Operator’s Manual for LS series 251 Gordon Street Sanford, FL 32771 Phone 888-652-1555 • Fax 407-878-0880 www.BOSSLASER.
Table of Contents Your New Boss Laser ........................................ 1 CO2 Laser Safety/Policies ................................. 2 Unpacking and Setting Up ................................ 3 Setting up Laser for first time ........................... 3 Switches and LCD Control Panel ...................... 6 USB port and USB cable ................................... 6 Safe Materials for you and your laser .............. 6 The LED keypad ................................................
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Your New Boss Laser To save time in the future, print a copy of this document. Click Print on the File menu, and press ENTER to receive the complete manual of examples and instructions. With the printed document in hand, position yourself in close proximity between the computer which you plan on using to draw and the laser’s LCD panel. This will allow for complete access to all hardware and software controls and guide you through the basic operations of your new laser.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES CO2 Laser Safety/Policies Be careful. Laser machines are powerful tools, designed to cut or engrave with highly focused heat energy. Never leave your laser Warnings unattended while running and never let anyone unfamiliar with your Fixture Reference machine operate it. Always keep access covers on and top lid closed. Operations Avoid any direct exposure and never stare at the laser light while operating.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Unpacking and Setting Up Once the delivery truck leaves, your new laser will be inside the large wooden box like the one pictured below. Make sure you are ready with necessary tools and plenty of room for laying out the parts and accessories of your new laser. Our crates are usually banded to a wooden pallet for safe shipping. Take a few minutes and check for any damage to the bands and crate.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES • Additional Software such as Lasercut 5.3, EngraveLab v9, or CorelDraw etc. • Additional accessories such as rotary attachment, cutting table, custom jig etc. The dongle pictured here is usually found in the toolbox or attached to the software sleeve. Don’t lose the dongle! BOSSLASER suggests attaching a small cable through the hole in the dongle and securing it to the computer where LaserCut is installed.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES First, this port also removes air and all associated debris from the working area as soon as possible. Second, this lower unit will act as a vacuum to hold down light material such as cloth or paper. Notice there is no flange on the lower port. The tubing at the bottom of collector will come out of this port and connect directly to your exhaust duct work. The water pump requires two lines; one to the water inlet and one to the water out barbed fixture.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Switches and LCD Control Panel Several switches are installed on the laser cabinet. Depending on model, the first switch to identify is the main On/Off power switch. The picture to the right shows a common on/off main switch and the Emergency Stop button. The emergency stop push button is normally in the up position, by pressing down all power to the laser will be cut off. To re-set simply twist button, it will pop back up and power will be restored.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Plastics: o ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) Acrylic (also known as Plexiglas, Lucite, PMMA) Delrin (POM, acetal) o High density polyethylene (HDPE) – melts badly o Kapton tape (Polyimide) o Mylar (polyester) o Nylon – melts badly o o o PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol) Polyethylene (PE) – melts badly o Polypropylene (PP) – melts somewhat o Styrene o o Two-tone acrylic – top color different than core material, usually for custom instrumentatio
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES The LED keypad The LED keypad and its understanding are crucial to the success of using your new laser. Most of the time you use the keypad to set up the x, y and z positions. The keypad ESC key is used often to reset default parameters when certain limits are reached. The picture at left shows the LED display ready to work the file 3030TS. By pressing the START/PAUSE button the laser would begin processing that file.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Z axis control from the LED Panel From ready mode, press the Z button. This moves the working platform up and down. You use this axis to set correct focusing depth. Use caution when moving platform to extreme up or down positions. Something like a custom jig may cause you to forget that a certain height has been added to the working table and now the jig can crash into the laser head or other moving parts. Avoid this by exercising caution when moving any of the axis.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES How to focus the Lens Focusing the lens must be re-done every time a new material thickness is placed on the working platform. The laser used highly focused energy to do its job, focusing becomes very important, and fortunately, very easy. In the picture below you can see the three components associated with correctly focusing the laser head. The focus guide, supplied with every laser, is placed upon the material used for the current job.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES A simple Hello World example Now that you’ve got your new laser up and running with all the accessories attached and running its time to fire it up and do something interesting. This is a simple exercise to practice creating a file and using your laser to actually do something. These steps are the basics of operation and will build the foundation for your much more complex projects.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES The first choice to make is the font size. Height refers to the size in pts you wish to have. Fonts can be as small or large as you need. The second choice refers to the font type you wish to use. In this case Arial is selected. The next step, below is to type in the text, in this case Hello World. Click OK. Now this is what you should see.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Next, select the pointer tool. Now click on any area of the drawing away from the Hello World text and you should see the red outline turn to black. Your first job is finished. Now to the next step, getting the file to the laser. First give the file a name that makes sense. Something you can easily recognize when going back after a few weeks. Click on the FILE menu item in the upper left hand corner, select SAVE AS and name the file HELLOW.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES The picture above shows both the file name and directory in which the file is stored after using the SAVE AS command on the FILE menu. Now one more bit of tweaking before moving the HELLOW file to the laser. The next step is where we begin to manage some of the controls for your laser. The arrow in the picture above points to the layer area where colors are assigned to various laser controls. Notice the black layer, with mode set to CUT, Speed set at 30 and Power set at 95.