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Blacknose A3 Laser

Cutter and Engraver

User Guide

Version 0.2, July 14th 2015

Summary of Contents for Blacknose A3

Page 1: ...Blacknose A3 Laser Cutter and Engraver User Guide Version 0 2 July 14th 2015 ...

Page 2: ...aser Tube Note Extraction System Components Tools Required Notes about extractor vents Alignment Choosing A Cutting Bed LaserCut 5 3 Software Introduction System Requirements Communicating to the Laser Cutter The Soft Dog USB Dongle Downloading LaserCut 5 3 Installing Lasercut 5 3 on Windows XP Vista and Windows 7 Checking the Drivers Installation on Windows 8 Install the Soft Dog USB dongle Runni...

Page 3: ...irror Horizontally Edit Node Size Advanced Object Modification Copy Centre to Table Invert Colors Offset Curve Using the Laser Cutter Workflow Maintenance Maintenance schedule Mirror Lens Inspection and Cleaning Tools Materials Time Needed 10 30 minutes Mirrors Lens Laser Alignment Tools Required Overview Preparation Making Masking Tape Targets Part 1 Rough Laser Tube Position Part 2 Mirror 1 Adju...

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Page 5: ...ircumvent the safety cut out switch or operate the machine with access doors open Never run the laser cutter unattended Always vent material smoke or vapour to a suitable external outlet or filter system Only use laser safe materials which do not contain chlorides and formaldehydes ...

Page 6: ...ototypes models jewellery and artwork the Blacknose is the smallest Just Add Sharks cutter It s lower power and smaller size makes it ideal for use at home in the studio or small business Specifications External dimensions 1 100mm x 660mm x 450mm Weight 90kg Laser specification 40W CO 2 type 2 laser tube 30W also available Cooling system Water cooled Cutting area 400mm x 300mm equivalent to A3 pap...

Page 7: ...Machine Overview Front Left Rear Side ...

Page 8: ...Right Side Detail ...

Page 9: ...Top Cutting Bay ...

Page 10: ...hose clamps in plastic tool box 4 x M5 hex bolts Workstand parts Cross bar Left end Right end 8 x 12mm M6 hex bolts washers White plastic toolbox 3 x hose clamps for extraction system 100mm nozzle end plate 3 pairs of case keys Crank type z axis operating handle Alternative Just Add Sharks z axis operating handle Leetro Soft Dog dongle for LaserCut software Focusing tool Lockout keys to allow oper...

Page 11: ... stand left side 2 Work stand right side 3 Cross bar 4 8 x 12mm M6 hex bolts Tools Required 1 5mm hex key The Blacknose A3 Laser Cutter comes with a work stand although it may be used in a bench mounted configuration if desired Please note that due to the 55cm height of the main cutter unit and the requirement to access the top door of the unit a fairly low bench will be needed ...

Page 12: ... taking care to align the feet with the tops of the left and right sides of the stand 5 Once the laser is on the stand the wheels may be unlocked to move the unit but should be re engaged when in position 6 The laser should be situated on a firm level surface in a location where there is access to a Mains power outlet b Extraction vent Caution lifting the laser cutter requires two people It is hel...

Page 13: ...ove any packaging padding material found Air Assist System Components 1 Air pump 2 Brass adapter 3 Bungee cord 4 Silicone hose Tools Required none 1 Attach the brass hose adapter to the air pump 2 Attach one of the silicone hose to the brass adapter push fit 3 Attach the other end of the silicone hose to the connector labeled Air In on the lower right side of the cutter push fit ...

Page 14: ...ump 2 Brass adapter 3 35 litre plastic box with lid water reservoir 4 2 x silicone hose 5 Digital thermometer Tools Required none 1 Rinse the two silicone hoses through with water and wipe the outside with a damp cloth to remove any dust or other dirt which may have accumulated in shipping 2 Fit the brass adapter to the water pump 3 Fill the water storage container with water Tap water may be used...

Page 15: ... 2 1 Double check both Water In and Water Out sockets on laser have hoses connected according to the instructions above and that the water pump is plugged into the power strip The laser itself should not be connected to the mains 2 Open the laser tube access panel on the rear of the laser cutter 3 Turn on the water pump using the switch on the power strip the tube should fill with water 4 Visually...

Page 16: ...od idea to cut a hole in the lid of the water reservoir big enough for the hoses and cables to fit through This will make it possible to fully close the lid minimising contamination of the cooling water Extraction System Components 1 Extractor fan 2 2 x 100mm blue extraction hose 3 100mm extraction vent adapter 4 3 x hose clamps 5 4 x 10mm M4 hex bolts in the side of the cutter when delivered Tool...

Page 17: ... hose to the outlet port of the extractor fan securing it with a hose clip 5 Insert the other end of the second piece of extraction hose into the extractor vent Notes about extractor vents Some factors which may be considered when choosing the location of an extractor vent Is the vent near a window ventilation inlet fumes may blow back The vent should probably be above head height but not too clos...

