• Always follow any posted notices.
• Do not use if there is an out-of-order sign posted, even if everything *looks* OK.
• Always wear the correctly-rated laser safety glasses.
• Only use materials on the Laser Cutter Approved Materials List. If something you want to cut is not on the list, ask a member of the Laser Cutter Committee *first*. Most likely if it's not on the list, it is TOXIC or CORROSIVE!
• Do not operate when the lid or any hatches are open. Do not attempt to defeat the interlocks.
• Do not leave the laser cutter at any time while the laser cutter is in operation, for any reason. It must be carefully observed to mitigate and suppress fires, which are a frequent occurrence.
• No alcohol near the laser cutter, do not use the laser cutter after drinking.
• Do not attempt to use materials that may splutter or explode (e.g. anything with high water content).
• Do not use for scarification or laser tattoos.
• Do not attempt any repairs, calibration, or maintenance of the laser cutter under any circumstances! The laser cutter is not treated like the other tools at VHS in this manner. The laser cutter is not a do-ocracy.
• Do not use the Emergency Stop button to power-off the laser cutter in non-emergency situations.
• Do not use more heat (a combination of power and speed) than is necessary to accomplish a cut or etch.
• Do not allow un-trained users to operate the laser.

The laser cutter is a RedSail model CM1080; it has a bed area of 100cm x 80cm (1000mm x 800mm, approx 3.2ft x 2.6ft, 39“ x 31”) and uses a 80W CO2 laser tube. It is capable of both cutting (with vector shapes) and engraving (with vector or raster images), both of which may be used together in a single job.

The Laser Cutter Committee oversees its usage and ensures correct maintenance. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a member of the LCC.

The VHS Laser Cutter is an industrial machine that has the potential to cause serious injury and damage. The laser cutter is not a printer, it is not an appliance, and it is not a peripheral. It must be treated as such; a potentially very dangerous device. You must remain within 1 meter of the Emergency Stop button at all times. It must never be left unattended, even for a minute.

The single most important aspect of safety when it comes to machinery is respecting the machine. This means taking care of it, being careful in your configuration, testing, and usage, ensuring proper maintenance happens, and closely monitoring its operation. Careless behaviour causes tools to deteriorate fast, which is the primary cause of safety issues.

Laser cutters work by heating the material to the point of burning or vapourization. Your job can change in seconds with the accumulation of energy (heat) in your material. Always monitor your lasing job!. Fires in laser cutters are very common, the operator must be actively watching the laser whenever it is operating and must be ready at all times to extinguish a fire as soon as it occurs. Remember, VHS House Rule #10 is “don't burn down the hack space.”

There is a zero-tolerance policy for leaving the laser cutter unattended while in operation. Laser cutter privileges will be revoked immediately.

The VHS laser has an output power of about 80W. This is considered a Class 4 laser device - the most dangerous rating possible. It is in fact 160x the minimum rating for a Class 4 device. This is very, very powerful and dangerous.

CO2 lasers emit completely invisible infrared laser beams with a wavelength of 10,640 nm. There is no way to know where the beam and any reflections are going. The only thing you can do is completely avoid any possibility that the laser energy will leave the laser cutter. Because the beam is invisible, your normal blink reflex will not work. You have no natural protection from the laser beam.

An 80W laser will instantly vaporize the cornea, lens, and/or retina of your eye. You will instantly and permanently lose your eyesight - and while it scars over it will be complete agony. It will boil your eyeball. According to Wikipedia, “A pop or click noise emanating from the eyeball may be the only indication that retinal damage has occurred, i.e., the retina was heated to over 100°C resulting in localized explosive boiling”. Even indirect exposure to the laser beam (or a scattered part of it) can result in blindness.

To reiterate, this laser cutter is 160 times as powerful as the maximum safety-class that is worth differentiating between; well and truly into the realm of lethality if mistreated.

In short, this is a very dangerous device and must be treated with utmost respect and care. It is absolutely the most dangerous tool most people will ever use.

Because the laser works by burning away material, it generates toxic smoke, fumes and fine particulates. The VHS laser has an extraction and filtration system to remove these pollutants from the work area. However, it has limitations and does not work instantly.

