Machines

• CNC Milling machine
• Specification/Available Tools
• Safety Instructions
• Carvera How to Use
• Tips and Tricks
• Maintenance
• Troubleshooting
• Lasercutter
• Specification/Materials
• Safety Instructions
• How to use
• Tips and Tricks
• Maintenance
• Troubleshooting
• Vinylcutter
• Specification/Materials
• How to use
• Tips and Tricks
• Maintenance
• Troubleshooting
• 3D Printer
• Specifications/Materials
• How to use
• Tips and Tricks
• Maintenance
• Troubleshooting
• French Cleat
• French Cleats - Laser

CNC Milling machine

Specification/Available Tools

Carvera Makera

Features

• Tool Changer (6 Tools)
• Auto-Z Probe
• Dust Collector (mainly for bigger chips)
• 4. Axis for rotaty objects

Specs

• 36cm(X) * 24cm(Y) * 14cm(Z) Volume
• 9.2cm(Diameter) * 24cm(Length) 4. Axis
• 200 watt
• collet 1/8in integrated (optional: 1/4in, 6mm, 4mm)
• 600cm/min max X/Y Axis movement speed
• Less than 0.01mm Runout
• 0.01 mm motor precision
• 0 - 15000 RPM Spindel
• 0.8 liter Dust Tank Volume

Machinable Materials (e.g.)

Wood:

• Hardwoods
• softwoods
• MDF
• plywoods, etc.

Plastic:

• Foam
• PVC
• ABS
• Acrylic
• PC
• HDPE, etc.

Composite materials:

• Carbon fiber
• FR1, FR4, etc.

Non-Ferrous metals:

• Aluminum
• brass
• copper, etc.

Stepcraft D840

Features

• MDF machine table with aluminum T-slots

Specifications

• Working Space (X,Y,Z): 594 mm x 883 mm x 132 mm
• Clamping Surface (X,Y): 616 mm x 920 mm
• Ø 43 mm tool holder

Machinable Materials (e.g.)

Wood:

• softwood
• hardwood
• plywood
• artificial wood

Plastics:

• thermoplastics
• ABS
• PE
• PP
• soft/hard PVC
• Lexan®
• polyamide
• Plexiglas®

CFRP / carbon

Non-ferrous metals

Elastomers, duroplastics

Mixed materials

Safety Instructions

Our Recommendations

• when milling a material, keep the lid closed
• always think about z heights to not mill into the bed
  • for PCBs and not milling through set it on top
  • for anything else, set it on the
• do not wear headphones so you can heat, if something is not right in the milling process
• DO NOT LET THE MILL ALONE

Makera Safety Instructions

1. Always wear safety goggles when operating Carvera, especially when the protective cover is open.

2. Always wear laser protection goggles when using laser function.

3. Please wear hearing protection when Carvera is machining on the hard materials.

4. Do not put your hands close to the spindle or machining area. Keep the protective cover closed when operating Carvera.

5. Do not leave your Carvera unattended while it is machining.

6. Please be aware of the sharpness of the milling bits during installation, dust collection, and other operations.

7. Milling and laser carving will generate heat. Inappropriate parameters will cause fire hazards. Make sure an extinguisher is in your vicinity.

8. Some materials are harmful to people when machining or laser craving, such as carbon fiber and epoxy resin. Please wear a face mask and turn on the automatic dust collection.

9. Do not expose this machine to rain or wet conditions.

10. Keep children and bystanders away while operating this machine. It requires supervision and the assistance of an adult when children use this machine.

(Source)

Carvera How to Use

1. Turn On

• Use the Back-Switch to turn on the CNC:

• The Front-Button shows the status of the machine and is used for stand by, but because of the USB Connection, always use the back-button for tuning on and of the machine

2. Connect and Home

You should always home the machine before milling, (even after starting it as a good practice)!

1. To do that, open makera controller:
2. Connect the software via USB on the top left corner:
3. Go to the side panel and press 'HOME':

Side Panel Button on the right	Virtual Controller with 'HOME' in the middle

3. Fasten the Workpiece

Then use the controller to move the bed thowards you and fasten your workpiece:

Type of fastening	Example
Clamps Place the clamps on the bad and tighten the workpiece with them
Tape on a flat workpiece, place some tape on the bottom equally and just stick it onto the bed
Vacuum	TODO
Screws	TODO

4. Zero

Then go to you work origin and use top left buttons to set it individually:

Or use the button 'Set Origin' in the controller on the right:

Auto Z Probe

Finding the Z-zero-point is more special because of the precision needed for it. For this, the Auto Z Probe can be used like this:

0. Make sure, the Auto Z Probe is in the tool changer
1. Place the tool where you want to measure the Zero Point
2. Go to the controller and press 'ZProbe'

In this case we set the origin on the bottom of the workpiece.

