Design Studio: Laser Cutter
Quick Start
- All files must be PDF format.
- Laser cut parts must be for an undergrad class
- Usable via requests through TA ONLY!
- Submit files for cutting
- FabLab TA Office hours
About This Machine
Universal VLS4.60
This free-standing, single platform laser can cut a variety of materials to produce precise parts quickly to allow for rapid prototyping and design iterations.
- All files must be PDF format
- Laser Material Processing Area (W x H): 24” x 18” *
- Maximum thickness is 0.25
- Full list of acceptable materials to cut ***PVC IS NEVER ALLOWED***
How to Use
Want something laser cut?
Fill out the Laser Cutter request form and email your parts as PDFs to me-laser@udel.edu
Some things to consider:
- Laser bed is 24” x 18”
- Make sure all vector lines are hairline
- Red is for full thickness cuts = (RGB 255,0,0)
- Blue is for vector engraving (line) = (RGB 0,0,255)
- Black is for raster (grayscale bitmap) engraving (fill) = (RGB 0,0,0)
- Closer to true black is higher intensity burn
- Closer to white is no burn
- Be sure to SAVE file as a PDF
Converting from Solidworks to Drawing and submitting for Laser Cutting (click here for video)
- Make a Solidworks .SLDPRT file.
- Go to the toolbar and click “Make drawing from part”.
- Choose the 18” x 24” sheet for your sheet size because this is the size of the laser bed.
- Make the drawing of only the face that you want to be cut out.
- Edit the drawing scale ratio to a 1:1.
- Remove any hidden lines, center lines, or any other lines that you do not want to be cut
- Save the drawing file as a PDF file (Can be done in “save as” menu)
- Fill out the Laser Cutter request form and email your parts as PDFs to me-laser@udel.edu
A Design Studio TA will look over your request and will email you if your design is rejected for any reason and will list the reason for rejection.
Please note: It can take up to 5 days for requests to be filled based on TA availability and queue of requests for a laser cut part.
Need Additional Help?
Contact a Fab Lab TA for more information.
Zachary Conroy, Lead TA zconroy@udel.edu
TJ Kaifer, TA tjk@udel.edu
Alex McCarthy, TA alexmc@udel.edu
Mike Naab, TA mnaab@udel.edu
Nikki Pilla, TA npilla@udel.edu
Dylan Taylor, TA drgrey@udel.edu