cutting – CNC Maker Zone

Get started LASER cutting with GCoderCNC 2.5D

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742March 10, 2019May 19, 2020GCoderCNC / LASER cutting / SoftwareLeave a Comment

Banner for open this project in GCoderCNC 2.5D

If you’ve read the introduction to our GCoderCNC 2.5D web app you may be wondering how you can get started using it for some LASER cutting. If so, here’s a quick tutorial that should have you engraving a happy face onto some wood with only a few simple steps and a little time at your CNC machine.

Firstly, opening GCoderCNC 2.5D really is as easy as going to its’ secure website at Github.io. It should launch with the happy face design already loaded as shown in the screenshot below. To make life easy for you, just click here, or on the screenshot, to open the web-app in a new web-browser tab.

A screenshot showing how the web app looks when it launches

The app will have started up in router mode, whereas we’re doing some LASER cutting. That’s easily sorted, just go to the ‘CNC mode’ menu at the top of the app window and select ‘LASER mode’. There’s a screen-grab below showing the menu options. In case you’re wondering, the difference between the router and LASER modes is simply that router mode allows cutting tools to go up and down, and LASER mode keeps the LASER at the same height all the time. For advanced use you can actually use router mode for LASER cutting, using the depth to vary the laser height when cutting thick material. But for now, using LASER mode keeps things nice and simple.

A screenshot showing the CNC mode menu for changing between router and LASER mode

Next we need to tell the web-app what settings are relevant for our own LASER. That really comes down to your CNC machine and LASER module. For example, a 50W CO2 LASER will need much lower power to etch the surface of wood than a 2W diode-LASER. So, if you’re unsure, it’s best to read your manual or ask the manufacturer. I use a cheap Chinese 1610 CNC machine with a 5W diode-LASER, so I find a feed rate of 200 mm/min and 20% LASER-power works well for etching plywood. When you’ve decided, simply move the two sliders at the top of the ‘Default settings’ box, at the left side of the app, to the right values, as in the screen-grab below, keeping the other options unchanged.

A screenshot showing the default feed rate and spindle speed settings area

Now that the design is all set up we just need a g-code file for our CNC machine to follow. That’s really easy to get: just go to the ‘Export’ menu and select ‘Export G-Code…’ and the dialog box shown below will appear. You’ll notice that the width and height of the finished piece are already set to a default size. If you want the happy face to be bigger or smaller, just change one of those values (the other will change to keep the design proportional automatically).

A screenshot showing the export g-code dialog

Now you need to set the ‘GRBL version’ dropdown in the dialog. Older versions of GRBL (say v0.9-ish) used values of 0 to 1000 to represent 0% to 100% spindle motor speed, but more recent versions (say v1-ish) use values of 0 to 255. Don’t worry if that confuses you, as you should be able to find out from your CNC manual or manufacturer. If not, you can try selecting ‘Speed 0 to 255’ and, if your LASER seems to be etching too lightly (spindle speed values are used for LASER power too), you’ll know to use ‘Speed 0 to 1000’ instead. Having done all that you can click the ‘Download the G-Code’ button. Your browser should tell you that it’s downloading ‘happyface.nc’ which should end up in your downloads folder.

If you’ve done all the above then it’s now down to you to make your own happy face. Obviously the first thing you need to do is put some wood on your CNC machine: I used some 2mm thick plywood blanks I bought in Hobbycraft, but most woods should work. Once that’s done and you’ve focused your LASER (and still using LASER-safe glasses and ventilation) you need to move the LASER-dot to the lower left corner of the area you want to burn the happy face into: that’s the default origin and you can see what I mean in the image below.