Before Milling

It is also possible to probe before the milling (the Check-Box with 'Auto Z Probe'):

5. Upload & Start GCODE

First you need to upload a file to the machine, then select it and then, you can run it.

1. Press the File-Icon on the bottom left (or in the top right hamburger-menu) Then the carvera file-manager popup appears.
2. Then go to your folder/ create a new one for you and go to the top right 'Upload File'
3. Then use the top left to navigate to your file and then use 'Upload&Select' to load the file onto the machine and select it for milling. Or use 'Upload' then 'Close' on the screen and then 'Select' on the correct file in the other screen.
4. There should appear a preview of the GCODE, check the path and choosen tools. Then use the Gear-Icon on the bottom left to start the milling. ALWAYS CHECK THE PATH ON THE BOTTOM!!

Then here deactivate 'Scan Margin' and if allready done 'Auto Z Probe' and press 'RUN'.

See also

• Software Documentation

Tips and Tricks

Maintenance

Troubleshooting

Carvera Makera

Machine coordinates in the software constantly increase

• just restart the machine, ALSO DISCONNECT THE MACHINE FROM USB and then restart the software

Toolchanger often failes on changeing the tool

• happens because the tools is not correctly inserted and can be solved by bending the metal clamp inwards

TODO IMAGE

Lasercutter

Specification/Materials

Machine Parameters

• Kerf: 0.1mm
• Focus length 15mm

Specifications

• possibly the vevor 80W co2 lasercutter
• 80 W CO2 Laser
• 700mm x 500mm Working Area
• 1000mm/s max speed
• 0.01mm precision
• 1000 DPI resolution
• 644XS Controller
• RD Works Software

Materials

CUTTING

• wood
  • plywood/composite woods
  • MDF/engineered wood
• Paper/card stock
• cardboard,carton
• cork
• acrylic/lucite/plexiglas/pmma
  • don't remove the bottom 'green' foil
  • because it blocks the reflections/dispersion of the laser beam which could get reflected to the material and then melt it
• thin (<1mm) polycarbonate sheeting
• derlin (POM)
• kapton tape (polyimide)
• mylar
• solid styrene
• depron foam
• gator foam
• cloth/felt/hemp/cotton
• leather/suede
• magnetic sheet
• NON-CHLORINE-containing rubber
• teflon(ptfe)
• carbon fiber mats/weave (without epoxy)
• coroplast ('corrugated plastic')

ETCHING

All above and additionaly (CAN NOT BE CUT but etched):

• Glass
• Ceramic tile
• anodized aluminum
• painted/coated metals
• stone,marble,granite,slate,soapstone,onyx

Safety Instructions

General

• ALWAYS SETUP AND TURN ON the gas extractor and chiller (on the left side both switches)
• always wear safety gear (glasses)
• you don't want you material to melt -> higher chance for FIRE when stringing
• check the gas/steam emission when cutting
  • if to much gas/steam, adjust the settings (less power or more speed)
• know where the fire extinguisher is
• never leave laser while lasering and check from time to time/no headphones

No Go Materials

Don't use following materials:

Material	DANGER!!
PVC (Poly Vinyl Chlorid)/vinyl/pleather/artifical leather	Emits chlorine gas when cut ruin optics and corodes metal!
Thick (>1mm) Polycarbonate/Lexan	Cuts very poorly, discolors, CATCHES FIRE!!! long stringy clouds on cutting -> will ruin optics and mechanics
ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)	Melts instead of vaporize / Hydrogen Cyanide Gas on cutting -> UNSAFE
HDPE/ milk bottle plastic	Catches fire and melts
PolyStyrene/PolyPropylene Foam	CATCHES FIRE VERY EASILY!
Epoxy	can't cut -> burns/ smokes Cyanide!!
Fiberglass	Emits fumes (glass can only be etched and epoxy only smokes)
Coated Carbon Fiber	emits noxious fumes!! (carbon fiber can be cut, but not when coated)
Any Food	Not food-safe -> many toxic gases where in the laser for a longer time
Material With Sticky Glue Backing	Coats/ cracks lens when CUT; also hard to remove from the lens!