To reduce the generation of toxic pollutants:

1. Use only approved materials
2. Monitor the air quality inside the laser and in the main VHS space
3. Do not open the lid of the laser until the internal air quality has returned to the baseline value.

If the air quality is degenerating in the main space (whether the air quality sensors show it or not), you must pause and wait for smoke and odours to be extracted before continuing to operate the laser.

We have special safety glasses that are specifically rated for use with CO2 lasers. They are completely transparent to visible light, but are opaque to the band of infrared light that the laser cutter operates on. Do not use any other safety glasses with the laser cutter, as they will not provide any protection.

It is important that the safety glasses remain functional, so please be very careful with their care and handling. Always replace them in their protective cases, and never put them lenses-down. These are not typical, cheap safety glasses, and must be ordered online (and still aren't cheap!).

Small flare-ups while cutting material is common, and for flare-ups that don't self-extinguish quickly, the water spray bottle is the first line of defense. If the bottle is empty, refill it with plain tap water.

There should be a carbon dioxide (CO₂) fire extinguisher next to the laser at all times. Always check if this fire extinguisher is present before using the laser.

If the spray bottle is insufficient for extinguishing a fire, the fire extinguisher should be used without hesitation.

You will never be in trouble for using the fire extinguisher, and will not be responsible for any replacement/repair costs. Use the fire extinguisher when necessary.

Only VHS Laser Cutter Approved Materials may be cut or engraved on the VHS laser. The Approved Materials page also provides some suggested power and speed settings. Use these as a guide– you will need to do your own testing to determine the best settings for your specific material.

Some limited material storage is available in the cabinet behind the laser (under the green filter box). Materials stored at VHS must be labelled with a name and date and may be stored for a maximum of one month.

If a material is not already on the approved or banned list, any VHS member may ask for a material to be reviewed for use on the VHS laser. The laser committee will want to know the exact product (be as specific as possible), and will ask to see a Safety Data Sheet. See How to get a new material approved for the laser cutter for more details.

The laser is by far the most popular tool at VHS, so it has a booking system to reserve time slots. There are no limits on how much time you can reserve, but refer back to VHS House Rule #0: “don't make us make a rule”.

Existing bookings can be viewed at VHS Booking Calendar.

If there are no existing bookings, the laser is first-come, first-serve. Some negotiation and sharing may be required. It is strongly recommended to make a booking.

The software used for controlling the laser cutter is called LightBurn. LightBurn has only the most rudimentary drawing tools, so it is recommended that LightBurn only be used for the final steps of setting up the work for the laser cutter, and running the laser job itself.

The Laser cutter computer is intended to be used for converting and running jobs on the laser cutter. Use your own computer to create designs, and load/convert them on the laser cutter PC via USB key or through the network drive. Avoid using the laser cutter PC for design work, as that will stop others from being able to use the laser cutter.

LightBurn is able to import many different vector file formats; in practice, SVG and DXF seem to work most painlessly.

• AI:
  • If you must use Illustrator to save the .ai file, save as pre-CS, no compression, no extra features - however you will lose all colour information, making it almost useless.
• DXF:
  • DXF has no concept of scale, and you have to select a scale when you *export* DXFs. In other words, a DXF will give a unit-less dimension of 1.0; and that could be 1 inch, 1 m, 1 ft, or 1 mm for all the DXF format and/or reading software knows. LightBurn uses a millimetre scale.
  • You may have to enable “convert splines to polylines” in your CAD software to get curved lines to import correctly.
  • You can also copy and paste directly from Inkscape or other vector graphics software.

LightBurn can import most image formats and will automatically convert them to greyscale. You can also copy and paste an image. There are various dithering modes that LightBurn uses internally to convert the greyscale image into the half-tone (on and off) format required for the laser controller. Stucki is the default and will provide the most realistic result. Newsprint and Halftone will give a more newspaper-like output.

Inkscape is a good choice for creating files for use on the laser cutter, or converting existing files into formats that can be used, due to its wide variety of import and export formats.