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES The next picture shows the drop down menu giving choices for the type of work the laser will be doing for this job. Select engrave. Cut has now been changed to engrave. The picture below points to the bottom slider. Use it to uncover the OUTPUT and TIMES selection. Start with these settings to engrave Hello World on a piece of wood, any scrap piece will do. Place the scrap wood on the surface of the working area and focus the lens as described earlier.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Moving files (your drawings) to the laser With the Hello World file still loaded on LaserCut press the DOWNLOAD button in lower right corner as illustrated in the picture below. The file manager pops up. Click on the DOWNLOAD CURRENT button shown below. The file should now be in the laser machine memory and showing up on the LCD screen. You may have to select the file from the list of stored jobs in the machines memory.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Working with Microsoft Windows Windows XP LaserCut 5.3 works well with Windows XP. Install the LaserCut software, plug in dongle, and plug laser USB cord into an available and all the drivers should automatically install. LaserCut should now communicate directly with the laser machine. Windows 7 LaserCut 5.3 will work with Windows 7, but requires two additional steps for a successful installation.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Windows 8 LaserCut needs to run in the XP mode of windows 8. • Right click the LaserCut icon on your windows 8 desktop • Slide down and highlight the properties menu item • Click on the Compatibility tab • Check the [Run this program in compatibility mode for] box • Click the drop down box arrow to show Windows XP (Service Pack 3) choice. Click the OK button.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Tuning the Optics The laser tube and optics are the heart of the laser machine. It is important to understand the basics, allowing you to get the most out of your machine. Once tuned the laser machine should stay aligned for months of work. Check it once every month to insure no bumping or mechanical failure has occurred. Study the diagram below. This clearly is not rocket science. One long glass tube, two small mirrors and a laser head, that’s it.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES The vertical adjustment is simple, just loosen the two vertical adjustment screws and lower or raise the upper bracket. With these two adjustment parameters aligning the tube to hit the first mirror requires little effort.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES An easy method of identifying exactly where the laser beam hits the mirror is to place a piece of masking tape over the mirror as shown in the picture below. Use the least adhesive tape you can find. The laser will quickly burn through the tape leaving its mark as shown in the second picture below. Using to strong an adhesive just lease a mess to clean up afterwards.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Once finished your machine will be putting the full power of the laser tube dead on the material. Lens Replacement Lenses are one of the few parts of a laser machine that need regular maintenance, primarily regular cleaning. Lens cleaning is simple if done often, difficult or not possible if rarely done. The lens is small, about 20 mm across, with 2 distinct sides, one flat and one convex or curved out.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES To remove lens for replacement or cleaning loosen the friction set screw on the main lens housing holding the lens tube in place. After loosening set screw the lens tube should slide out of the housing. Separate the lens tube from the nozzle like the illustration above. Your laser tool box came with a tool for removing the slotted ring nut. The tool looks more like a scraper than a screw driver. Its width is designed to fit inside the lens tube and fill the slots.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Maintenance Schedule Focal lens: This is the lens that is used to focus the laser beam. This lens should be cleaned at least once per week. It is not possible to clean the lens while it is mounted in the focal tube. The laser beam alignment should be checked after cleaning is completed. If there is any incident of fire or large issue of smoke/fumes, then it is advised to check the lens and clean it. Use denatured alcohol and/or acetone as the cleaning solvent.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Mirror #2: This mirror is located directly at the end of the gantry rail. This mirror should be cleaned at least every two months. Use the same directions as found for mirror#3 Mirror #1: This mirror is located directly in front of the laser tube. This mirror should be cleaned at least every three months. Use the same directions as found for mirror#3 Laser tube output coupler lens: This lens is located inside the output end of the laser tube.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Air filters: Please consult your user appropriate user manual(s) for cleaning or replacing the air filters. Air filters work best when air is able to move through them and catch the specs of dust, fumes, and other crap in the air. If a filter is too dirty, then the air pressure will be adversely reduced. It can be very important to get the bad smells out of the room.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES You have a few options: 1) Use an aquarium heater to warm the water. Set the temperature to a moderate level. The water in the hoses could still freeze. Use a simple timer switch to turn the water pump on/off every fifteen minutes. 2) If you are worried about wasting the life of your water pump, then drain the laser coolant from the entire system. Disconnect the hoses from the laser machine.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Trouble Shooting Laser not coming on First make sure power receptacle the laser is plugged into has working power. Plug in some other device, like a lamp or power drill and check for power. Check the simple stuff first. • Is the emergency kill button pressed? • Is the key turned to the on position? • Check the 120v 5amp fuse located in the receptacle used to power up the laser. The fuse is a pull out type at the bottom of the receptacle.
OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR LS SERIES Index air pump, 5 careful, 1 chlorine gas, 6 Compatibility tab, 18, 19 Coolant:, 27 dongle, 3 emergency off, 5 exhaust, 4 focus guide, 10 Focusing the lens, 10 Laser Cutter Safety/Policies, 1 LED panel, 1 lens cleaner, 25 Lens cleaning, 23 lens replacment, 25 Maintenance Schedule, 25 Materials List, 6 Mirror Bracket, 22 USB port and USB cable, 6 vertical adjustment, 21 water pump, 4 Windows 7, 18 Windows 8, 19 Windows XP, 18 X and Y axis control, 8 X, Y and Z control, 8 Z a