Page 18: ...urely and flat against the bed and makes it easier to align the work in the cutter However this bed may result is more staining residue on the work The knife bed helps reduce staining but it is not possible to use magnets to hold the work in place It is suggested that both beds be used the honeycomb bed placed on top of the knife bed to aid air circulation ...

Page 19: ...with 2 Gb of RAM 50 Mb disk space installation Disk space needed while in use will vary depending on complexity of work Communicating to the Laser Cutter A job may be uploaded from the computer using LaserCut Once uploaded no further communication with the computer is required to perform the job and it may be shut down or disconnected if required Jobs can also be transferred to the machine via a U...

Page 20: ...ller for the main LaserCut software Driver Softdog USB Dongle an additional driver for the USB dongle if you are using a 64 bit version of Windows 7 Driver Laser Cutter the driver to connect directly to the laser cutter In a typical install all the required drivers will be set up as part of the Lasercut Installer the additional drivers are only provided for completeness Installing Lasercut 5 3 on ...

Page 21: ...in demonstration mode without the need for the Soft Dog Click the Install button to proceed The setup process will install LaserCut 5 3 and the drivers necessary to communicate with the Soft Dog and the laser cutter Checking the Drivers 1 Plug the Soft Dog into the computer 2 Locate the USB cable in the rear lower compartment of the laser cutter There is a hole in the lower left of the case for th...

Page 22: ...ed correctly then they will appear in the device manager as shown above If the USB dongle has not installed correctly it will appear as EZ USB FX2 with a warning symbol next to it To manually update the driver right click to item in device manager Select Update driver and then manually select the folder downloaded in the first step Windows will then determine which driver is best for your version ...

Page 23: ...lling Switch to the Windows 8 desktop by clicking the desktop icon or typing desktop into the search box If you haven t downloaded and extracted the zipped software yet do so by following the instructions in Downloading LaserCut 5 3 Open the LaserCut 5 3 Control Software folder and double click the Setup program ...

Page 24: ...ult values and click the Install to proceed Install the Soft Dog USB dongle Plug the Soft Dog into a USB port on the computer If the driver files for the Soft Dog are already installed on your computer a Device Setup progress bar will appear on the Windows Task Bar When this icon is clicked it should open a dialog which looks like this ...

Page 25: ...indows 7 Window 8 has a handy feature which allows it to act like Windows 7 for software that is optimised to run on older systems To run Compatibility Mode open the C LaserCut53 folder then right click on the Lasercut53 icon and select Troubleshoot compatibility ...

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Page 27: ...Select Try recommended settings ...

Page 28: ...ction select Yes save these settings for this program On the next screen select Close the troubleshooter Restart the computer using Power Option at the top right of the Start screen and choosing Restart Both the laser cutter and your Soft Dog should be left connected to the computer Creating An App On The Start Screen Right click on the LaserCut 5 3 icon on the Desktop and select Pin to Start from...

Page 29: ...Setting the Model of Laser Cutter LaserCut 5 3 is used for all Just Add Sharks laser cutters To verify the correct model is configured open LaserCut 5 3 and look in the title bar of the application ...

Page 30: ...utter To change which model of laser cutter to use close the LaserCut program open the C LaserCut53 folder There are four batch files one for each Just Add Sharks laser model The BATCHFILES are in alphabetical not laser cutter size order called Lasercut 5 3 Blacknose ...

Page 31: ...opriate file Note for Windows 8 users When running the batch files to set up different lasers a warning message will appear Click on the More Info link clicking OK will not run the file and then select Run Anyway The warning appears as a safeguard as batch files could contain malicious instructions when not downloaded from a source known to Microsoft ...

Page 32: ...y still be useful for preparing work on a second machine Working With The Demonstration Version Most laser cutter software requires the user to prepare their files on the one computer that currently has the USB dongle In shared workspaces this can cause a bottleneck on the laser cutter while people wait for the dongle and the laser cutter is not actually in use for most of this time The demonstrat...

Page 33: ...monstration version click the Download button in the bottom right hand corner of the main window Lasercut will open a warning message dialog to indicate that the laser cutter is not connected to the computer Click OK and the software will proceed to the Stand alone file manager dialog ...

Page 34: ...the standard save functions have been been disabled however when the application attempts to exit the user is still presented with an option to save their work This oversight can be used to create native LaserCut files while running the demonstration version of the program As mentioned before though it is advisable to create cutting files before trying this because if something does go wrong the a...

Page 35: ...as that node Rectangle The first click with the rectangle tool places a node as the top left hand corner of a rectangle The second click places a node in the bottom right hand corner All four corners of the rectangle become nodes which Lasercut can snap to Once placed the rectangle can be freely deformed by moving the corner nodes around Holding down the ctrl key while the Ellipse is being drawn m...

