materials the focal length set should be 5 inch. The focus should not lie on the surface but approximately a third of the way inside the material. Striation increases with speeds that are too high. The gas flow should be set as low as possible to achieve the best possible quality. However, a higher gas flow allows faster cutting speeds. The acrylic used is also very important. Acrylic may be cast or extruded. Cast acrylic is excellently suited to laser cutting. With extruded acrylic, the cut edges become milky after cutting due to the stresses released. It is also important to achieve clean adjustment of the beam since the cut edges are not vertical if there is any astigmatism and exhibit different angles depending on the direction of displacement. Therefore, the selection of a laser source with good beam quality is particularly crucial. Also, it is particularly important to prevent reflections of the laser beam as far as possible since they cause visible unevenness in the cut edges. For this reason, the material may not lie completely flat on the processing surface. Use a special cutting table for this purpose. As a result the beam will barely be reflected and you will get clean-cut edges. It is also important to remove the protective film prior to processing. Caution: Never operate the laser without supervision as acrylic tends to burn and create flames! 2008Giorgos Nikoleris38