Trotec Rayjet 300 User manual

Rayjet 300 Laser Cutter
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Table of Contents
Rayjet 300 Laser Cutter 1 ......................................................................................................................
Trotec Recommended Laser Material 2 ...............................................................................................
Materials recommended for cutting/ etching on Trotec Rayjet Laser 2 ..................................
Workflow Options 4 .........................................................................................................................
Order of Operations 4 ...................................................................................................................
CorelDraw 4 ..................................................................................................................................
Importing Files in CorelDraw - Common Errors 4 ..........................................................................
Using Adobe Illustrator 5 ..............................................................................................................
Illustrator Print Settings 5 ...........................................................................................................................
External Illustrator Resources 6 ..................................................................................................................
Using Inkscape 7 ..........................................................................................................................
External Resources 7 ..................................................................................................................................
Cutting from Fusion 360 8 ............................................................................................................
UPDATE 23/03/2017 8 ................................................................................................................................
Cutting from Autodesk 9 ...............................................................................................................
External Resources 9 ..................................................................................................................................
Laser Settings 10 .....................................................................................................................................
Laser Cutter Checks 12 ...........................................................................................................................
Laser Cutter Preflight Checks - Prepare Your Job 12 .................................................................
Laser Cutter Preflight Checks - Supervisor Check 12 .................................................................
Laser Cutter Checks - During Cut 12 .............................................................................................
Laser Cutter Checks - After Cut 12 ................................................................................................
Laser Cutter Checks - After Session 13 ........................................................................................
General Tips 14 .................................................................................................................................
Text Engraving 14 ........................................................................................................................
Using lower DPI to speed up Engraving and Cutting 14 ................................................................
Warped Plywood 17 ......................................................................................................................
Maintenance 19 .......................................................................................................................................
Daily Maintenance: OPEN 19 ........................................................................................................
Daily Maintenance: Every 2 Hours of Operation 19 ......................................................................
Daily Maintenance: CLOSE 19 .......................................................................................................
Weekly Maintenance 19 ...............................................................................................................
Lens and Mirror Cleaning and Inspection 20 ...............................................................................
Remove Lens and Mirror 20 ..........................................................................................................
Inspect and Clean Mirror 21 ..........................................................................................................
Inspect and Clean Lens 21 ............................................................................................................
Laser Cutter Air Filter Maintenance 21 .........................................................................................
Baseline Measurements 22 ...........................................................................................................
Approval for Laser Materials 23 ............................................................................................................
Tested materials 23 .........................................................................................................................
Laser Cutter New Materials Testing Guide 27 ....................................................................................
Content 27 .........................................................................................................................................
1: Aim 27 ............................................................................................................................................
2. Method 28 .....................................................................................................................................
A: Approval to cut flow chart 28 ...................................................................................................

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B: Notes to the Flowchart 28 ........................................................................................................
C: Copper Wire Test 29 .................................................................................................................
D: Test Cut Procedure 30 ..............................................................................................................
3: References 31 ...............................................................................................................................
Active Carbon Absorption of Chemicals 31 .........................................................................................
Chemicals with very high probability of being adsorbed by active carbon 32 ............................................
Chemicals with high probability of being adsorbed by active carbon 32 ....................................................
Chemicals with moderate probability of being adsorbed by active carbon 33 ...........................................
Chemicals for which adsorption with active carbon is unlikely to be effective 33 ......................................
Troubleshooting 35 .................................................................................................................................
Oval shaped circles 35 .................................................................................................................
Issue #2 35 ..................................................................................................................................