A photo showing the position of the LASER moved to the origin of the design

Now, once you’ve turned off the LASER in your CNC control software, you need to zero your CNC axes in that software. That makes all of the g-code commands relative to that position, or the origin as we call it. If you’re not sure how to do that you need to read your CNC manual as it’s a really important thing to know how to do. And then it’s the exciting bit, where we tell the CNC software to burn/etch our design onto the wood. If all went well, you should end up with something like the one shown below 🙂

A photo of the smiley face design burnt into the surface of a small piece of plywood

Tagged : beginner / cutting / GCoderCNC / GCoderCNC 2.5D / get started / LASER / tutorial

Making miniature 1/12th scale fruit crates

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742January 29, 2019May 19, 2020GCoderCNC / LASER cuttingLeave a Comment

Sometimes it seems like there’s no end to the range of projects we can make with a CNC machine. And it’s quite amazing that even cheap versions are accurate enough to make miniature projects for model scenery and even dolls houses. So I thought it might be fun to try making some miniature fruit crates, as the photo above shows, and post the design here for anyone to have a go at making some too. At full size they would be around 450mm long, 300mm wide and about 200mm high but at 1/12th scale, commonly used for dolls houses, they’re much smaller: I’ve included a photo below with a one pound coin for comparison.

I’ve put an SVG file below for you to download, or you can click here to launch it in the GCoderCNC web-app. If you need to edit it, or make a DXF file for your CNC software, you can do that with Inkscape quite easily. The red box is there in case you need to get scale in your software, but doesn’t need to be cut: it should be 70mm wide by 65mm high for 1.5mm thick wood (or other materials such as plastic, or even cardboard, if you prefer). If you use thicker material you can scale it proportionately, such as 2x scale for 3mm thickness. The design works for LASER cutting but can be adjusted easily for routing by offsetting the lines through half the cutting width.I LASER-cut a prototype in Oak (the one on top in the photo above) and the rest in Basswood, both from 1.5mm sheets. Once cut they are quite simple to put together. I started by putting the sides onto the bottom of the crate, then slipped the ends on one at a time. I also used glue at all the push-in joints: the base could be left floating but the glue helps prevent the thin pieces of wood at the joints breaking away when sanding. To finish the crates off I used 400 and 1000 grit sandpaper, including using a finger sander, followed by a couple of coats of Danish Oil to give the wood a nice look without too much of a shine. Personally I’m quite happy with the results and hopefully you’ll enjoy making some on your CNC machine too 🙂

Tagged : 1/12th scale / 12th scale / Basswood / cutting / Danish Oil / diode-LASER / dolls house / fruit crates / LASER / miniature / Oak / project

Cutting gaskets from EVA foam with a diode-LASER

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742January 26, 2019January 26, 2019LASER cutting / MaterialsLeave a Comment

One of the great things about having a CNC machine is that we can make very professional looking projects whenever we want to. So sometimes we’ll want to add those nice details that make a project stand out. Things like, for example, gaskets between parts. Recently I had a need to cut a couple of 50 mm square gaskets for a 3D printed extractor project, for which I chose to use commonly available EVA foam sheet. So I thought I’d write a quick post to let you know how that went with my diode-LASER and whether EVA foam is useful for low-power LASER-cutting on a CNC router.

As you can see from the photo above, my 5W diode-LASER module cut right through the sheet easily with the power set to 25% and a feed rate of 200 mm/min. I’ve cut EVA in the past with a 1500 mW LASER module too, so those settings sound quite comparable and show that low-power LASER’s cut EVA well. At those settings I didn’t find any burning of the foam, and the shape came out pretty much as planned with just a little shrinkage at the edges. Plus, as the photo below shows of the MDF sheet I cut the EVA foam on, the LASER energy left after it had passed through the sheet was small: although probably I could have used a lower LASER-power just as well.

