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| full_spectrum_laser_pro_36x24_vector_cutting_with_solidworks_and_inkscape [2017/05/28 16:42] – santiagoricoy | full_spectrum_laser_pro_36x24_vector_cutting_with_solidworks_and_inkscape [2017/05/30 13:35] (current) – Added section titles for clarity: Solidworks and InkScape santiagoricoy |
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| **IMPORTANT NOTE**: The laser doesn't cut ideally, so there is an amount of kerf depending on the material being cut. Kerf is the width of material burned away by the laser, which can make a cut either a bit too large, or a bit too small. This can be avoided by researching the material and thickness being used, and adjusting the design accordingly. For example, suppose we need a 50mmx30mm rectangle that must be cut from 5mm acrylic. A quick Google search for our expected kerf gives us a range, but it hovers around 0.2mm. We will be cutting around the outer edge of our rectangle so we would cut half of the kerf into the part. To counteract that, we move each line cut away by half the width of the expected kerf (0.1mm). Doing this on each side of our design will leave us with a 50.2mmx30.2mm rectangle, that when cut will yield a 50mmx30mm part. | **IMPORTANT NOTE**: The laser doesn't cut ideally, so there is an amount of kerf depending on the material being cut. Kerf is the width of material burned away by the laser, which can make a cut either a bit too large, or a bit too small. This can be avoided by researching the material and thickness being used, and adjusting the design accordingly. For example, suppose we need a 50mmx30mm rectangle that must be cut from 5mm acrylic. A quick Google search for our expected kerf gives us a range, but it hovers around 0.2mm. We will be cutting around the outer edge of our rectangle so we would cut half of the kerf into the part. To counteract that, we move each line cut away by half the width of the expected kerf (0.1mm). Doing this on each side of our design will leave us with a 50.2mmx30.2mm rectangle, that when cut will yield a 50mmx30mm part. |
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| | <fs large>**Creating in SOLIDWORKS:**</fs> |
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| {{:sricoy:laser_cutter:sketchwally.png?500|}} | {{:sricoy:laser_cutter:sketchwally.png?500|}} |
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| Drag the appropriate profile onto the sheet, and check the scale is set as 1:1. Once satisfied with the placement of the view on the sheet, save your drawing (save as .slddrw), and then save as a .dxf file. | Drag the appropriate profile onto the sheet, and check the scale is set as 1:1. Once satisfied with the placement of the view on the sheet, save your drawing (save as .slddrw), and then save as a .dxf file. |
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| | <fs large>**Working in Inkscape:**</fs> |
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| {{:sricoy:laser_cutter:inkscapescaling.png?400|}} | {{:sricoy:laser_cutter:inkscapescaling.png?400|}} |
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| Now open Inkscape, and open your .dxf file. Inkscape will prompt for a scaling method. If the drawing was in millimeters, we may choose "Manual scale" with a manual scale factor of 1.0. If the drawing was in inches, I've had the most success by choosing "Read from file" (millimeters is usually safer). | Now open Inkscape, and open your .dxf file. Inkscape will prompt for a scaling method. If the drawing was in millimeters, we may choose "Manual scale" with a manual scale factor of 1.0. If the drawing was in inches, I've had the most success by choosing "Read from file" (millimeters is usually safer). |
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| | We can also use other units, but the "Manual scale" option will assume whatever units given are in millimeters. The scale factor we input corrects for the units to be in millimeters. For example, if my part is created and exported as a .dxf file in meters, then the scale factor would be 1000.0. |
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| {{:sricoy:laser_cutter:resize_page_inkscape.png?500|}} | {{:sricoy:laser_cutter:resize_page_inkscape.png?500|}} |
