A laser cutter cuts and engraves sheet materials such as wood, acrylic and cardboard with a laser beam. Ours is a Trotec SP500 with a working area of about 1,245 x 710 mm (troteclaser.com).
For us: It stands in the Garage. A small PC next to it, the Laser PC, sends the jobs with Trotec JobControl. The material presets live on the Laser PC, not in Dropbox.
Start here
- How-tos and manuals: Trotec SP500 on Notion.
- Laser PC login: 1Password.
How to
Cut a job
- Draw the parts in Rhino and export them as DXF (see the how-to on Notion).
- Open the file on the Laser PC.
- Send it to the laser with Trotec JobControl.
- Use the material presets on the Laser PC. The material list in Dropbox is out of date.
Cut a 3D model in layers
- Slice the model with our Slicer Tool (Our own tools).
- Cut the layers as above.
What we have
| Name | What it is | Where | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trotec SP500 | The laser cutter | Garage | Bought 2018 |
| Laser PC | HP EliteDesk 800 G6, device name LASER, Windows 10 | Next to the laser | Holds the presets. Login: 1Password |
| Trotec JobControl | Software that sends jobs to the laser | Laser PC | Installers and German manual in Dropbox |
| Trotec Vent 500 | Extraction with prefilter for smoke and fumes | Next to the laser | |
| Air compressor | Blows air at the cut against flames and smoke | Garage | |
| Emergency switch | myStrom switch for the laser | Garage | Part of the Apple Home, see Places |
Find it
- Notion: Trotec SP500 (Rhino to DXF, JobControl)
- Notion: Laser PC
- Dropbox:
JHH SERVER/5_BIBLIOTHEK/01_Wissen/06_Anleitungen/05_Lasercutter(how-tos) - Dropbox:
JHH SERVER/5_BIBLIOTHEK/12_Hardware/Trotec Lasercutter(JobControl installers and manual) - Dropbox:
JHH SERVER/5_BIBLIOTHEK/12_Hardware/Laser Cutter/Laser_Manual.pdf - Dropbox:
JHH SERVER/5_BIBLIOTHEK/15_Lasercutter Jobs Trotec(laser jobs) - Dropbox:
JHH SERVER/9_OFFICE/02_Infrastruktur und IT/04_Lasercutter(purchase, extraction, compressor)