To use the Laser Cutter, you must be a member of Vancouver Hack Space and complete the VHS Laser Cutter Training.

The laser can only be operated by authorized users. Upon successful completion of the training, your membership account on https://membership.vanhack.ca will be granted Laser Access.

• Wake up or turn on the Laser Cutter Computer (it should be left on). The password is printed on a label on the monitor.
• Clear the top, bed, and catchment tray of material.
• Check that the flare-up water bottle is full.
• Check that the CO₂ fire extinguisher is nearby.
• Confirm that the air pressure is set appropriately (25 psi for general use, 50 psi for deep cuts / very thick material)
• Put on the laser-rated safety glasses.

The laser cutter has a software-controlled access system for restricting access to trained members and automatically controlling power to the laser and peripherals. The access system has an on/off switch and lights that indicate the status.

To authenticate and enable the laser:

1. If using a personal computer, connect to the VHS WiFi. You will not be able to access the laser login system if you're not on the local WiFi or Ethernet.
2. Visit laser.vanhack.ca
3. Sign in using your membership.vanhack.ca (nomos) credentials.
4. Click the big red “Unlock” button to enable the laser's ON switch

You now have about 30 seconds to move the switch on the laser access system's control panel to 'On'. If the authentication was successful, the green LED will turn on and the laser systems will begin to turn on. If the light remains red, move the switch back to the 'Off' position and repeat the authentication process.

NOTE: If you are using the laser cutter directly after another member, you can perform the authorization step as soon as they switch the system off. There is no need to wait for the system to power down.

The laser access system will automatically turn on the fume extraction system, the chiller, and the laser cutter.

When the laser cutter is first powered, the head and gantry will move to the home position automatically.

Once the laser is powered up, there are a number of steps required to setup a particular job. These include importing the design, setting up the cutting or etching operations, positioning the material, and adjusting the focus.

Designs can be copied to the laser cutter computer by using a USB storage device, the VHS network drive, or using an internet browser. Using a USB stick or transferring to the network drive is preferred because it is faster.

Save any designs to a folder with your name on it in the Laser User Files folder. Files saved on the desktop or anywhere elsewhere will be deleted.

In LightBurn, go to File > Import…

Once you have imported a design, you need to setup one or more lasing operations (e.g. cut, fill). Simple designs may only have a single operation, while more complex designs can have many operations. It is necessary to indicate which parts of the design correspond to which operation, and to indicate in which order they should be performed.

In LightBurn, different operations are controlled on a per-layer basis, where a unique colour is considered to be a layer, i.e., all parts that are red have the same settings and are cut together, and all parts that are blue may have different settings and also are cut together.

The order is specified by the order the layers appear in a list (the top layer will cut first), and may be re-arranged as required. Generally when you're setting up a job, you will want to cut the smaller and more intricate/interior parts first, progressively working up to the larger cuts, and ending with the outline of the work. You will quickly get a grasp on what this means and how to identify what parts of a given job must be cut first and in which order to set the layers.

• Select objects and click the coloured boxes at the bottom of the LightBurn window to assign different layers to different objects. In LightBurn, select the lines in your design first, than select a colour along the bottom bar. Ideally, designs should already have colour when you import them.
• Set the layer order in LightBurn (top right corner) to go from small details to large details, ending with the outline cut (if any).

The default settings for each operation almost always need to be changed. To change the settings of an operation, double click the layer in the top right layer list. Generally, there are just two setting that need to be selected: power and speed.

Some experimentation is often required to get the desired results. Refer to the Materials and Settings Chart for reasonable starting points. It is recommended to bring scrap material that has identical properties (type, thickness, colour, etc.) to what you want to finally lase. Use this scrap to test and verify that the laser cutter, your material, and your design are behaving as you expect.

The power setting controls the power of the laser beam and ranges from 0-60%. The power output is limited in software to a maximum of 60% to meet the recommended maximum current rating of the laser tube. Higher values will automatically be clipped to 60%. In practice, the minimum usable power is around 7%: anything below that will not actually generate a laser beam.

