File Preparation
- Log on to the laser cutter computer using the login information on the post-it note.
- Open Illustrator 2025.
- Create a new file. Select the custom template for 36″ x 24″ (the size of the laser cutter bed).
- Go to File > Place and open the student’s DWG file. If a dialog comes up when placing the DWG, make sure that units are set to “inches” and that it says “1 unit = 1 inch.” Click anywhere on the artboard to place the file.
- If there are two separate files (like one for cutting and one for scoring), do the above for the second file, too.
- Rotate and move each DWG file correctly relative to the artboard. If there are two, make sure they are perfectly aligned on top of each other.
- If there are two files, one will be used for scoring (i.e. cutting halfway through so the student can fold on that line) and one is for cutting all the way through the material. The scoring pass should be done first, then the cutting. They will be done as two separate jobs.
- For both cutting and scoring, select each DWG group and set the stroke weight to 0.001 pt. This is important! Setting this stroke weight is how the laser cutter knows that these lines are to be cut, rather than engraved. Even in the case of scoring, we are actually making a cut, but just at a low power that doesn’t go all the way through the material.
Laser Cutter Preparation
- Turn on three things:
- The switch on the wall for the main ventilation
- The switch on the air assist pump (on the wooden table, switch is on the front of the pump)
- The switch on the laser cutter (white switch, on the right side of machine near the back)
- Put the material in the laser cutter (it may need to be cut down if it’s too big).
- Once the laser cutter is fully on, the screen will turn on. With the material in the laser cutter, press the button on the screen that looks like a picture of a joystick, then press “auto focus”, then press “done.”
- You should be good to go!
Scoring
- In Illustrator, if there are two groups of lines, hide the cutting lines, leaving just the scoring lines.
- Go to File > Print, and from the print presets select “Laser Cutting.”
- Click “Print,” which will open the laser cutter printer dialog.
- Above and to the right of the laser cutter settings (on the right side of the window), click the “import material settings” button (I think it looks like a folder with a down arrow, but don’t quote me on that…)
- From the settings options that come up, select “Scoring 0.050″ Chipboard.” Chipboard settings should be at the top of the list. Note that there is only a scoring setting for 0.050″ (thicker) chipboard.
- Press “Print” in the laser cutter dialog, which will send the job to the laser cutter, then press the “Run” button on the laser cutter itself, which will run the job.
Cutting
- In Illustrator, if there are two groups of lines, hide the scoring lines, leaving just the cutting lines.
- Go to File > Print, and from the print presets select “Laser Cutting.”
- Click “Print,” which will open the laser cutter printer dialog.
- Above and to the right of the laser cutter settings (on the right side of the window), click the “import material settings” button (I think it looks like a folder with a down arrow, but don’t quote me on that…)
- From the settings options that come up, select “Cutting 0.050″ Chipboard” or “Cutting 0.022″ Chipboard,” depending on which you are using. Chipboard settings should be at the top of the list.
- Press “Print” in the laser cutter dialog, which will send the job to the laser cutter, then press the “Run” button on the laser cutter itself, which will run the job.
- NOTE: If the laser is not quite cutting all the way through the material, you can increase the “Power” setting on the preset slightly. If you need to check progress at any point, just hit the “pause” button on the laser cutter.