General Support Shop Hours

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 10 am - 6 pm

Tuesday and Thursday: 10 am - 10 pm

Closed Saturday and Sunday


For questions, please contact David Kempken, Instructional Shops Manager: dkempken@calpoly.edu

Laser Cutter

Laser Cutter Page Header Image

Schedule Laser Cutter Appointment

*for currently enrolled CAED students only

Types and Locations of Laser Cutters

There are three different types of laser cutters available: one type resides in the CAED Shop and is gray in color; two types reside in the dFab Lab - one green in color and a larger format cutter which is red in color. The details for each laser cutter are as follows:

Gray Laser Cutter - located in CAED Shop

18x32
Material Size: 17 ¾” x 31 ¾”

Green Laser Cutter - located in dFab Lab

18x32
Material Size: 17 ¾” x 31 ¾”

Red Laser Cutter - located in dFab Lab

24x36
Material Size: 23 ¾” x 35 ¾”

How To Prepare

You will need your material and a digital file(s). 

You must provide your own materials. The material must be cut to the material size defined by the type of laser cutter you wish to use. You must verify your material is cut to the correct size by using the available template. Any size larger than this will not lay flat on the laser bed and will not cut correctly.

Bring your materials and files on a USB drive to the dFab Lab or CAED Shop and a technician will assist you with the laser cutters. The laser cutters are operated on a first come first served basis.  You have a 1 hour time limit on the Laser Cutter.

Laser Cutter Template

All work must be saved as Rhino (.3dm) or AutoCAD (.dwg) format.

There are five layers required – your file should not contain any additional layers:

All pieces will be sent to the laser at the scale of 1:1.   Your file should be prepared at actual size of your model part.

The file name should contain your last name, the material type, and the material thickness.

The template provides a predefined bounding box that matches the laser cutter bed dimensions and includes a ¼” border which is a no cut area. If you cannot see the lines, change the background color to white.  Save a separate file for each type of material.

Text

The lasers are unable to read text objects. You must explode your text into lines. Stencil fonts are freely available online.

Acceptable Materials

The current catalog of acceptable materials is available here.

There is a recommended piece size of ¼” X ¼”, smaller than this size may fall through the honeycomb or be sucked in the exhaust vent. Technicians are not responsible to monitor pieces that may be affected this way.

Prohibited Materials

Lexan, PVC, styrene, polycarbonate, vinyl, glass, foam core, metal, Double Wall Corrugated Cardboard, and any material not listed in the material catalog. Prohibited materials could melt on the laser bed, catch on fire or release toxic gas which could damage the machine.

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