• ⭐⭐ Special Topic 1: LASER CUTTING AND ENGRAVING

    • Learning Objectives:

      After this lesson, students can

      • use some design software (e.g. Inkscape and RDworks) to design a pattern for laser cutting
      • use sofware (e.g. RDworks) to drive a laser cutter

    • 1. SAFETY


      • Do NOT look at the laser directly.
      • Ensure good ventilation and good cooling conditions. Turn on the ventilation and cooling accessories for the laser cutter.
      • Do NOT breath in the poisonous gas generated.
      • Use emergency stop button when necessary.

    • 2. LASER CUTTER




    • Model: HSG HS-T6040 laser engraver (Controller: Ruida 644XS) (Made in China)

      • Size for cutting: 600mm x 400mm
      • Need manual focusing
      • High power: It can cut acrylic sheets and plywood boards, etc.

    • 3. SOFTWARE TO DRIVE A LASER CUTTER

      • Software: RDWorks 8.0
      • Free download
      • Tutorial Note 
      • User manual
      • Can import DXF version 14, but  CANNOT import SVG/PDF file format-->HANG!)
      • Connection: by USB
      • Laser head origin position: Top right corner
      • Starting location of cutting:
        • Prefer to select "Current Position" Mode in RDworks
        • Use "Frame" on the machine panel to check the cutting region
        • When necessary, adjust the position of the material or use the "arrow keys" on the machine panel to change the current position of the laser head



        Another Software: LightBurn
        • Download (Trial)
        • Tutorial
        • Supports SVG files format
        • It is one of the best in the market.

      • 4. SETTINGS IN RDWORKS FOR DIFFERENT MATERIAL

      • Engraving: Top layer of the work in RDworks => Priority = 1
        Engraving MUST be done BEFORE cutting.

        Material Engraving / Cutting Colour (RGB) Laser head speed
        (mm/s)        		 Laser power
        (%)        		 Repeat Number
        MDF Engraving BLACK (#000000)
        		 100 (or 200) 101
        MDF (3 mm) Cutting
        		 RED (#FF0000) 100406

      • 5. SOFTWARE TO DRAW DESIGN

      • Software: Inkscape


        Inkscape tutorial: Tracing bitmaps

        How do you export from Inkscape to RDWorks for CUTTING

        • It's easiest to design and work with mm.  To do this, go to File->Document Properties in Inkscape and set the default units to mm.

        • Next, You need to make sure that all of your design is a Path.  To do this, select everything and go to Path->Object to Path.

        • Now you are ready to export.  Go to File->Save As.  Give your file a name and select "Desktop Cutting Plotter (AutoCAD DXF R14) (*.dxf)" under "Save as type."  Click Save.


        You will then be presented with a dialog with some options.  

        • Uncheck "use ROBO-Master type of spline output" 
        • Uncheck "use LWPOLYLINE type of line output."  
        • For "Base unit" select "mm" if you set up your document for millimeters.  If you used a different unit of measurement, select that here.  
        • Leave "Character Encoding" on the default, which should be "Latin 1."  
        • Also leave "Layer export selection" set to "Visible only" which means the export will contain only what you currently see in Inkscape, so hidden layers won't be exported.  
        • Leave "Layer match name" blank.  
        • Next, click OK.



        Inkscape will then save the dxf file. 
        You can bring this into RDWorks by going to File->Import and opening the dxf file that you just saved.

      • 5. EXAMPLES


      • Reference: 



        Download the files (in a zipped file)

        1. .SVG file (Inkscape file)
        2. .DXF file (exported from Inkscape)
        3. .RLD file (RDworks file)