Basic Cutting and Etching

There is a fire extinguisher to the right of the Glowforge. Use this extinguisher in the event of a fire inside of the Glowforge enclosure.

There is a MakerPortal box sitting next to the Glowforge laser cutter.

Slide your card into the box and wait for the laser cutter to turn on. The lights inside the cutter should all light up.

Using any computer in the Maker-E, or your own device, visit the following link: https://app.glowforge.com

Log in using the credentials taped to the lid of the Glowforge and found here too:

email: makers@bucknell.edu

password: makersGlowforge

If you already have the file you are etching or cutting, you can skip to step 8.

If you are looking online for pictures to etch, please choose your picture well:

We will be using the angry bison photo for this tutorial.

Your file needs to have .svg format for cutting jobs. This can be done via the free program Inkscape, installed on all the computers in the Maker-E.

Open Inkscape by searching for it in all programs (or by installing it if you are using a personal computer).

Once in Inkscape, go to "File -> Import" to import your file

Find your file and hit "Open". A box will pop up asking about import settings. None of these matter for what we're doing. Hit "Okay".

Once the file is in Inkscape, you can:

Either resize it here to be dimensionally accurate

Resize it later on in the laser cutter preview to make it tailored to the piece of material you're cutting from.

Set the file at the origin point by changing the X and Y components in the top bar to 0.

If your picture is larger than the Inkscape page, go to Edit menu and click "Resize Page to Selection"

Now we need to add a border that the Glowforge recognizes as a place to cut. You can either set the shape to superimpose borders on your photo in Inkscape or preferably later in the laser cutter preview.

If you will set borders later, save your work as .svg (or any other raster image format if you are not cutting), close Inkscape, and skip to step 8.

In Inkscape, setting borders is done by adding a rectangle/circle/polygon around the image in a different color.

Find the Fill and Stroke window on the right (or press Shift+Ctrl+F)

Select the "Fill" tab. Select "No paint" (first from left).

Select the "Stroke paint" tab. Select "Flat color" (second from left).

Once you have your border set up, save your work as an .svg file (or any other raster image format if you are not cutting) and close Inkscape.

If you are cutting or engraving any sheets of non-Proofgrade material (stuff that doesn't have a QR code), you may want to add a protective layer to prevent burn marks from appearing on your design.

You may use the tape located on the central fabrication table. Simply apply it over your wood, and cut the edges with scissors.

Find the material you wish to engrave/cut your design into (either below/next to the laser cutter or with you) and place it on the cutting board. Close the lid of the cutter.

If your material is not level use the T shaped pins in the container next to the GlowForge to hold the material down as shown in the second and third images.

In future cuts you should support your friendly, neighborhood MakerE by adding a few more of these honeycomb pins to your design to replace ones that break!

To measure the thickness of the material, use the digital caliper found in the "Firefly components, calipers" drawer.

Note the thickness of your material because you will need it later.

Once you have logged in, click "Create" at the top-left of the webpage and then "Choose from file".

You should see camera feed of the laser cutter board and the file you uploaded somewhere on the screen, transparent. On the left should be a column of the parts of the file that you want to cut/engrave/score, separated by color. The next step is to configure a process for each color.

If you are tailoring your file to the size of the board you are cutting (i.e.: you have not done it in Inkscape), now is the time to resize it by clicking and dragging the corners of the file (hold "shift" if you want to preserve the images's aspect ratio).

If you did not set borders (for cutting) before in Inkscape, now is the time to set borders using the shapes available from Glowforge.

Click on "Insert Shape" and insert your favorite shape to be cut as the border of your job.

If you are using material with a QR code, move the material around until the code is scanned and your material is recognized.

If not, you will need to set the thickness of your material by selecting "Unknown" in the top left corner and then hitting "Use uncertified material" and entering the thickness of the material in inches.

Click on a component to open a window next to it with these options. For the bison photo, select the tab "Engrave" and then click on "Manual" to enter the speed and power settings for the material you want to use.

Find the speed and power settings for certain materials types and thickness at the bottom of the main guide page of the Laser Cutter: Laser Cutter

Enter the speed and power required for the action of the selected component. (1000 and full power in our case of 3mm plywood sheet)

Repeat this process for the rest of the components. For the borders you set earlier, you want to choose the "Cut" tab (instead of "Engrave") and manually enter the associated speed and power accordingly.

Now your job should be ready.

Before you print, turn on the fume extractor to pull away smoke and gasses from the cutting process.

Flip the switch on the blue panel to the left of the machine labeled Glowforge Fume Extractor , and make sure you hear a loud fan noise.

Once you have laid out your design where you want it on the board, look to make sure in the upper right hand corner of the webpage that it says "Ready"

Once everything checks out and you are ready to print your design, click "Print" in the upper right hand corner of the page.

To turn on the ventilation system, gently turn the black knob located behind the reflow oven clockwise

Don't turn the knob too much. The fan is on the hightest setting right after you feel the click. If you over turned it too much, please turn it back gently.

When everything has checked out and you are satisfied with the print time and the pathing, head over to the laser cutter.

Press the big glowing button on the top of the printer when you are ready to print. It will start cutting from there.

After the cut is finished, the laser cutter will move back to the upper left side of the bed. This indicates that your print is done.

Lift the lid and remove the design, making sure to be aware of the cutting head and the fact that your design is no longer attached to the larger piece of material.

Now that you are not cutting, you can turn off the fume extractor by flipping the switch on the blue panel that you used to turn on the fume extractor. If you do another cut, turn the extractor back on before pressing the print button

When you have removed your design and the excess material, make sure to place the excess back where all the laser cutter material is unless you are using your own custom material or there is no good space left on the sheet you used.

Clean the bed of the cutter for other people to use in the future.

Close the lid of the cutter and turn it off when you are done cleaning up.

Also, turn off the ventilation by turning the knob counterclockwise.

If the material used is covered by a protective layer/tape, you need to peel the protective layer away. It makes cut-outs appear cleaner.

A good practice for removing the covering would be to use either your fingernail or an X-ACTO knife.

If you want to remove impurities or burns, consider using the sandpaper underneath the laser cutter to polish your job.

Congratulations! You have just cut out your first design on the Glowforge laser cutter.