Laser Cutter

Laser Cutter

G139L

Details

Our Laser cutter is a Genesis G139L, purchased from Makerspace NZ. It is a laser cutter/engraver which is the 2nd largest fully-enclosed front-loading glass-tube laser cutter that Makerspace NZ sells. This machine offers the precision to do high-detail engraving and will also cut cleanly through 18mm MDF/20mm natural pine timber in our tests with the 100W (continuous) tube.

It uses a C02(Carbon Dioxide) Laser tube. For more info on how this works see here: C02 laser

Disclaimer

Lasers are AWESOME(its all caps because its all true!) and the bigger the laser the more fun, right?

Yes and no, a laser pointer can damage a person or animals eye if pointed directly into it and a high-powered laser pointer(the kind you aren't supposed to get into the country) can cause serious and permanent damage if you look at it.

The Genesis G139L has a 100Watt C02 Laser... your average laser pointer from the 2-dollar shop?

Is 0.005 watts

To put it another way;

Our 100W C02 Laser is powerful enough to burn through 20mm of solid Pine wood... fast... while the 2-dollar laser pointer can't burn through it... or etch it it... at all.

The Laser cutter is an amazingly cool piece of technology that we are very excited to have available BUT it is also potentially harmful if used carelessly, which is why we will have safety procedures in place to ensure we can all have fun and create amazing projects with it;

Safely

efficiently

and for many years to come.

specifications:

    cutting area - 1300mm X 900mm
    Laser        - 100W at 100% power

Approved Materials

All materials in this list have been tested with the Tinkd Makerspace G139L by one of our volunteers. any questions feel free to ask.

Unsafe Materials

Unsafe Material for Laser Cutter

Material	Danger	Cause/consequence
PVC (Poly VinylChloride) /vinyl/pleather/artificial leather	Emits pure chlorine gas when cut!	Don’t ever cut this material as it will ruin the optics, cause the metal of the machine to corrode, and ruin the motion control system.
ABS	Emits cyanide gas and tends to melt	ABS does not cut well in a laser cutter. It tends to melt rather than vaporize, and has a higher chance of catching on fire and leaving behind melted gooey deposits on the vector cutting grid. It also does not engrave well (again, tends to melt).
Thick(>1mm) Polycarbonate/lexan	Cut very poorly, discolor,catch fire	Polycarbonate is often found as flat, sheet material. The window of the laser cutter is made of Polycarbonate because polycarbonate strongly absorbs infrared radiation! This is the frequency of light the laser cutter uses to cut materials, so it is very ineffective at cutting polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a poor choice for laser cutting.
HDPE/milk bottle plastic	Catches fire and melts	It melts. It gets gooey. Don’t use it.
PolyStyrene Foam	Catches Fire	It catches fire, it melts, and only thin pieces cut. This is the #1 material that causes laser fires!!!
PolyPropylene Foam	Catches Fire	Like PolyStyrene, it melts, catches fire, and the melted drops continue to burn and turn into rock-hard drips and pebbles.
Fiberglass	Emits Fumes	It’s a mix of two materials that cant’ be cut. Glass (etch, no cut) and epoxy resin (fumes)
Coated Carbon Fiber	Emits Noxious Fumes

Details

acrylic

3mm to 8mm has been tested both with