6090 ManTech Laser
General Info
The 6090 ManTech Laser was bought in 2020 as a crowdfunded response to COVID-19 to produce face shields for the NHS. It produced around 4,500 at a rate of 400 per day.
Specs
- 600x900 bed
- 80w CO2 Tube
- CW-3000 passive cooler.
- 720m3 6" Systemair RVK Extraction Fan
- Air Assist
- Motorised Z Axis (30cm depth)
- Y-Axis rotational mount
- RUIDA 644XG Controller
Using
You must be inducted on this machine.
Do not change mirror alignments or fiddle with the main tube.
The laser has a number of safety cut outs which prevent the laser working in the event a user tries to use the machine without the necessary protections in place.
- Please ensure the CW-3000 cooler is on and is showing a temperature less than 25'C and above 10'C
- Both extractor and air assist must be on to prevent damage to the lens. Tip: If it's not noisy in the laser room, they're probably off.
- Please leave the laser bed clean and clear.
- If something doesn't seem right turn it off using the keys and stick the Out of Service label on it (this is much preferable to damaging the machine unintentionally)
Steps for operation.
- ) Turn large switch on front of machine on (not top of lid)
- ) ensure "fan / air pump" switch is turned clockwise
- ) ensure CW-3000 is on and temperature is less than 25'C and above 10'C
- ) ensure emergency button is not depressed
- ) ensure "panel" is on by turning the main key. The screen will light up.
- ) press the "on" button immediately.
Laser will now centre to the top right (home).
To move the origin, use the arrows to where you want the origin to be and press "origin".
To move the Z axis, press the button in the centre of the arrow keys (press Z/U). The menu will present and use the enter button to select the Z option. Now use the left/right arrows to adjust the height of the Z. Optimal cutting of the laser which is a 50.6mm focal lens is 6mm from the bottom of the air assist cone. There are small plastic templates around which allow you align the laser to 6mm from the workpiece.
Stick money into the box when done - it's £5ph (roughly £1.25 for 15 minutes) but we don't give change.
DO NOT CUT UNKNOWN MATERIALS IN THE LASER. Ideally buy materials from known laser suppliers like Kitronic, this is because ablating materials often gives off toxic fumes like Chlorine which are bad for you and very bad for metals in the laser.
Rotational Y-Axis
Not yet been tested, however it has a connection point inside the laser with a toggle switch on the right hand side which will override the Y axis for engraving glass.
Software
There is a computer with a Licenced version of LightBurn. Lightburn has an offer with East Essex Hackspace to provide DSP based licences at 75% off for an additional $20 (£14.75 - that's the exchange rate at time of writing!) per licence. This code is only for hackspace members AND is linked to our mantech laser - using it on other lasers is not possible. You can also get a free 30d trial version of lightburn from lightburns website. This will enable you to setup a project before turning up to use the laser.
If there is a queue, please do not use the laser computer to design your project.
Materials
The laser will cut non metal and non chlorine based products.
| Material List | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material Type | Engrave/Cut | Thickness | Speed | Max Power | Min Power | Notes |
| Delrin | Cut | 10mm | 2.5 | 90 | 10 | Will reseal round cut. Can need to be pushed out. |
| Delrin | Engrave | 10mm | 80 | 40 | 25 | Depth suitable for leather stamping |
| Vegtan Leather | Cut | 2.5mm | 10 | 60 | 60 | Will need covering with masking tape to prevent damaging surface. |
| Vegtan Leather | Engrave | 2.5mm | 100 | 15 | 15 | Will need covering with masking tape to prevent damaging surface. |
| Acrylic | Cut | 5mm | 10 | 90 | 90 | Lovely smell... |
| Birch Ply | Cut | 2mm | 25 | 45 | 45 | |
| Birch Ply | Engrave | 2mm | 100 | 12 | 10 | |
| Birch Ply | Cut | 3mm | 25 | 55 | 55 | |
| Birch Ply | Cut | 6mm | 8 | 40 | 40 | |
| Birch Ply | Engrave | 3mm | 90 | 12 | 12 | |
| Polypropylene | Cut | 0.5mm | 40 | 37 | 20 | |
| Polypropylene | Engrave | 0.5mm | 90 | 11 | 5 | |
| Banned Material List | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl | Produces Chlorine (Not good for you or laser) | |
| Chome tan leather | Produces Cyanide Gas (Not good for you) | |
| Food stuffs | Causes unnecessary clean up | |
| PVC | Produces Chlorine | |