If you decide to LASER-cut some EVA too, please remember to use lots of ventilation as the fumes are unpleasant: given the small amounts of fumes you’re likely to create you may be tempted to skip the ventilation, but be warned that there have been reports of some EVA foam containing chlorine, which could make the fumes quite hazardous. So please make sure the foam you use is safe for LASER-cutting and use plenty of ventilation just in case 🙂

Tagged : 1500mW LASER / cutting / diode-LASER / EVA foam / gaskets / LASER / materials / project / testing

Cutting 1.5mm Cherry wood with a 5W diode-LASER

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742January 24, 2019May 19, 2020LASER cutting / MaterialsLeave a Comment

Cherry is one of those woods we all recognise, mostly by the distinctive colour and beautiful grain. We’re likely to find many uses for it in CNC projects, so I decided I wanted to try cutting some 1.5 mm Cherry sheet with my 5W diode-LASER to see how easy it would be. As you can see from the photo above, the Cherry sheet (with a water content around 9%) was actually quite easy to cut through with a LASER, on a par with similar tests I’ve done with Basswood, Walnut and Oak. The photo below shows the back of the cuts and it’s obvious that too much power, either from a high LASER-power or multiple passes, leads to considerable charring. However, for my use one pass at 75% power, and a feed rate of 100 mm/min, seem to give quite acceptable LASER-cutting results.

Tagged : Cherry / cutting / diode-LASER / LASER / materials / testing

Cutting 1.5mm Oak with a 5W diode-LASER

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742January 24, 2019May 19, 2020LASER cutting / MaterialsLeave a Comment

Oak is a widely used wood that crops up time and again in things like furniture and traditional building techniques. It has a distinctive look and feel, making it something that we’re likely to want to use in a CNC machine sometime. So I decided to try cutting a 1.5mm sheet of it with my 5W diode-LASER mounted on my CNC. The results are in the photo above and you’ll notice that it was relatively easy to cut (much easier than, say, Mahogany), with one pass at 75% LASER-power and a feed rate of 100 mm/min being useful settings for future cutting work. As you can see in the photo below, using a higher power, or multiple passes, can result in more charring around the edges. The Oak had a water content around 11%, after being kept indoors for a few weeks, so wasn’t overly dry or damp.

Tagged : cutting / diode-LASER / LASER / materials / Oak / testing

Routing Darth Vader from Walnut 1.5mm sheet

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742January 11, 2019May 19, 2020GCoderCNC / RoutingLeave a Comment

Recently I bought some 1.5mm thick Walnut sheet as I wanted to try it out with my CNC router and see how good the results would be. Walnut is quite a dark wood with a nice dense grain, so it seemed like an excellent opportunity to take my CNC intergallactic by making a small inlayed Darth Vader from Star Wars. Hopefully George Lucas will approve if he happens by, so below is my completed Darth Vader head (at around 10% water content, in case you’d like to know).

I was quite pleased with the results, the details being routed to 0.75 mm deep in two passes, and the edge being cut in three passes, using the 1.2mm diameter end-cutting bit shown above (which gave finished grooves almost 2 mm wide). As the image at the top of this page shows, the Walnut sheet cut quite well and cleanly with the spindle at 1000 rpm and a feed rate of 50 mm/min to minimise potential breakage of the bit. The above photo is then after I’d given it some sanding with a fine grit paper, which took little work. Even sanding out the recesses with folded over sandpaper was quite easy, with a little patience. So overall I’m looking forward to some more small projects using this lovely wood.

If you fancy making your own Darth Vader head, whether in Walnut or some other material, the SVG file is below for you to download, or click here to launch it in the GCoderCNC web-app. And, click here if you’d like to see how this project turned out after some Danish Oil finishing.

Tagged : cutting / materials / project / router / routing / testing / walnut

Cutting 1.5mm Walnut with a 5W diode-LASER

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742January 9, 2019May 19, 2020MaterialsLeave a Comment

Walnut is a beautiful and widely used wood that should enhance any CNC project. For that reason I was quite keen to see how well my 5W diode-LASER can cut through a 1.5mm sheet of it. Obviously thicker sheets are available but for small projects I find thin sheets are very useful. Besides, cutting thin sheets gives a good idea of how well we can cut thicker ones too. The sheet I used here had a water content of around 10%, according to my small meter, so the results were likely not too affected by the wood being overly dry.

