In the SmartXp we have a Lasercutter for cutting and engraving materials. This facility is mainly educational projects within the faculty, but we also facilitate other (private) projects.
We have some rules;
- You have to pay for materials.
- Your design should send to smartxp-laser-3d@utwente.nl.
- Maximum size 990x590mm - but this depends on the material.
Design rules:
- Hairlines are lines with a thickness of less than 0,11 mm.
- Cutting-lines must be RGB red [255,0,0] hairlines(vector). These lines will be cut all the way through
- Etching-lines must be RGB blue[0,0,255] hairlines(vector). These lines will be cut halfway through
- Placement-lines must be RGB green[0,255,0] hairlines(vector). Nothing will be done with them, they can help with placement or other info
- Other lines thinner as 0,11mm are considerd to be hairlines however it is unpredictable what will happen.
- Engraving parts are greylevel lines/parts or bitmaps. Black [255] is highest engraving power, white least [0].
- fileformats: cdr, dxf (only single parts or proper Fusion exports), eps, ai.
- Mention details like material and thickness, preferably in the file. You should mention theses sizes to avoid conversion errors.
- The order in which items are cut is back to front. In Coreldraw: the items on the objectslist are cut from bottom to top. When cutting “nested” objects, the inner objects will be cut first
- Avoid double cutlines! so check for them!
suitable materials:
Acrylic - max 10mm
PETG (Copolyester) - max 2mm
Birch Plywood - 4 & 6mm - for delicate parts and decorative purposes
Poplar Plywood - 8 & 10mm - for structural parts and sturdy prototypes
Cardboard - max 4mm
Woodboard
Paper
Not allowed materials:
Polystyrene, Polycarbonate, Delrin, PVC, MDF and Hardwood plywood
Be carefull when buying Acrylic plates in shops. Sometimes they sell you Polystyrene or Polycarbonate plates instead off Acrylic.
Other materials in agreement with technician: please ask before buying anything.
Materials that the SmartXP can facilitate
Payment only via your Proto Omnomcom-account, purchases entered by the Technician
Plywood 4x570x190mm Birch € 2.50
Plywood 4x570x750mm Birch € 9.10
Plywood 6x570x190mm Birch € 2.85
Plywood 6x570x750mm Birch €10.80
Plywood 8x590x190mm Popular € 1.50
Plywood 8x590x990mm Popular € 9.00
Plywood 10x590x190mm Popular € 2.00
Plywood 10x590x990mm Popular €11.50
Gray cardboard 1,20x700x1000mm €1.03
Gray cardboard 1.75x700x1000mm €1.59
Gray cardboard 3.00x700x1000mm €3.05
Pelkarton 1.25x700x1000mm €1.66
Ivoorkarton 200gram 700x1000mm €0.32
PETG plates 1mm €0.0175/gram
example: PETG plate 620x200x1mm weighs 160gram
Acrylic plates €0.015 /gram
example: Acryl plate 300x100x5mm weighs 190gram
Acrylic plates can also be bought at the TCO selfservice workshop
or at several places on the internet like perlaplast-kunststofshop
A comprehensive guide for the lasercutting novice, written by Philippe Tuinman
Need some inspiration?
There are great examples on the internet, but be aware we facilitate your projects, not all your wishes. Bellow we list good sources that can help you on your journey towards designing your next prototype.
Want to make a box?
You can use online tools to help you out. It will give you a pdf file which can be loaded in Coreldraw where you can add holes and the engravings yourself.
Want to make a cardboard folding box?
Joinery inspiration
- Ideas on connecting plates can be found at cnc-panel-joinery-notebook
Don't have the proper software?
you can use Coreldraw on one of the SmartXp desktop systems or ask a technician.
Do you think we are missing a tool/inspiration source? Do tell us!