Using the LWHS 18 x 24 Full Spectrum Laser

1. Open Full Spectrum Software (Retina Engrave)

2. “Print” from Illustrator

Vector cutting: To prevent machine from double cutting

Illustrator shapes should have an outline of .01 or less and NO FILLS

Engraving: Put the engraving on a separate layer and send one

layer at a time to Retina Engrave. Before printing, click on the eye next to a layer to hide it.

Layers can be found under Window > layers

3. Choose “Full spectrum Engineering” from the list of printers and choose the correct media size: FSL Professional 24 x18

4. A larger raster (engraving) job, takes a long time to send. If you are only cutting click “NO”

when you get the dialogue below. If you are engraving click “YES.”

6. Turn on machine – Red switch, right hand side.

7. Make sure machine is recognized (software: lower left corner) Before After

8. Home machine

9. Click on vector or raster tab

10. Put material in machine

11. On the laser cutter, use the F/S button to get the “Fast XY or Slow XY” function on the LCD. Then use Blue Arrows on control panel to position head over material

12. Use Retina Engrave software to set Auto set Z height (if not already set) ★★ (Have hand on stop switch! If plunger misses material, shut off immediately!)★★

11. Set Speed and Power

12. Turn Ventilation and water cooler on (power strip on wall)

13. Press Play (in software)

Panel and Display

Figure 1 – Control Panel

The LCD screen has two lines and gives operations information in four fields:

The SELECTION field is located on the top line and gives information on the current

operation mode of the laser

The MODE field is located on the far left of the lower line and tells the operator the

current mode

The POWER field displays the laser power on a scale of 0-255. During a job you can

adjust from 0-255 on the fly using the up and down arrows. It is located to the right of

the MODE field.

The ADDRESS field displays the last 3 digits of the IP address with a character prefix. A

prefix of A means that the laser did not find a DHCP server on its network and self-

assigned an IP addres. The D prefix means the laser found a DHCP server.

The POWER field  displays  the  laser  current  in  mA,  or  “LOff”  for  current  less  than  1mA.  Sometimes this field will display 1.1mA even when the tube is off; in general, anything

less than 2mA is considered off.

Button Functions Panel function buttons are numbered 1-6 starting from the left. Jog buttons (arrow pad)

continue  the  numbering  from  7  starting  at  12  o’clock  and  counting  up  counterclockwise.  Typically the icons on the top line are active during Fast XY Jog (Mode 0). The icons on the

bottom are typically active during Alignment (Mode 2).

Vector Cutting Settings:

Cardstock Speed 40 Power 40

1/8 MDF

Speed 80 Power 80

1/8 Acrylic Speed 83 Power 100

1/4 Acrylic Speed 47 Power 100

1/4 Plywood

Speed 37 Power 100

½” Plywood

Speed 22 Power 100

½” MDF

Speed 22 Power 100