Laser Cutting — First Month as a Newbie
A few others asked about my new laser cutter. Here are some details. It’s the best tool I ever got. The possibilities are endless. The one I went with is the Longer Ray5. They make several power levels, I went with the 20-watt since it can do a bit thicker material and faster cut times.
I did a bunch of research ahead of choosing; there are other popular ones, like the Xtool D1 and the Glowforge Aura, with various pros and cons. What I’ve learned so far is these factors are most important:
Laser Power
Power is largely how intense the laser is, which equates to cutting depth. Generally, I’m using 3MM (~1/8 inch) plywood or MDF, but I plan to cut thicker solid wood up to 1/4”. I went with 20W or higher.
Cutting Dimensions
The Ray5 is max 14x14 inches, although I’ve been able to put 16x16 sheets in the unit and just position the laser to cut parts from these larger sheets. Feed — The Ray5 doesn’t allow for feeding long sheets of wood through like a planer does; some can do this. I think it would be a really nice feature if I had it.
Laser Visibility
The Ray5 has a so-so window to observe the laser position; this is pretty key as I find I’m re-aligning the wood for cuts and have to peer down to see exactly where the laser will hit. Each time you initiate a cut, the laser does a line path around the maximum area it needs to cut the part(s). So I position the wood to maximize the surface area's use. I think other units may have better visibility on this.
Protection
The Ray5 has a protective window over the laser so you can look at it when cutting. This doesn’t cover all angles well, so I always wear eye protection. Generally, you should do that anyway, but I’m often working in my garage while the unit is cutting, and if I peer in the laser direction, I sometimes get smacked with laser light. I’m not sure exactly how hard you have to look at the laser to get your eyes fucked, but I’m in the habit of always wearing the eye protection now. Also, it comes with a pair of glasses, which are weak and have open areas; I suggest buying goggles that protect all angles.
Air Flow
The unit produces a good amount of heat and smoke, especially when cutting large files. Def get the air compressor option to cool down the laser. I also had to install a fan on my ceiling to blow the smoke out of the garage. I originally bought the enclosure unit, which has an exhaust fan, but:
- It created too much overhead with opening and closing to position the wood
- Running a flexible tube out the wall of the garage door was too complicated. My setup now is much tighter — just gotta wear those goggles.
WIFI
The Ray5 has wifi to supposedly receive files remotely; I have yet to get this to work. It’s connected, but I can’t seem to find a way to connect and get files there, so right now, I have to carry a microSD card to and from my computer. This is a bit of a pain in the ass. The support has not been helpful; there are many articles and forums about it, but I haven’t solved it yet. If another unit has this nailed, I think it would be a nice addition.
Generally, most units assume you will have the computer connected via USB cable directly to the unit, which isn’t good from the perspective of a designing file. I need to be at my desk for that.
Designing Files
All laser cutters take vector files. They ultimately read a specific file time that is converted from common vector formats (AI, SVG, etc.). Some units, including the Ray5, use GC files. There are several software applications you can use to design, and many people do so directly in Illustrator since that has a ton of flexibility in creating vector files.
If you know CAD, I’d assume that’s even better, but I don’t. I’m pretty strong in Illustrator, but I’ve actually found that Lightburn (a specialized laser-cutting software) is better.
Lightburn is very similar to Illustrator; the commands are diff, so there is a learning curve, and working with paths isn’t quite as flexible as Illustrator, but there are quite a few specialized features for laser cutting that Illustrator doesn’t have. So, I ended up learning Lightburn.
There are tons of tutorials out there, too. It can be saved directly in GC format. But as I said, I can’t connect the unit via WIFI directly, it seems. There are some annoying limitations of Lightburn, basic things like no “tabs” for multiple files, and you have to open separate instances of the app to have multiple files open simultaneously; this can cause crashes after two open files, but manageable.
If you decide to use another vector program, you’ll need to use Lightburn or another specialized software to control the cut rules. 8.
Cut Settings
Setting a cut or engrave line requires several settings, primarily POWER and SPEED. The slower the speed and the higher the power, the deeper the cut. There are tons of other settings here, but the only other one I’ve really experimented with is KERF, which is the amount of space left where the laser cuts; like a table saw cuts the space where the blade is, the laser does the same thing, but you can control the width. This is important to get tight or loose fit joints. Joints are key for creating anything that needs to be constructed to make 3-dimensional objects.
Joinery
This is the heart of laser cutting; for most people, you can definitely make flat-cut objects like ornaments and keychains without a joiner, but that’s pretty lame stuff IMO.
The Vector Files
For me, making the files is almost as fun as cutting and assembling the final projects. I’ve always been very good at Photoshop and Illustrator, not as an original artist or designer but as an iterator. So I can take something I see that inspires me and tweak it as my own. I guess I’ve been doing all along what generative AI is now doing at scale, lol.
The Projects
These are just some of the early projects I’ve been working on. I love making custom storage boxes for board games and other things. I could do that all day tbh.
I’m particularly interested in layered art right now, as well. Here are a few examples from other creators that are pretty inspiring.
In the example image #6 above, you can see that I’m experimenting with this type of art now. And below is some AI generated art I made that I’m trying to laser cut in layers (tricky).
Conclusion
It’s such a fun hobby. I don’t know why I didn’t buy one of these sooner. I’ve always been handy and crafty and love projects in my shop (see below). But until now, I never had the patience to build fine-crafted end products, more function than form for me. The laser cutter inherently makes crafts look super finished. Hope you give it a try too.
