epilog m2 40 laser cutter engraver

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DO NOT OPERATE WHEN ALONE IN THE LAB
DO NOT CONNECT IT TO ANY OTHER COMPUTER
DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS BY YOURSELF - if you suspect the machine might not be operating at
only use materials provided by the lab. if you do absolutely have to use your own materials - you absolutely must check with technician first.
AIR EXHAUST & AIR ASSIST MUST BE ON BEFORE LASER OPERATION and let them run for 5 seconds after the job is done before opening the lid
AIR EXHAUST & AIR ASSIST MUST BE ON BEFORE LASER OPERATION and let them run for 5 seconds after the job is done before opening the lid
AIR EXHAUST & AIR ASSIST MUST BE ON BEFORE LASER OPERATION and let them run for 5 seconds after the job is done before opening the lid
NEVER EVER LEAVE MACHINE UNATTENDED DURING OPERATION. NOT EVEN FOR 5 SECONDS.
NEVER EVER LEAVE MACHINE UNATTENDED DURING OPERATION. NOT EVEN FOR 5 SECONDS.
NEVER EVER LEAVE MACHINE UNATTENDED DURING OPERATION. NOT EVEN FOR 5 SECONDS.
NEVER EVER LEAVE MACHINE UNATTENDED DURING OPERATION. NOT EVEN FOR 5 SECONDS.
NEVER EVER LEAVE MACHINE UNATTENDED DURING OPERATION. NOT EVEN FOR 5 SECONDS.

corrugated cardboard - very fast and cheap, incredibly useful for prototyping, but may well work in final designs
wood / plywood / mdf - cutting sheets more than 3mm thick leaves heavily charred edge
acrylic - ideal material for lasercutting
delrin is great for mechanical designs
polycarbonate

PVC - releases very toxic Cholrine gas when burnt. Highly poisonous to humans and very corroding to the metal parts of the machine.

original manual
cheesy promo video, but worth your 4 minutes to get a basic idea of the machine you're dealing with:
long, 35-min video, but again, very well worth your time
VERY VERY WORTHWHILE MIT COURSE ON LASER THEORY download the lectures onto your phone and watch on commutes.
laser cut surfboard

make sure laser bed is clean and empty
turn on the laser
wait for calibration/initialisation routine to complete
bring the bed approximately to the desired height
VERY CAREFULLY load your piece in
mount the focusing tool
close the lid - make sure both locks are engaged
focus
remove focusing tool
from Adobe Illustrator send your print job by selecting "print"
select correct printer - "Epilog Engraver"
go to "Setup - > Preferences"
adjust your settings (laser type, power, speed, dpi, frequency - refer to the spec sheets on the wall)
change "Piece Size" to laser cutter bed size, which is 1000x700mm
press ok and go back to print dialog
press "Print"
make sure the job arrived to the laser.
turn on exhaust
turn on air assist
triple-check everything is on and focused and there's nothing obstructing laser head moving
press "Go"
WATCH THE JOB UNTIL COMPLETION
once the job is done - wait 10 seconds before turning off exhaust and air assist to allow fumes to be properly removed
open the machine and VERY CAREFULLY remove your pieces
CLEAN THE WORKTABLE

files for cutting need to be in .svg / .dxf / .ai file formats
bitmap images are used for engraving only
vector lines for cutting must be 0.01pt stroke and infill set to NONE
if cutting tiny parts (smaller than 10mm) that fall through the vector grid table - put tabs in place so they stay attached to the original piece. Removing / disassembling the table to retrieve the pieces is not allowed.

this 50W Fiber laser source is very capable of producing high-quality PCBs at 1200 dpi resolution
the success of the outcome largely depends on how perfectly flat you get the board positioned
even variations in copper layer thickness on the board may cause fabrication artefacts