LightBurn lists a maximum and minimum power setting. The second power setting is used to reduce the power during cornering to improve cut quality. Generally, it should be set to 70% of the maximum power, however, in practice, these are often set to the same value.

The speed setting controls the maximum speed of the laser head and ranges from 0-300 mm/s.

Positioning where the design should be relative to the material can be challenging on this machine.

• Use the directional controls on the laser control panel to move the laser head to the home position, or out of the way.
• Open the lid
• Place the material to be lased on to the cutting bed
• If necessary, clamps or weights can be used to prevent the material from moving or to ensure it lies flat. Ensure the laser head won't collide with any of the clamps or weights.

• Designs can be selected and moved in LightBurn
• It is possible to use the data field boxes to move the design to a particular location.
• The easiest way to position the design is to use the “Move to current laser position” feature (crosshair icon on the toolbar) which simultaneously gets the current position of the laser from the controller, and moves the design to this updated position.

The VHS Laser Cutter has a manual height adjustment on the laser head for controlling the height of the focus.

There are three lenses available:

• 2.5“ Standard: for general purpose cutting and engraving. This can be used for most laser jobs. Use the step on the red focus guide that corresponds to your material thickness, e.g., 3mm step for 3mm-thick material.
• 1.5” Engraving: the engraving lens is capable of much finer detail but is not as good for cutting. Typically for engraving you want to focus either on the surface of the material (0mm on the guide), or slightly above or below (0.5mm or -0.5mm) experiment to see what gives you the best results.
• 4“ Deep Cut: this is a specialized lens for cutting thicker materials. Air assist pressure must be set to 50 psi for deep cuts! The 4” lens may require some experimentation to find the ideal focus height. Start with the laser head about 3 mm above the top surface of the material.

To adjust the focus height:

1. Locate the appropriate focus height calibration tool for the lens you are using
2. Move the laser head over the material to be lased using the directional controls on the laser control panel
3. Loosen the height adjustment knob
4. Position the focus height calibration tool between the material and the laser head and adjust the height of the laser head
5. Tighten the height adjustment knob
6. Return the focus height calibration tool to its storage location

Note: Do not touch the mirrors or lens of the laser cutter. If they are dirty, please discontinue use of the laser cutter immediately and let the Laser Cutter Committee know. Using the laser cutter with dirty mirrors or lenses could bake the dirt onto the glass and they will then need replacing!

• Click Frame. The laser head will move in a rectangle at the maximum extents of the job.
• Be prepared to hit the Emergency Stop button if the laser head is going to collide with the extent of the work bed or a clamp.
• If the position of the material needs adjustment, open the lid, move the material, close the lid, and click Frame again. Repeat until acceptable alignment is achieved.
• Alternatively, the material can be left in position and the position of the design can be adjusted in LightBurn.

• Double check your settings and the ordering of operations.

• When ready, click the Start button in LightBurn. This will start the laser beam.

• Watch the laser cutter carefully and be prepared to hit the Pause Button or Stop button in LightBurn or on the laser control panel.
• Be prepared with the water spray bottle to deal with flare-ups (See FAQ entry below)
• Remain within reach of the emergency stop button
• If for any reason you need to leave the laser while a job is running, press the green Play/Pause button on the control panel. When you press it a second time, the job will resume where it left off.

• Open the laser internal air quality dashboard at air.vanhack.ca
• Do not open the lid of the laser until the internal air quality has recovered back to the original baseline value (“green zone”)

• If you wish, save your LightBurn project in the appropriate location. The LightBurn project file (*.lbrn2) will retain all of your layout, speed, and power settings.
• Exit LightBurn.
• Close any browser windows, especially if you used them to login to a personal cloud account (Gmail, etc.)
• Move the laser access system switch to 'OFF'. This will automatically start powering down the laser cutter and the peripherals. The fume extraction system and chiller will continue to run for several minutes.
• Clear the laser cutter's top, bed, and catchment tray of any material.
• Return usable material to the material storage area. Break unusable material scraps into small pieces and place in the garbage.
• Replace the laser safety glasses into their proper storage case.
• Use a stiff brush to clean residue off the mesh screen at the exhaust outlet.