How to use

0. Wear Safety Gear and Setup Suction

Safety glasses are found in the cabinet next to the door, DON'T TOUCH THE GLASSES ON THE PROTECTIVE SIDE.

Before starting, install the tube to the upper window like here:

1. Turn on Suction, Cooling and Laser

First turn on the suction:

Then the cooling for the laser (behind the blue tube):

And afterwards the laser itself. It is on the bottom right side of the laser with the round switch (labeled 'main switch'):

Also on the side panel there is the switch for the laser tube and the light switch. Only turn on the laser itself ('Laser switch') when needed.

2. Fasten Material

Next place the material and if its not heavy/flat enough, use the red/blue magnets and fixture onto the table.

3. Adjust Focus

For a precise cut you have to set the focus onto the surface of the material. Use the top right side buttons for lift/lower the workplate.

Then use the focus-piece and place it between material and laser. Caution! Two focus-pices are available: 15mm and 20mm Use the 20mm pice

To find the right settings you can laser this test array to dial in the parameters.

4. Set Origin

Then use the control panel on top of the laser to set the origin of your work by using the arrow keys to move and the 'Origin' button to set it.

Control Panel Buttons

Reset : restarts machine controller, also homing on restart, abrupt stop

Pulse : aktivates the laser for a short period with the currently set power

Speed/Min-Power/Max Power : sets the current Speed/Max-/Min-Power of the machine; after choosing the value with the arrow keys above, press 'ENTER'

File : used for selecting uploaded files, shows a preview on the right side of the panel, for selecting, use again the arrow keys and 'ENTER', for exiting 'ESC'

Origin : sets the current position as the origin

Frame : If a file is selectet, drives the outline of the file

Start/Pause : start/pause currently selected file/operation

Esc : Used for stopping the currently paused operation gracefully

When nothing is selected the Arrow Keys are used for X/Y-Movement with the currently set speed.

5. Prepair File to Cut/Etch in RDWorks

Open RDWorks

Here you can import ONLY DXF files on the top left Menu File->Import.

On the bottom left side, you can assign new layers with the colors for your components when needed. (Yes, only as many layers as there are those colors -.-)

The importent settings are on the right side:

Then on the top right panel (left on the picture) are the settings for layers, the operation, speed and power for each of them. And on the bottom right (right in the picture) you can select the choosen position, port/address of the laser and can control it here (more later)

The selected one can be edited quickly with the fields below or with Double Click edit the advanced settings for the selected layer. Ensure in the column 'Output' is a yes for all layers.Here you can import ONLY DXF files on the top left Menu File->Import.

In the top you have a small parameter library with predefined parameters that should usually work. Then Speed is very important and depends heavily on the material/operation. Then the operation mode, where - Cut : Drives along the path of the vector graphic - Scan : filles the area the vector graphic spans with many parallel lines - TODO : TODO - TODO : TODO Then Power is also very important and also depends on material and operation. TODO

6. Start Cutting/Etching

For starting you need the bottom right settings:

0. Origins in RDWorks

One important field is the Position, where you set the origin the machine should use.

But it's only applied when starting from the software

Position	Meaning
Absolut Coordinate	Uses absolute coordinates from the software, so the machine zero as reference point
Anchor Point	Uses the position of the origin setting on the machine
Current Position	Uses current position of the laser, not origin
Machine Origin	????

When starting from the machine, the origin of the machine is always used.

1. Start directly in RDWorks

Then to start lasering, Start directly uploads and starts the file.

2. Upload to Laser and start

You can also use 'Download' to upload the file to the machine.

Then on the machine you can re-adjust the position and check the outline it with the 'Frame' button.

To load the file, press File then select it and use it with Enter

Tips and Tricks

• when you want to align something precisely, cut out the outline of the piece in Cardborad and place the piece you want to align into it

Maintenance

Troubleshooting

Software: RD Works Errors

Wierd Language

If RD Works menues are displayed in a wierd way.

Change the language settings:

Hardware: Machine Errors

Engraving Accelerartaion Issue

Machine error (German): Nicht genug erw. Sper Bitte "Esc"
Machine error (English):

When engraving elements are placed very close to the edge of the work area, the laser head cannot accelerate/decelerate in the X direction enough. The head needs some space to speed up or slow down.