So, above is a photo of my cutting test at a feed rate of 100 mm/min, which I find a sensible speed for a low-power LASER on a small CNC machine. I was quite surprised as it was much easier to cut through 1.5mm of Walnut than for the same thickness of Mahogany. In fact, it was cut cleanly through at 80% power in just a single pass. It also didn’t burn excessively or flame, which was a bonus making it easy to work with. And, as the photo below of the back shows, it cut with fairly minor cleanup work required.

Tagged : cutting / diode-LASER / LASER / materials / testing / walnut

Cutting white paper with a 1500mW diode-LASER

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742January 6, 2019May 19, 2020LASER cutting / MaterialsLeave a Comment

1500mW LASER diode modules are a very inexpensive accessory for cheap CNC machines, and are ideal for things like burning images and text onto wood. However, with a little care they can also be used for cutting thin materials. One of those materials that is likely to be widely used, especially when crafting or carding, is white paper. So I decided to see if I could cut some white paper, which was around 80 gsm (grams per square-meter) and came from a notebook.

Being white and fairly smooth it’s actually quite difficult to cut as it reflects a lot of the LASER energy. But with some care focussing the laser dot to be as small as possible, and adjusting the height of the LASER (as they often have short focal lengths so shouldn’t be too high), I was able to do quite a nice cut as shown in the picture above (100% power and 100 mm/min). Fortunately, the dot on the 1500mW LASER is quite small so I thought it could be fun to see how small I could cut out my dragon and the result is in the photo below: at less than 20mm wide the cut quality was still quite good.

Tagged : 1500mW LASER / cutting / diode-LASER / LASER / materials / project / white paper

Routing a fish with 1.5mm Mahogany sheet

by Andrew_gigglYgogglE_2742December 26, 2018May 19, 2020RoutingLeave a Comment

Mahogany is a wonderful wood with fine, beautiful looking, grain. It’s ideal for any CNC routing project where you want to give your work a professional, and high-quality, look. So I thought it a good idea to write a short article about my experience of working with it on my cheap Chinese 1610 CNC machine. I decided I’d use a small (c. 50mm or 2″ long) fish design because it includes some shallow work for inlay, as well as a full-depth cut around the outside. The sheet was cut from a 1.5mm thick sustainably sourced plank and, according to my meter, had a water content around 9%. Below is a photo of the wood on the CNC during cutting.

As this was a small piece I chose to use a 1mm end-milling bit, so that the shallow details would look tidy. Bits/tools of that size are easily broken through overly deep or fast cutting. For that reason I cut in two passes for the shallow details and three for the outside cut-through, which equates to between 0.5mm and 0.6mm depth per pass. Also, I kept the feed rate down at 50 mm/min which, although a little slow to watch, usually keeps my small diameter bits in one piece. The spindle speed was the maximum of 1000 rpm which, together with the low feed rate, provides a nice clean cut in my experience.

As you can see in the photo below, after just a light sanding, including using a folded piece of sandpaper to run along the shallow grooves, the fish looked quite nice. The only issue I’ve found, if it can be called an ‘issue’, is that the cutting tolerance around the bit is a little more than I’d like: with a 1mm diameter bit I ended up with 1.5mm wide grooves. That’s a 50% overcut which, given the simplicity of the spindle system, and the amount of vibration, is probably technically not bad for a small tool, although it does cause some difficulties cutting thin grooves for things like hammered wire inlaying. Overall though, my experience is that Mahogany can give inspiring and impressive results.

If you want to have a go at routing your own fish too, below is the SVG file for you to download and use in your favourite software. If you need a DXF file for your CNC router software don’t forget Inkscake will let you save one from the SVG file. And, click here if you’d like to see how this project turned out after some Danish Oil finishing.

Tagged : cutting / Mahogany / materials / router / routing / testing