Laser cutters work by vaporizing the material you’re working with. As a result, there are 2 primary hazards presented by these machines, and we can operate safely by understanding these hazards.

Hazard 1: risk of fire 🔥

It can be normal to see a small flame created by the laser cutter while it’s operating - this is usually around the size of flame you would see from a match or lighter. In this case, the small flame will follow the laser cut and should go out immediately when cutting is finished.

However, it is possible for material to catch on fire in the laser cutter. The #1 culprit material for fires is corrugated cardboard - its open channels allow air to flow through, and fire likes to breath air.

Things you can do to prevent fires from happening:

• Monitor your laser cut
  • do not leave the machine unattended while cutting
• Make sure you use appropriate settings for your material and thickness
  • Power and Speed should be set for your material, thickness, and the laser cutter you’re using - reference the material cards at the laser cutters
  • If the laser is not cutting all the way through, do not just keep cranking up the power. See here for help on this: Laser FAQs
• Eliminate duplicate lines
  • Cutting in the same spot multiple times can promote fire
  • SelDup in Rhino will identify exact duplicates
  • In AutoCAD, Overkill has a similar function
• Avoid lots of detailed vector cuts (high power) in a very small area. This can trap heat in a small spot and start a fire. This is especially true of cardboard. If you are having this problem, one workaround is to do multiple cuts at lower power, which can avoid the overheating.

<aside> 🚨 In case of fire

• Don’t panic
• Get help from FabLab crew or managers (if it’s after hours, get help from anyone around)
• If the fire is small:
  • Open the top door
  • Leave the material in place
  • Try smothering with the leather gloves next to each machine
• If the fire is medium:
  • Grab the CO2 fire extinguisher nearby and use it to put out the fire
• If the fire is large or already out of control:
  • Call 911
  • Pull fire alarm
  • Evacuate </aside>

Hazard 2: potential for toxic fumes ☠️

Cutting any material by vaporizing it produces unhealthy fumes. For example, wood is an all-natural material, but breathing in raw combustion products (smoke) from a campfire is not healthy. Similarly, the smoke from laser cutting wood is unhealthy.

Now if we imagine other materials processed in the laser cutters, mostly polymers (i.e. plastics), the fumes from those is at least as bad as wood, but probably worse. Some materials are known to create much worse byproducts when vaporized, and those are not allowed to be cut.

See the Materials page for more info.

In order operate safely, we must turn on the ventilation system for the laser cutters.

The ventilation system switch is in the back corner of the laser area. A green light indicates if the system is on or off. It can take 30-60 seconds for the system to ramp up to speed, so make sure this is turned on before starting a cut.

To further reduce any exposure to laser cutter fumes, it’s a good idea to leave the lid closed for a little while after your cut is complete, that allows some time for the fumes to be cleared out by the ventilation.

If you notice a strong smell of smoke or the distinctive odor of melted acrylic in the room after removing it from the laser cutter, that means you (and anyone else in the room) is breathing in these fumes - please wait longer before opening the laser cutter to reduce exposure.