Page 36: ...created The numeric values on the form are given in millimetres Height is the full height of a character should it reach to the top of the line and all the way under the line Space is the amount of room to leave between each letter The font is selected from the drop down box but the user is not provided with a preview as to what the font will look like The desired text goes in the very bottom text...

Page 37: ...n The items will be mirrored along the vertical axis like a normal mirror Mirror Horizontally With the items you want to transform selected click on the Mirror Horizontally button The items will be mirrored along the horizontal axis the items will look like they are upside down but they are also a mirror image of the originals Edit Node With the items you want to transform selected click on edit n...

Page 38: ...their original values X and Y respectively Advanced Object Modification These functions allow to create objects that change the shape and location of the initial item All these functions modify the currently selected item Copy The copy function is a powerful way of creating multiple items at once With the desired items selected click the copy button the copy dialog will ask how many rows and colum...

Page 39: ...ors using a dithering method Closely spaced dots appear as darker greys and widely spaced dots make up lighter greys Offset Curve Offset curves creates a new line around or inside of the selected item or both The Corner type setting determines if the new shape should have rounded corners or straight lines The distance determines how much larger the new shape should be compared to the old one The I...

Page 40: ...s before Air assist extraction when cutting Download model to cutter Datum Using the focus tool Visual guide note might not be exactly where laser cut how to check for offset Making a test cut Securing material weights magnets Positioning for start of cut Bounding box check w test button Press start Caution watch it ...

Page 41: ...ecessary Monthly Clean the mirrors and lens Monthly If the cooling system uses tap water change the water Monthly Check the extraction system for a built up of dirt or damage to the hoses Mirror Lens Inspection and Cleaning Tools Materials Mirror release tool Glasses cleaning cloth Isopropanol Cotton buds Case keys Z axis operating handle Time Needed 10 30 minutes Each optical element should be re...

Page 42: ...isopropanol and gently wipe the surface of the mirror 4 If the surface of the mirror exhibits pitting discolouration or surface fractures after cleaning a new mirror will be required 5 Allow the isopropanol to evaporate before replacing the mirror in the housing 6 Put the mirror back in it s housing using a clean cotton bud to gently push it into place if required The retaining nut should be repla...

Page 43: ...rt by looking through it at a source of light 5 If there are signs of dirt remove the lens from the upper lens tube a The mirror removal tool should to unscrew the lens retaining bolt b A clean cotton bud may be used to push the mirror out from the top end c Note there is a small rubber washer between the lens and the retaining bolt this may be removed using a toothpick dental pick or needle care ...

Page 44: ...ious gantry positions When all the mirrors are adjusted correctly the laser beam enters the top of the lens tube parallel to the axis of the tube and at it s centre for all positions of the head on both gantries The lens position is then adjusted until the beam is a tightly focused symmetrical dot at the focal point of the lens The optical path is quite long and high precision is required When adj...

Page 45: ...the tape the second should be about three times the width of the tape 2 Stick the two pieces of tape together in a cross such that the sticky sides face one another 3 Fold over the protruding sides of the longer piece of tape The centre portion of the target should not be sticky on either side the two tabs should be sticky on one side ...

Page 46: ...ossible 3 Close the cutting area door and briefly fire the laser by tapping the Laser button on the control panel The power meter should jump momentarily A small burn mark should be made on the target attached to the mirror 2 housing Don t be alarmed if there is a brief flash of flame but be vigilant the target should not continue to burn 4 The burn mark should be roughly oval anything up to 1 cm ...

Page 47: ...or 1 as it can be and repeat items 8 10 until the new mark is directly over the original mark Mirror 1 should now be aligned Part 3 Mirror 2 Adjustment 1 Position move the cutting head so that it is half way along the y axis gantry such that the distance between mirrors 1 and 2 is halfway between the minimum and maximum 2 Place a masking tape target over the entrance to the mirror 3 housing at the...

Page 48: ...ntering The Beam Vertically 1 Use a fingernail to score the target around the beam entry hole in the mirror 3 housing and use a marker to highlight the position The burn mark should be in the centre of the circle 2 To adjust the height of the beam make a small adjustment to the laser tube mounting post closest to mirror 1 raising the tube slightly if the beam is too low lowering it if the beam is ...

Page 49: ...l move the burn towards the rear of the cutter and left 9 Move the z axis to the top most position and repeat the procedure until the burn marks at both extents of the z axis are in the same place 10 Replace the nozzle and lens in lens tube and secure with the retaining screws 11 Using the focus tool adjust the z axis position so that the laser is focused on the scrap material 12 Move the laser sl...

Page 50: ...on Cutting speed to fast power too low Check the settings for the layer is not cutting and reduce the speed or increase the power Reduction in power not cutting material which used to cut with same settings Dirty or damaged optics Visually inspect the mirrors and lens for dirt and or damage and clean if necessary see here Software does not communicate with cutter TODO error messages screenshot TOD...

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