Notes:

• Use the laser access system to power on/off the machine. There is no need to adjust any of the switches on the laser control panel.
• Do not use the emergency stop button to power-off the laser cutter. It is for emergencies, and using it as a regular power button will only confuse the next operator as it will appear that there was a catastrophic event.
• There is no need to power off the laser cutter computer.

The Laser Cutter is one of the most popular and heavily-utilized tools at the space. The following tips, tricks, and behaviors may help maximize lasing and minimize frustrations.

• Setup your design as much as possible on a different computer
• Assign colors in your design file that correspond to different operations before you import to LightBurn
• Use simulation tool to estimate how long your cutting and/or engraving will take
• Pay attention to the time and plan for clean up time before the end of your booking.
• Let the next member login and setup operations while you finish clean up

• Case or Face - don't leave them lying around

• Return usable material to storage
• Break unusable material into small pieces and dispose of in the garbage.
• Clean out the catchment tray
• Clean accumulated dust of the exhaust mesh using the dish scrubber brush

• Let the fumes clear after cutting before opening the lid to reduce fumes. Use the air quality dashboard as a guide for when the lid is safe to open.
• Regularly clean the mesh screen in the bottom of the laser cutter with a dish brush

• Place your design as close to the edge of the material as possible.
• Position multiple designs close together, or use packing software (e.g. SVGnest) to reduce wasted material.
• Use the “move h-together” and/or “move v-together” option in LightBurn to place objects together with no space between them. In Optimization Settings, enable “remove overlapping lines” so that the laser doesn't double-cut lines shared between adjacent objects.

How do I deal with flare-ups? Flare-ups happen frequently when using a laser cutter; it's simply the nature of the tool. Most flare-ups will self-extinguish as soon as the laser beam (the heat source) has moved away from the area being cut, or if the laser is turned off (by completing the cutting job, the Stop or Pause buttons being pressed, or by pressing the Emergency Stop button).

If a flare-up has been going for more than a few seconds, or shows any signs at all of fully igniting or burning through the material, immediate action must be taken to stop the fire. Your material/work piece is lost at this point - act quickly and do not hesitate.

• Hit the emergency stop button on the control panel of the laser cutter (the big red button on the front-right corner).
• Douse the area with the spray bottle.
• If the spray bottle proves insufficient to extinguish the fire, use the fire extinguisher immediately.

The laser cutter isn't powered

• Make sure that the main power key above the control panel on the right hand side of the machine is in the on (turned clockwise) position.
• Make sure that the Emergency Stop button is not activated. If so, twist it gently to de-activate it.
• If neither of these steps work, notify the LCC.

The work area is full of smoke

• Check the screen in the bottom of the laser cutter workbed. If it's clogged with particulates and smoke residue, use a brush to clean it off.
• If cleaning the screen doesn't improve the smoke removal, there's likely something wrong with fume extraction. Cease operations and notify the LCC.

The laser isn't cutting effectively or requires more power than normal

• Check to see if the focus is adjusted properly
• If correcting focus doesn't improve cutting, there's likely something wrong with optics. Cease operations and notify the LCC.

The laser is cutting very differently depending on the location within the workbed

• Likely a problem with the optics. Notify the LCC.

Beyond the steps described above, * DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY REPAIRS, CALIBRATION, OR MAINTENENCE OF THE LASER CUTTER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! The laser cutter is not treated like the other tools at VHS in this manner. The laser cutter is not a do-ocracy.

• Stop using the laser cutter immediately, with the Emergency Stop button if necessary.
• Follow the normal shutdown procedures above.
• Put a sign on the laser cutter that says “OUT OF ORDER - DO NOT USE”.
• Notify the Laser Cutter Committee by posting to the #laser channel on Slack and by posting a message on the Forum. Include the following information at a minimum:
  • What is wrong with the laser cutter.
  • What you were doing at the time it stopped working.
  • What the current state/condition of the laser cutter is.
  • What you think needs to be done to fix it.

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Questions may be directed to the Laser Cutter Committee.

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