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Rayjet 300 Laser Cutter
The Rayjet 300, supplied by Trotec1) is suitable for laser engraving and cutting of wood, plastics,
leather, paper and many other materials. The materials we use in-house are ply, acrylic,
polypropelene and paper.
Rayjet laser Specs
󰾬Rayjet laser - Technical specifications󰾬
󰾬Laser power 80 watts (tested 101W)
󰾬Laser type CO2 laser
󰾬Work area 726 x 432 mm
󰾬Max. workpiece height 200 mm
󰾬Machine size
(W x D x H) 1090 x 890 x 590 mm
󰾬Weight approx. 135 kgs
Technical Requirements PC, power supply with 110-240 V
The Rayjet 300 is an education version of the Speedy 300. It is difficult to find a direct comparison in
the literature but anecdotal research 2) yields:
Speedy 300 is faster (possibly the fastest on the market?)
Speedy 300, 360 & 400 Can have a 'harsh environment kit' fitted - meaning a more sealed in
cutting area.
Speedy 300 uses JobControl - Rayjet 300 used Rayet Minimanager
Other than these points they appear to be functionally and physically very similar. The biggest issue
with the Rayjet is, in my opinion, the lack of Job Control software.

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Trotec Recommended Laser Material
Materials recommended for cutting/ etching on Trotec
Rayjet Laser
Material Abbreviation Trade name
Acrylics
Poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA
Plexiglas®,
Perspex®
Altuglas®
Acrylite®
Plastics
Polyamide PA Nylon®
Polyoxymethylene POM Delrin®
Polyester PES Thermolite®,
Polarguard®
Polyethylene terephthalate PET Mylar®
Polyimide PI Kapton®
Polystyrene PS
Polymethyl-methacrylate PMMA Plexiglas®
Polycarbonate PC Lexan®,
Makrolon®
Polypropylene PP
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene co-polymerisate ABS
Polyethylene PE
Polyurethane PUR Neopren®
Other Materials
Glass (etching only)
Natural & some synthetic Leather
Metals (etching only)
Including - Aluminium, Carbide, Coated metals, Cobalt,
Gold, Silver, Steel, Chrome, Copper, Platinum, Tin,
Brass, Zinc, Titanium & Eloxal.
Paper & Cardboard
Rubbers
Natural and some synthetic rubbers, Microporous foam
and Silicone Rubber
Natural stone - Granite Ceramic Marble Slate Pebble
Textiles - Polyester, Lace, Fleece, Silk, Cotton, Felt,
Aramid, Synthetic & technical textiles
Wood and timber – Veneers , solid timbers, balsa and
some MDF and Plywoods
http://www.troteclaser.com/en-US/Materials/Pages/Material-Overview.aspx on 9 May 2016.

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Workflow Options
Order of Operations
The general order of operations is:
Export design as PDF and DXF (if using another program)1.
In CorelDraw, create new document using The2.
Edge Standard
or grab the
template
Import your design into CorelDraw (or create a new design)3.
Check palette and colour settings (i.e. RGB)4.
Convert all shapes to curves and group where appropriate5.
Save Document6.
Print from CorelDraw7.
adjust print preferences in Rayjet Commander1.
In mini manager8.
Send job to laser1.
Start cut from laser9.
For more detailed instructions, refer to The Edge laser cutter induction 3). Use
The Edge Corel Draw settings
.
CorelDraw
Why Use CorelDraw?
Trotec recommends the use of CorelDraw to design and/or as a final pre-cut check for the Rayjet.
CorelDraw is popular in signwriting and laser cutter shops. This is the most common workflow in use
at The Edge, and the only one available to new users. CorelDraw is available on the LaserCutter-PC
and the Fabrication Lab laptops.
Importing Files in CorelDraw - Common Errors
The most common errors when importing external files into CorelDraw are; <datatables info=“false”
paging=“false”>
Problem Solution
Missing or invisible lines Export as DXF and PDF - try both
Lines the wrong colour Select all and change line colour in Object Properties
Lines the wrong thickness Select all and change line to hairline in Object Properties
Drawing scale is wrong Export as DXF and PDF - try both, or rescale in CorelDraw

