The Educator Magazine UK May- August 2023 - Magazine - Page 12
Learning with Lasers
What will a laser cutter bring to your workshop?
The capability for the teacher to bring
their lessons to life and put the fun
back into fundamentals. For the
Student to turn their ideas into
prototypes or finished 3D pieces
whether it is Technology or Art they
gain so much more from working
models. A laser can engrave such a
variety of materials from paper & card
to fabrics, woods, and plastics the
only limitation is the students’ ideas!
10 things to consider before buying
a laser cutter-engraver.
1. Laser source (laser tube) Co2
or Fiber? A CO2 laser will engrave
and/or cut paper, card, textiles,
leather, wood and acrylics. It will
also engrave but not cut glass and
mark but not cut coated metals and
anodised aluminium. Whereas Fiber
lasers tend to be primarly for marking
metals and some industrial plastics.
It is possible to have both Fiber and
CO2 in the one system, but the cost
can be prohibitive. 95% of lasers in
education have a Co2 laser source.
2. Metal or Glass CO2 laser
tube? Glass laser tubes use high
voltage to excite the tube and require
a deionised water pump to keep the
system cool. Whereas metal tubes
are stimulated by radio frequency
and low voltage as a result
metal tubes are air cooled
with fans, have a much
longer life span, and are
easier to control.
3 Tube Wattage? This
will be governed by the
type and thickness of the
materials you plan to
convert. Laser tubes come
in various power options
measured in watts. A laser
system in your average
workshop would normally be
between 30 and 60 watts.
This should easily handle materials
such as wood and plastics up to 6mm
thick. Typically, the higher the
wattage the deeper the cut.
4 .The cost to replace or
recharge the laser tube?
All CO2 laser tubes have a life, after
which they must be replaced or
recharged. This life can range
dramatically from hundreds to
thousands of hours and depends
on too many factors to go into here.
But as a rule, glass tubes have a
considerably shorter life than metal
tubes, this is reflected in the cost.
5. Extraction - Virtually all laser
operations whether engraving,
marking, or cutting will give off
different levels of smoke and fume
depending on the material being
converted. It is vital that these
elements are removed in an
efficient and safe manner to avoid
poor quality cutting, potential
corrosion of machine parts and
danger to the operator. Ensure that
the extraction is adequate for the
size of your laser cabinet.
6. Laser bed size - A couple of
points to note when choosing the
bed size of the laser. Consider
the overall dimensions of the
equipment with regards to access and
the footprint in relation to location
within your workshop. Don’t forget to
include the extraction system in your
calculations and bear in mind that
you need a good air flow around the
laser, around 600-900mm on all sides.
7. Software – All lasers will need
a driver (dashboard) to talk to your
computer, in addition you will need
software to create your vector design
file. Consider how your current
platform will integrate with the driver
and how user friendly it will be.
Some drivers can be cumbersome
and clunky whereas others are open
ended and can read a plethora file
format.
8. Training – This speaks for itself.
Good training is important and on all
aspects of your laser, safe operation,
capabilities, regular maintenance,
and materials. The better the training
(input) the better the output.
9. Support and backup – Choose
a supplier that offers good support
and back up on all aspects of laser
system hardware and software.
Check what procedures are
in place in event of a failure
during warranty and the costs
associated outside this period.
10. Materials – Choose a
supplier that knows about
materials and can offer
product as well as information
on converting them. What
materials to cut, what not to cut
and how.
For further information on lasers and materials visit www.csionline.co.uk