Little Red
Introduction
Our smallest permanent laser cutter. It's good for detail work and engraving cylinders using the rotary tool. It's also a good laser cutter to learn on because it's smaller.
- Model number: LC500
- Nominal cut area: 500mm×300mm
- Honeycomb area is 485mm×285mm
- Laser type: CO2 10.6um laser
- Current laser tube: ? (60W)
- Laser tube working current: ?
- Lens: ?
Computer:
- Dell (service tag 6srkj1s)
- P4 2.8g
- 1.5 GB ram
- Win XP
Instructions for Operator
This is the checklist operators should be working through as they go about their laser cutting jobs.
Click to view larger version (click again for full resolution).
LG500 Laser Engraver Cutting / Engraving Reference
The LG500 laser engraver (cutter) is the machine of choice for fine engraving or learning. It is equipped with a MCWlaser 60W laser tube, model M60, Product #82061, date of production 2019-09-20? installed 2020-01-12. To ensure tube longevity and reliability the tube should not be operated above 20mA as indicated by the current meter on the machine.
(Previously: 2013–2019 Chengdu Weegiant 60W CO2 laser tube)
Sheets of Acrylic and MDF cut to fit the LG500 cutting bed are available for sale.
Cutting
| Material | Thickness | Feedrate | Power | Preview Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | 6mm | 10mm/s | 100% | |
| 3mm | 24mm/s | 100% | ||
| Bamboo | 1.8mm | 19mm/s | 100% | |
| Black Acrylic | 3mm | 18mm/s | 100% | |
| Clear Acrylic | 3mm | 8mm/s | 100% | |
| Clear Acrylic | 6mm | 3mm/s | 100% | |
| White Acrylic | 4.5mm | 14mm/s | 100% | |
| Pine(?) | 3mm | 20mm/s | 100% | |
| Ply(?) | 7mm | 4mm/s | 100% | |
| Saw Paper | 80GSM | 75mm/s | 50% | |
| LaserMax | 1.6mm | 18mm/s | 100% | |
| Denim (single layer) | 0.65mm | 70mm/s | 30% | |
| Laminated MDF | 4.1mm | 16mm | 100% | |
| Leather | 1.5mm | 55mm/s | 100% | |
| 3mm | 25mm/s | 100% | ||
| 4.5mm | 20mm/s | 100% |
Engraving
The following settings should be used as a guide. By decreasing the speed or increasing the power, the engrave can be made deeper.
Little Red has a laser accuracy of 0.1mm, This means that your engrave at 0.01mm will take 10x longer than a engrave at 0.1mm (And will look the same), ITs a waste of your time and money. Big Red Is not designed for high detail engraving and you wont get the result like you do on Little Red.
| Material | Feedrate | Power | Scan Gap | Preview Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | 350mm/s | 25-35% | |||
| MDF | 280mm/s | 40% | |||
| Ply | 350mm/s | 25% | |||
| Acrylic (All colours) | 200mm/s | 35% |  | ||
| LaserMax | 300mm/s | 25% | 0.03mm |  | |
| Acrylic sprayed with Zinsser BIN primer | as for acrylic |  | Make sure primer is completely dry. This particular primer is Shellac/Ethanol based, so dries quite quickly | ||
| Laminated MDF | 250mm | 35% | 0.03mm | ||
| Leather | 250mm | 25% | 0.08mm |
Low Powered Line Cut
| Material | Feedrate | Power | Scan Gap | Preview Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDF | 60mm/s | 25% | ||
| MDF | 400mm/s | 25% |
Special
Rubber Stamps
To make a rubber stamp with the laser engraver you need to use the laser-safe engraving rubber (ask atrophy), you need to use the Grade Engrave setting to ablate the material but leave sufficient support material around small features.
**Important: Remember to <span style="color:red;">mirror</span> your vectors before cutting!**
| Feedrate | Power | Preview Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade Engraving | 150mm/s | 80% | |
| Cutting Out | 8mm/s | 100% |
Machine Settings
Please do not edit this bit! These are the standard settings for the machine.
| X Axis Pulse Unit | 0.0072000000 |
|---|---|
| Y Axis Pulse Unit | 0.0072000000 |
Rotary Axis Installation
To install the rotary axis for doing round things you need to first disconnect the Y axis and connect the rotary axis 