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Using Adobe Illustrator
Why use Illustrator?
Extremely common graphic design software - most staff at The Edge have some familiarity,
some are experts
Defacto standard for vector design
It is an accessible resource at SLQ.
The Edge DML has 16 licenses of the latest version of Illustrator
The Fabrication Lab Laptops have Illustrator CS5 installed
The Fabrication Lab Laser Cutter PCs have Illustrator CS5 installed
Illustrator Print Settings
To cut from Ilustrator - after clicking the Print option in the File menu you will be prompted by the
following screen:

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The only thing you should need to change is the Media → Size option, choose Trotec Default. Selecting
this option will automatically turn off Auto Rotate.
In order to access the RayJet Settings click Setup in the bottom left corner, click Preferences (The
RayJet should already be selected for you). Once done, click Print and then Print again in order to
send the file to the laser.
External Illustrator Resources
Very useful page for setting up your document and preparing to cut using Illustrator, including
templates: CutLaserCut.com (Also has a CorelDraw, Inkscape and AutoCad section).
A Trotec Speedy 300 specific training document from the Faculty of Environmental Design at The
University of Calgary.

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Using Inkscape
Why Use Inkscape?
Free Open source and under active development, has a thriving community of users and developers.
Cross platform (windows/mac/linux).
It is an accessible resource at SLQ.
All Fabrication Lab Computers have Inkscape installed
External Resources
http://atxhackerspace.org/wiki/Using_Inkscape_with_the_Laser_Cutter
This is currently an untested technique! Please update if you
do implement or test

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Cutting from Fusion 360
Why cut from Fusion360?
The Edge has an Education site License for the Autodesk Suite
It is a full feature suite
web based storage, with local offline editing
It is an accessible resource at SLQ.
The Edge DML has 16 licenses of the latest version of Fusion360
The Fabrication Lab Laptops have Illustrator CS5 Fusion360
The Fabrication Lab Laser Cutter PCs have Illustrator CS5 Fusion360
Reasons Not To Use Fusion360?
Fusion360 does not use printers. So while Fusion360 has integrated CAM (Computer Aided
Manufacturing) it is a complex procedure to set-up and out of scope for current laser cutter usage.
Instead individual sketches must be exported as DXF files then loaded into CorelDraw.
This is an older post covering one technique from the autodesk forums.
Tip for lasercutting from here to export without construction lines.
What I usually do for getting things either laser cut or waterjet cut is to extrude my design from the
original sketch which includes all the constraints, dimensions and construction lines. Then I create
another sketch on the top surface of that extrusion and project all the extruded elements into that
new sketch. That sketch is then exported into a DXF.
UPDATE 23/03/2017
Fusion360 has been extensively used to generate many DXFs for cutting without problems, using the
recommended workflow.

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Cutting from Autodesk
External Resources
Here is an in-house guide used by London Metropolitan University. This is Trotec specific - which is
handy.
This is currently an untested technique! Please update if you
do implement or test

