Short guide to the use of laser cutting machines/Laboratory/Laser Cutting on Fabric to Cut Material and Raster Designs

In this laboratory we will practice to cut fabric and raster designs. Selection of materials Many materials can be used for laser cutting, among them are the following: Cotton fabric. It is safe to cut. Polyester. It is generally safe to cut. Design to cut material During the design, a red color (ff0000) and 0.072 pt will be used to cut objects. Design to raster material During the design, a red color (ff0000) can still be used, but the size will be increased to 0.1 mm or 0.004 nches,and 0.072 pt will be used to cut objects. Fabric Type Raster Depth (mm) Raster Depth (pt) Raster Depth (in) Light Cotton/Polyester 0.2–0.3 0.6–0.9 0.008–0.012 Medium Cotton/Polyester 0.3–0.5 1–1.5 0.013–0.020 Thick Cotton/Polyester 0.5–0.8 1.5–2.2 0.021–0.030 Design cut elements and raster elements in the same canvas Selection of the material in the laser cutting machine Selection of the thickness of the material To cut materials such cotton and vinyl, the material selected can be paper (copier paper, not construction paper) can be used the following settings: Fabric Type Thickness (in) Thickness (mm) Thickness (pt) Light Cotton/Polyester 0.008–0.012 0.2–0.3 0.6–0.9 Medium Cotton/Polyester 0.013–0.020 0.33–0.5 1–1.5 Thick Cotton/Polyester 0.021–0.030 0.53–0.76 1.5–2.2 Intensity adjustment just for cutting Fabric Type Raster (%) Vector Engraving (%) Vector Cutting (%) Light Cotton 0 5–12 15–25 Medium Cotton 0 6–14 18–28 Thick Cotton 0 8–18 20–30 Light cotton should generally stay below ~25% power, so avoid 30% vector cutting to prevent burn the materia. Intensity adjustment just for raster Fabric Type Raster (%) Vector Engraving (%) Vector Cutting (%) Light Cotton 5–10 0 0 Medium Cotton 6–12 0 0 Thick Cotton 8–15 0 0 Light cotton rarely needs more than 10%, so avoid 30% raster to prevent burning. Tests before the cut It is recommended to do a small cut to see if the values are correct, it could be a line, a circle or a shape. It is also recommended to do a raster design in a image to see if the lines designed will be seen. This could be used just to have patterns or to used them as marks or guides to sew fabric pieces. Cut the design Once you have done a quick test, proceed to cut or raster the design. If the raster does not appear together with the cut, it may need to be done separately