Printing and Output Services: Laser Cutting

Laser Cutting at The Advanced Output Center The laser cutters at the AOC are available to currently enrolled students, faculty and staff at SAIC. All users must attend an authorization prior to using.

Laser cutting FAQ's

Laser cutting guides and templates

Approved Laser Cutter Materials

All materials used on the laser cutter must be approved by the Museum Safety department prior to cutting. Some materials can be extremely toxic and/or damaging to the machine. Reflective materials should never be cut, as they can cause the laser beam to reflect and bounce out of the enclosure.  Please do not attempt to cut any unapproved materials. If you have questions about a new or unapproved material, please ask!

Questions? Email advancedoutput@saic.edu

AOC Laser Cutter Access Policy

Authorizations

• Before using the laser cutter, you must first attend an authorization session at the AOC. Authorization sessions provide crucial information on file preparation, machine operation and safety procedures. Currently enrolled students, faculty and staff can be authorized for laser cutting.
• The information covered during authorizations will change as software and hardware are updated or reconfigured. To keep users up to date on laser cutter techniques and policies, authorizations will be good for one calendar year, after which you will need to be re-authorized.
• View the authorization schedule and sign up in person at the Advanced Output Center.

Reservations

• Only AIADO students and faculty can make reservations on the 120W laser cutter.
• Reservations must be made in person through a lab monitor at least 3 hours before the time being reserved, and no more than 2 weeks in advance.
• Reservations can only be made in 45-minute blocks. You can reserve up to 4 sessions of 45-minutes each per week. There is no limit for walk-in use.
• Upon making a reservation, you must pay a non-refundable advance usage fee via ArtiCard. This applies to all authorized users (including faculty and staff). The fee is $5 per 45-minute time slot, and is not refundable under any circumstances.
• Reservations are non-transferable from one person to another. You can only make and use reservations for yourself.
• Reservations can be rescheduled if you notify the AOC at least 3 hours in advance of your reserved timeslot.
• You will be given a 10-minute grace period to show up for your reserved time slot. After the grace period expires, your slot will become available for walk-in users at the per-minute rate.
• In the unlikely event that your reserved time slot must be canceled due to equipment malfunction or other unforeseeable issues, you will be notified as quickly as possible and given the option to make a new reservation at the earliest available time slot. In the event that a laser cutter is taken offline, it will not be available for reservation until it is operational again.

Walk-ins

• All authorized users are able to walk in and use the laser cutter when it has not been reserved in advance, or when a no-show for a reservation occurs. Walk-in users must check in with a lab monitor prior to cutting.
• The walk-in usage fee is $0.15/minute for students and non-AOC staff members.
• For walk-in usage, you can use as much time as is available, up to when the next reservation starts or the AOC closes, whichever comes first.

Reservations vs. Walk-ins

• Reservations are recommended for cuts that will take 30 minutes or longer, or during semester peak usage periods.
• Walk-ins are recommended for short, simple cuts. See the chart below for a comparison.

Links

• Wikipedia's Laser Cutter Page—Some good background info.
• Adobe Video Workshop—Excellent training videos for many Adobe software products, including Illustrator.
• How Lasers Work—Learn all about the different types of lasers, their different wavelengths and the uses to which we put them
• Universal Laser Systems—Manufacturer of the AOC's X-660 and X2-660 laser cutters.
• Central Shippee—Supplier of laser-cutter safe 100% wool felt (T2 and Tempora grades only) in various colors.
• How-To: Laser-Cut Felt Snowman Bag—Tutorial & CDR files for cutting a decorative snowman bag.
• Laserage—Chicago area laser-cutting service bureau. Laserage specializes in laser scribing, machining, drilling, welding, and other custom laser job shop services on alumina, metals, plastics, glass, and most other materials.
• Inventables.com—More than 25 color of acrylic are available from Inventables.com. You can also pick up the acrylic in person at their loop location. Email them for details.
• Johnson Plastics—Distributors of laser engraving materials and supplies.
• Laserbits—Distributors of laser engraving materials and supplies.
• Petersen Plastics—Local plastics supplier and service bureau. Good prices on acrylic, also offer laser cutting and signmaking services.
• Rowmark—Laser-Cutter material manufacturer.
• McMaster-Carr—Industrial supply company that carries lots of laser-cutter materials, and a billion other products.
• Cardboard Table Project—Sruli Recht's flatpack cardboard work table.
• FoldUp!3D - Package design/unfolding plugin for Illustrator.
• Pepakura Designer—Application for making cutting templates from 3D poly models.
• Fine Laser Cut—Small-run laser cutting services in gold, platinum, silver (fine, sterling), copper, aluminum, brass, bronze, titanium, stainless steel, and alloys.