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Building GCE's New Laser Cutter

Welcome back to my blog. This post is for my elective class Digital Fabrication. In this class, we have been looking at all things digital. More specifically 3D printers, silhouette cutters, CNC routers, and laser cutters. 3D printers are machines that can create three-dimensional objects from CAD models by layering filament to create shapes. Silhouette cutters are small electronic cutting machines that can take a file on a computer and cut it out on vinyl, acrylic, paper, and more. I have used the cutter to create stickers on vinyl. The CNC router we used in this class was a machine called the Carvey. The Carvey uses a drill bit mounted on an operating system like a 3D printer to drill into wood, foam, and other materials to create designs or molds. For each of these machines, we learned how to use their programs and later work with the machines to create things we made on the programs. 

Last but definitely not least, laser cutters. A laser cutter is a machine similar to the Carvey but instead of a drill bit, it uses a laser. Depending on the power of the laser, you can cut through materials like wood, paper, cardboard, and more or engrave designs onto materials. For my project, I wanted to work on the laser cutter. I've had some experience working with laser cutters in the past through a summer camp and I wanted to further my understanding of the machine so it seemed like the right fit. There was only one problem, the machine had to be built. The electronic pieces of the cutter had already been assembled but we needed to build the box it would go in and everything else needed to make it run. 

We started by assembling the box which is made from wood and then moved on to the ventilation. Having ventilation in a laser cutter is very important because cutting through certain materials with a laser may result in a fire which can create smoke. Some materials might also have gasses released when they are cut into. Both of these are not anything we want to inhale so we installed a vacuum that would take all of the bad air outside when it was connected to the open window. Then, we made the lid out of MDF (Medium-density fiberboard) which is made from resin and recycled wood fibers. We installed hinges so the lid could open and in the middle, cut out a hole for a panel of see-through acrylic to act as a window. The acrylic provides protection from the lasers but still lets us see inside. With that complete, the laser cutter was done. 

To give the machine one of its first jobs, I designed a plaque made from a red, reflective material. On this plaque, I included the names of everyone who helped me with creating the laser cutter and Capital One Cafe which made this whole thing possible. Below are some pictures of the laser cutter and plaque. 

Base Laser Cutter, GS, 2022

Laser Cutter Inside, GS, 2022

Plaque Design, GS, 2022

Finished Laser Cutter, GS, 2022

Final Plaque, GS, 2022

I hope you like the images I have from the laser cutter. I am very proud of this machine and the work that went into it. There will be a lot of good use from it and maybe even more work on the outside like painting it. As the plaque says, lots of thanks to everyone that helped me build this machine. I can't wait to use the laser cutter through the rest of the year and next school year as well. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next post.
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