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To produce quality laser cut leather, consult the instruction manual and use the vacuum exhaust system. Ensure correct software settings, cutting radius, and power settings for different leather types. Maintenance of equipment is also important to avoid charring and blurry lines.
One of the primary strategies in producing quality laser cut leather is to consult the instruction manual for the specifics of laser cutting. Familiarity with the cutter and accompanying software aids in design creation and contributes to the quality of the finished laser cut product. Experienced leather craftsmen recommend using the vacuum exhaust system when laser cutting leather as the process typically produces a strong smoky smell.
The instruction manual that comes with your laser cutting equipment generally provides the steps and settings needed to cut or engrave a variety of materials, including leather. For laser cut skin contours, make sure your software program renders a transparent image on the chart layout, with no colors or gradients. The image must line up correctly on the grid or the laser may not cut out the entire image.
When creating a pattern for a leather design, users need to be aware of the width of the cutting radius. If a laser beam cuts a line 0.2mm wide, for example, and some lines on the model are within 0.5mm of each other, the cutter can erase both lines at the same time. Cutting two lines at once saves time when placing one pattern next to another. The width of the cut beam can also make a difference when designing patterns with intricate cutouts as spaces cut less than 1mm apart can produce a thinner lattice pattern than intended.
Before making laser cut leather, hobbyists also need to ensure that the system has the correct combination of speed/power/frequency settings for the amount of power used by laser cutting. Leather cutting with 30 watts, on some machines, requires a leather cut setting of 40/90/500. For 75 watts, the setting changes to 60/80/500. Different settings are used for skin engraving. Making the cuts and designs on the scrap leather before making laser-cut leather products can save machine owners from wasting expensive material if the laser doesn’t produce the cuts as intended.
The setting for one type of leather material may not be suitable for another. Smoother surfaced leather generally cuts more easily than rougher textured suede. Leather products may also be thinner or thicker than the recommended settings, which may not produce the same cutting results. The beam on a laser cutting tool generally cuts through material by vaporization, and charring can occur if the machine is not set up correctly for a particular type of material.
If the power setting is too high, charred lines may appear on laser cut skin. Reducing power and cutting around the pattern two or three times can produce less char. Using a paper mask or weakly adhesive tape on the skin can also reduce the tendency for charring. Blurry or thickened lines can be the result of smeared mirrors or debris on the rails driving the cutter or laser table. Performing maintenance on these two areas often improves the appearance of the cuts.
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