Hi All,
I’ve got some designs in OpenSCAD that I’d like to get cut, can anyone
point me in the right direction with how to generate the right format
files etc and indeed where I might get things cut?
I’m assuming Fablab will be a good bet!
Thanks, Ian.
Ian Norton
Co-Leader North West England Perl Mongers (http://northwestengland.pm.org/)
Member of The Perl Foundation Marketing Committee
(http://www.perlfoundation.org/)
Member of FLOSS UK Council (http://www.flossuk.org/)
The ideal format for most places is DXF
Most bits of software (I think openSCAD included) will export to it
TaOn 1 October 2012 12:28, Ian Norton i.d.norton@gmail.com wrote:
Hi All,
I’ve got some designs in OpenSCAD that I’d like to get cut, can anyone
point me in the right direction with how to generate the right format
files etc and indeed where I might get things cut?I’m assuming Fablab will be a good bet!
Thanks, Ian.
–
Ian Norton
Co-Leader North West England Perl Mongers (http://northwestengland.pm.org/
)
Member of The Perl Foundation Marketing Committee
(http://www.perlfoundation.org/)
Member of FLOSS UK Council (http://www.flossuk.org/)–
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Assuming it’s a 2D design in OpenSCAD, yes it will export DXF.
If you go to FabLab you’ve also got the option of using the ShopBot
milling machine for larger bits of wood.
JimOn 1 October 2012 12:30, George Ainscough dashroom66@gmail.com wrote:
The ideal format for most places is DXF
Most bits of software (I think openSCAD included) will export to it
Ta
On 1 October 2012 12:28, Ian Norton i.d.norton@gmail.com wrote:
Hi All,
I’ve got some designs in OpenSCAD that I’d like to get cut, can anyone
point me in the right direction with how to generate the right format
files etc and indeed where I might get things cut?I’m assuming Fablab will be a good bet!
Thanks, Ian.
–
Ian Norton
Co-Leader North West England Perl Mongers
(http://northwestengland.pm.org/)
Member of The Perl Foundation Marketing Committee
(http://www.perlfoundation.org/)
Member of FLOSS UK Council (http://www.flossuk.org/)–
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The FabLab laser cutter is great, but be aware that the max bed size is
600mm x 300mm, and you can’t really laser mdf. There are some pretty nasty
chemicals in mdf and it all gets very smokey and toxic if you run it
through a laser cutter, so it’s not permitted at FabLab. Special
"laserable" mdf is available and if you can source some of that then I
understand that’s allowed.
You can cut ply and acrylic without problem though, and they keep stock in
at FabLab.
As Jim has said, the ShopBot CNC machine is available so you could do mdf
on that, and it will handle much larger workpieces too (there are generally
large bits of free mdf in the offcuts pile).
The laser printer actually requires a pdf file of your design, which quite
surprised me. You need to pay special attention to the line widths though,
so the usual routine is to save your design as dxf, then open with inkscape
and adjust your document properties to match laser bed size, and your
line/stroke widths to 0.01mm (which the cutter interprets as a line to be
cut - other line widths indicate etching etc).
They have a tutorial printed and laminated at the FabLab and it’s quite
straightforward, also, there are usually other friendly types around who
will happily show you the ropes.
That seems odd. MDF dust is carcinogenic. I regularly laser MDF, but I
wouldn’t want to route it (too much dust).
The advantage of lasering MDF over milling it is the extractor. Providing
you have a decent extractor MDF is fine to laser. The only problems that
I’ve heard about it is when people don’t extract the dust and is messes up
the lens. But anyway, if it is FabLab rules, then that’s thatOn 1 October 2012 22:06, G evans.mechanical@gmail.com wrote:
The FabLab laser cutter is great, but be aware that the max bed size is
600mm x 300mm, and you can’t really laser mdf. There are some pretty nasty
chemicals in mdf and it all gets very smokey and toxic if you run it
through a laser cutter, so it’s not permitted at FabLab. Special
"laserable" mdf is available and if you can source some of that then I
understand that’s allowed.You can cut ply and acrylic without problem though, and they keep stock in
at FabLab.As Jim has said, the ShopBot CNC machine is available so you could do mdf
on that, and it will handle much larger workpieces too (there are generally
large bits of free mdf in the offcuts pile).The laser printer actually requires a pdf file of your design, which quite
surprised me. You need to pay special attention to the line widths though,
so the usual routine is to save your design as dxf, then open with inkscape
and adjust your document properties to match laser bed size, and your
line/stroke widths to 0.01mm (which the cutter interprets as a line to be
cut - other line widths indicate etching etc).They have a tutorial printed and laminated at the FabLab and it’s quite
straightforward, also, there are usually other friendly types around who
will happily show you the ropes.–
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