Solution: Place the engraving pattern farther away from the edge of the work area. Alternatively, move the origin closer to the center of the machine bed.

A more precise explanation can be found here:

Forum - Fablab Luebeck (German)
Frame solp/engrave slop - Youtube (English)

Enter Vendor Settings

Use RD Works to enter and change the controller's vendor settings. Go to "File" > "Vendor Settings," and enter the password for the motherboard.

Vinylcutter

Specification/Materials

Silhouette Curio 2

Features

• Electrostatic cutting surface (but cutting mat makes it easier)
• Automatic Tool detection (not on the selfmade of course)
• Measure Material thickness automatically
• USB/Bluetooth
• 2 Tool Holders

Specifications

• 30 x 30 cm Cutting Area
• Max Material Thickness: 20mm
• Max Cutting Thickness: 3mm

Tools/Heads

TODO

Summa S3 T75

TODO

Specifications

• 76mm roll diameter (needs adapters for shorter ones
• 500mm roll length

How to use

1. Turn on

Press the power button on the right side for a few seconds:

2. [Optional] Insert tools

Next choose your tool you want to use, currently there are:

Tools

Tool	Feature
Curio Manual Blade	Tool with blade, where the tool-depth needs to be adjusted manually - adjustment and disamble by rotating the bottom scale
Curio Auto Blade	Tool with blade, where the tool-depth can be adjusted with the software, it then drives into the left side of the machine and presses mechanically the tool down - press the bottom to manually set the tool-depth
Curio Pen Holder	Tool for a penn, which can be tightend on the top, an the top part can be changed for different pens
Self Build manual tool	Self printed manual tool, like the above, but to adjust it, rotate on the top - rotate the bottom to change the blade

All tool belong into SLOT 1.

Load A Tool

Then you can use the 'Tool Change' button to move the machine to the front or back (arrow keys) and insert the tool.

Then to change the tool, pull on the latch, place the tool and push on it.

3. Place Material

Before placing the material:

• remove the protective film placed on the cutting area (place it back when finished)
• activate the electrostatic bed with the 'static' button, it takes a while to charge up the material

Then optionaly change the/place a cutting mat if your material is not flat enough/bends up. (Cutting mat is optional but especialy very bend materials hold better on it)

It should be flat and stuck on the bad, so not easy to move away.

4. Make a test cut

Blade Depth Guideline

Adjust the settings

Open Silhouette Studio and go to the top right tab 'SENDEN' (send).

There you can adjust the Settings for the tool.

The most important part it the seconds box from the top 'Schneiden' (cut).

Description

Image

'Klingentiefe' (cutting depth) - is only used for the auto knife depth tool, the other ones need to be adjusted manually, but THE MOST IMPORTANT 'Anpressdruck' (contact preasure) - is the preasure/z offset used to go into the material -higher for harder materials, lower for softer to not rip it' - not that important 'Durchgänge' (rounds) - the number of repititions 'Geschwindigkeit' (speed) - i guess the percentage from max speed - lower for more complex structures to cut

Make the cut

Drive to the position you want to test with the arrow keys on the machine.

MEASURE THE THICKNESS with the botton on the machine.

• When you use reflective media,apply masking tape and then detect the thickness at that position.
• The sensor is attached to the bottom of the Tool Holder 2.

5. Import and Prepair in software

• save your garphic in DXF R12 format and import it in Silhouette Studio in 'File'->'Open...' ("Datei"->"Öffnen...")
• make sure, it has the right size (the software is not that nice for adjustments afterwards

• then go to the 'Send' (Senden) tab and adjust positioning and settings

For the operations:

• Cut ("Schneiden") means cut along ALL paths
• Cut Outline ("Rand schneiden") means cut ONLY OUTER PATHS, so only arround your image

TODO Pass Markings

6. Start cutting

• and if everything is allright, start cutting by sending ('SENDEN')

Here it shows just a step by step guide plus the setting for material depth perseption. If you did it before, just press deactivate ('DEAKTIVIEREN') to turn it of.

Then again press send ('SENDEN')

Tips and Tricks

Maintenance

Troubleshooting

3D Printer

Specifications/Materials

How to use

Tips and Tricks

Maintenance

Troubleshooting

French Cleat

French Cleats - Laser

French Cleats currently used:

• WallChiselHolder
• WallSlottedHolder
  • settings:
• {work in progress} WallCaliper