Assignment 2 Work Log

WARNINGS:

• If you have moved the laser arm along the Y axis (eg: bumped it during a pause, etc), you will have to cancel your job and home XY on the console. Otherwise, the laser will still think it's back where it was before it was paused and will have shifted the distance it was bumped.

Method:

• Book 1 (TRIAL MOCK UP) - if successful, use as FINAL
  (Pages)

1. Model 
2. Slice 
• Slice TH: 0mm, Spacing: 1.2mm
• Setting TH to 0mm means you just get the double sided face and hence, no doubling up of lines
• The Sketchup exports seems to account for any underlying lines and therefore you get a doubling up of lines in Illustrator (BAD since laser cutter will cut twice or more in the same location leading to increased cut times and charring to material)
• Do NOT say "yes" to equalise, seems to mess it all up.
• When flattened, the slice orders goes down and left to right.
3. Flatten
4. Arrange into 4's (since each one is 148.5mm -total 594mm- and max board length is 600mm)
5. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
1. Delete Numbers
2. Delete Overlapping lines (inside borders, thicker than usual red lines)
3. Relocate towards upper part of page
4. Send all .ai to Lasercutter
6. Input settings
7. Lasercut
8. Number cut pieces left to right
9. Additional cutting
10. Start next job
11. Assemble
    (Cover)
12. Turn off Book Pages Layer and Turn on Book Cover
13. Use faces only and 60mm Spine 
14. Total width = 2(155)+60 = 370mm
15. Flatten
16. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
17. Lasercut

Settings Log: Pages/Setting/Vector Boost/TH/Comments and Remarks
Material: Boxboard 1.2mm (600x300)

1. 1-4: Default, +20% Cut Boost, 1.2mm - 40% additional cutting req
2. 5-8: Default, +30% Cut Boost, 1.7mm - 35% additional cutting req, thick lines
3. 9-12: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.7mm - 30% additional cutting req, thick lines
4. 13-16: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.7mm - 30% additional cutting req, thick lines (smaller items completely burnt off)
5. 17-20: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.2mm, Vector Thoroughput (max) - 25% additional cutting req, thinner lines
6. 21-24: Default, +50% Cut Boost, 1.2mm, Vector Thoroughput (max) - 25% additional cutting req, thinner lines
7. 25-39: As above - additional cutting req down to 15%
8. Conclusion: 
• Cuts within 250mm of left border always require additional cutting
• Setting "Vector Thoroughput" to "max" helps in: Settings>Manual Control>Vector Tab>Vector Performance.

Settings Log: Cover/Setting/Power/Speed/PPi/TH/Comments and Remarks

1. Book 1: Default, 100%/5%/500/2.6mm

• Book Pages

1. Model
2. Slice
3. Flatten
4. Arrange into 4's (since each one is 148.5mm -total 594mm- and max board length is 600mm)
5. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
6. Lasercut
7. Assemble

• Book Covers

1. Turn off Book Pages Layer and Turn on Book Cover
2. Use faces only and whatever you worked out the spine length to be
3. Total width = 2(155)+(spine.width)
4. Flatten
5. Import Spine Design
6. Export to Illustrator (error checking/lineweight and colour)
7. Lasercut
8. Leave the template on the laser bed and remove the cover.
9. Flip upside down
10. Laser engrave the Kerfs on the underside of the cover 
• So that the Kerfs are not see on the outside
11. Remove and go back to step 1.