Joe Peacock
01-13-2010, 10:39 PM
I am cutting 3" x 5" templates on my new 12" x 16" VersaLaser 30 watt. Each template will have various shapes like hearts, circles, squares...etc. on them. I am cutting .062 acrylic with thin blue plastic on both sides of it. Each template needs to be engraved with the part number and company logo on them (hopefully).
If I cut with the plastic removed from either surface I get smoke stains on the surface without the plastic covering on it. If I leave the plastic cover on both surfaces then there are no smoke stains but.......I need to engrave one surface with the part number and logo so I am kind of stuck about what to do. I have the plastic elevated over the honeycomb about 1/4". I have tried a lot of power/speed/dpi combinations on the cutting and I can't escape the smoke stains.
I had a thought this evening before I left work that since there are no problems with cutting when both sides are protected by the film why not just cut out the part number too! I can always buy a sticker for the logo. I am not sure this is going to work because the space for the part number is real small and I am afraid that cutting the part number is going to get messy since the plastic covering will not vaporize and just end up being a balled up mess down in the cut out number. This is what happened when I tried to engrave with the covering still on. The logo was full of melted plastic from the protective covering.
This is a production situation and I need to develop a procedure and settings that gives the cleanest product without a lot of hassle for the operator like removing parts after cutting and then engraving them or cutting them out engraved without the protective coating on one side and then having to clean the smoke residue off somehow.
I am using 100% power and 9% speed and 1000 DPI for the cutting and 50% power and 100% speed and 1000 dpi for the engraving. Both cutting and engraving work good at these settings but to get good clean parts I have to leave the plastic on and to get good (or any) engraving I have to remove the plastic covering.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe
If I cut with the plastic removed from either surface I get smoke stains on the surface without the plastic covering on it. If I leave the plastic cover on both surfaces then there are no smoke stains but.......I need to engrave one surface with the part number and logo so I am kind of stuck about what to do. I have the plastic elevated over the honeycomb about 1/4". I have tried a lot of power/speed/dpi combinations on the cutting and I can't escape the smoke stains.
I had a thought this evening before I left work that since there are no problems with cutting when both sides are protected by the film why not just cut out the part number too! I can always buy a sticker for the logo. I am not sure this is going to work because the space for the part number is real small and I am afraid that cutting the part number is going to get messy since the plastic covering will not vaporize and just end up being a balled up mess down in the cut out number. This is what happened when I tried to engrave with the covering still on. The logo was full of melted plastic from the protective covering.
This is a production situation and I need to develop a procedure and settings that gives the cleanest product without a lot of hassle for the operator like removing parts after cutting and then engraving them or cutting them out engraved without the protective coating on one side and then having to clean the smoke residue off somehow.
I am using 100% power and 9% speed and 1000 DPI for the cutting and 50% power and 100% speed and 1000 dpi for the engraving. Both cutting and engraving work good at these settings but to get good clean parts I have to leave the plastic on and to get good (or any) engraving I have to remove the plastic covering.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe