Laser for Layout
Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 8:30 pm
I am finding a small laser more useful every week.
This morning I was doing a part that was already cut to size. The big question was "Ok, am I going to run into the clamps or what?"
Then I had an "aha!!" moment. Just use the laser to trace out the cut lines. Presto! There is where the part is in the material!
One thing I never like is cutting large openings. I don't like tabs especially well either. Have to cut them, then get rid of the little bumpies they leave, etc. If I cut through a part with tabs or onion skin then the waste can become an issue real quick. Well, since I now knew where those openings were I could just drive a screw in and hold them down. So I did that and it worked like a charm.
Yup, it takes a bit more time but it is worth it with certain parts. These days I never cut a rectangular part out of a larger piece. I cut it to size before putting it on the router. It is way faster and the finish is better.
My machine is now setup with the router using G54 for the workpiece offset and G55 for the laser workpiece offset. The router post has a G54 in the header section and the laser post has a G55. The only thing I need to do "manually" is set the Z height for the laser.
By the way, another nice thing about this method is that you do not have to clamp the part down to laser engrave it.
If you set the feedrate correctly the line left by the laser is easily sanded out.
This morning I was doing a part that was already cut to size. The big question was "Ok, am I going to run into the clamps or what?"
Then I had an "aha!!" moment. Just use the laser to trace out the cut lines. Presto! There is where the part is in the material!
One thing I never like is cutting large openings. I don't like tabs especially well either. Have to cut them, then get rid of the little bumpies they leave, etc. If I cut through a part with tabs or onion skin then the waste can become an issue real quick. Well, since I now knew where those openings were I could just drive a screw in and hold them down. So I did that and it worked like a charm.
Yup, it takes a bit more time but it is worth it with certain parts. These days I never cut a rectangular part out of a larger piece. I cut it to size before putting it on the router. It is way faster and the finish is better.
My machine is now setup with the router using G54 for the workpiece offset and G55 for the laser workpiece offset. The router post has a G54 in the header section and the laser post has a G55. The only thing I need to do "manually" is set the Z height for the laser.
By the way, another nice thing about this method is that you do not have to clamp the part down to laser engrave it.
If you set the feedrate correctly the line left by the laser is easily sanded out.