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Laser Settings
<datatables paging=“false” info=“false”>
Material Engraving Cutting
Power Speed Air
Assist Power Speed Air Assist Passes
Plastic Acrylic 1.5 mm
experimental No 100 4.5 Yes 1
Plastic Acrylic 3 mm 60 80 No 100 1.7 Yes 1
Plastic Acrylic 4.5mm 60 80 Yes 100 1.2 Yes 1
Plastic Acrylic 6mm 50 50 No 100 1.7 Yes 2
Plastic Acrylic 6mm experimental 50 50 No 100 1.1 Yes 1
Plastic Polyproplene (0.6mm) 10 2 Yes 25 2 Yes 1
Paper &
Card
Paper-80gsm (regular
paper) 11 100 No 11 5 Yes 1
Paper &
Card Paper- 350 gsm 11 5 No 25 5 No 1
Paper &
Card Paper- 200 gsm No 100 1.5 No 1
Paper &
Card
Cardboard-650gsm
*Single Ply 3mm Natural
/White
45 100 Yes 25 2 Yes 1
Paper &
Card
Corrugated Card
Single Ply 2.5mm (Pizza
Box)
11 30 Yes 25 3 Yes 1
Paper &
Card
Corrugated Card
Double Ply 6mm 40 100 Yes 40 2 Yes 1
Paper &
Card
Craft Cardboard Dense
natural board 3mm 70 100 Yes 75 2 Yes 1
Paper &
Card
Craft Cardboard Dense
natural board 1.5 mm 11 20 Yes 50 8 Yes 1
Wood Plywood 4mm 80 95 Yes 85 2 Yes 1
Wood Plywood 6mm 80 95 Yes 100 2 Yes 2
Wood Wooden Veneer 1mm 11 20 Yes 50 8 Yes 1
Wood Fleece Back Veneer 17 20 Yes 50 6 Yes 1
Wood Balsa Wood 1.5 mm 40 100 Yes 30 4 Yes 1
Wood Balsa Wood 3 mm 40 100 Yes 30 3 Yes 1
Wood Balsa Wood 5mm 40 100 Yes 30 2 Yes 1
Wood Camphor Laurel 12mm
experimental Yes 100 2 Yes 7
Leather Bovine, natural 5-6mm 65 80 Yes 100 1 Yes 1
Leather Bovine, black 2.5mm Yes 65 1 Yes 1
Silicone Black 0.5mm 20 4 Yes 40 4 Yes 1

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Material Engraving Cutting
Power Speed Air
Assist Power Speed Air Assist Passes
Silicone
foam White 2.0mm Yes 100 2.4 Yes 1
Silk White 40momies Yes 14 7 Yes 1
</datatables>

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Laser Cutter Checks
The Edge standard checks for the Rayjet 300.
Laser Cutter Preflight Checks - Prepare Your Job
Hot Work Permit active
Material purchased, checked by supervisor
Honeycomb correctly seated on bed
Focal distance correctly calibrated to stock
Starting position of laser is correct
Laser Cutter Preflight Checks - Supervisor Check
Starting position of laser is correct - verified by Supervisor
Bed is correctly seated - verified by Supervisor
Focus alignment - verified by Supervisor
All cut settings - verified by Supervisor
power
speed
number of passes
Auto focus feature disabled - verified by Supervisor
Update Settings, apply and press OK
Laser Cutter Checks - During Cut
Start job from Laser Cutter NOT software
Avoid looking directly at the laser flash
Prolonged exposure to laser flash may cause eye strain
Abort job if material catches fire
ALERT SUPERVISOR
Pause Job to adjust
ALERT SUPERVISOR
repeat pre-flight check if needed
Laser Cutter Checks - After Cut
Wait 30 secs for fumes to clear
Remove Job
Brush out or vacuum debris

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Laser Cutter Checks - After Session
Leave area clean and tidy
Take your USB
Show of your work on made today

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General Tips
Text Engraving
When using text on the laser you will usually be stuck with a large quantity of engraving. For
example, if every part of a kit of workshop material that needs to be mass-produced requires text, it
will take a lot of time.
After some research I've found that there are a few fonts that are suitable to use. This means that
when we convert to outline in illustrator, instead of creating multiple lines (one outer and one inner),
it will only create a single line which makes it a lot more convenient.
Here is a link to a list of fonts that work well. Remember to remove any fill before converting!
CamBam Stick Fonts (Scroll down for download link and examples)
These are by no means perfect and most of the fonts have symbols missing. I recommend #4 as it
seems to have most of the features.
Also - Inkscape now has built-in support for hershey text - an engraving font generator.
Using lower DPI to speed up Engraving and Cutting
Another way to speed up engraving (and even cutting) is to lower the DPI in the print preferences.
Laser regular Paul Morris showed me the results reducing the DPI down from 500 to 125 DPI.
Reducing the DPI by 1/4 reduced the engrave time.
Results shown below

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He also did a low resolution cut, pictured below