Mounting pen blanks for laser engraving...

[Tim Neal]

I was wondering if anyone had a plan, drawing or source for a jig to mount pen blanks for laser engraving. I think i'm looking for two different jigs. First, I need something to use with my rotary attachment. I'm also looking for something I can use without the rotary attachement, but that also incorporates an indexing mechanism. I'd rather not spend time inventing something myself if it already exists out there. Thanks.

Tim

[Chuck Stone]

I took the rubber parts off of the rotary attachment and had someone
make two dead centers for it. The centers are just 60 degree pointed
shafts that mount onto the shafts that are already there. They will hold
the pen barrels tight enough to turn. They are also long enough to keep
the head away from the box on the rotary attachment, so I don't need to
use the longer lens. He also make a pair in Delrin, but I havent' tried those
yet.

[Real Mercier]

You don't say which machine you have. For the epilog rotary, I have simply used the pen mandrel on the rotary. The morse taper on the drive end, and the brass nut on the free wheels. My son turns pen so I have the mandrel and a lot of bushings.

For stationary I was thinking of simply cutting hexagons or octagons (whatever depending on the index angle) out acrylic, Placing one on each end of the pen and rotating to each flat for a consistent index.

HTH
Real Mercier

[Tim Neal]

You don't say which machine you have. For the epilog rotary, I have simply used the pen mandrel on the rotary. The morse taper on the drive end, and the brass nut on the free wheels. My son turns pen so I have the mandrel and a lot of bushings.

For stationary I was thinking of simply cutting hexagons or octagons (whatever depending on the index angle) out acrylic, Placing one on each end of the pen and rotating to each flat for a consistent index.

HTH
Real Mercier

I thought about just using the mandrel, but I was concerned that the rubber wheels would not turn such a small shaft accurately. That's a cool idea for the stationary jig. I can't see needing much more than 8 indexing points. Thanks for the suggestions.

Oh yeah...I added equipment to signiture. Thanks.

Tim

[Tim Neal]

I took the rubber parts off of the rotary attachment and had someone
make two dead centers for it. The centers are just 60 degree pointed
shafts that mount onto the shafts that are already there. They will hold
the pen barrels tight enough to turn. They are also long enough to keep
the head away from the box on the rotary attachment, so I don't need to
use the longer lens. He also make a pair in Delrin, but I havent' tried those
yet.

I kind of like that idea. Which set of wheel positions did you mount the dead center on...although it seems like it shouldn't matter. Can you provide me the size specifications you used for the dead centers? Thanks.

[Richard Coers]

I have a ULS and for the rotary, I use a pen mandrel with a simple 1/4" to 1/4" coupler on the drive end, and made a pointed 1/4" piece of bar stock for the opposite end. For stationary, I have two fixtures. One is a sheet of 3/4" plywood with rows of V grooves machined in it with a router bit. I marked off lines at 90 degrees to the grooves for correct orientation. I am able to run 96 blanks at a time on it. Just blanks, not assembled pens. For one off runs, I have a little piece of plywood with a single groove. It has a knotch to clear the pen clip, but that also lets me index the pen based on the clip.

[Chuck Stone]

I'm not sure about 'wheel positions' .. I have a Mercury laser and it has a
rotary attachment that sort of looks like a lathe, so I think of it that way.

There's a 'headstock' with a small shaft sticking out of it (when you remove
the rubber cap) the shaft is about 3/4" long and that cap attaches to it.
So I have a center that slides over the cap. It's about .6" wide and about
1.5" long and pointed on the end like a dead center.
(These dimensions are particular to my laser, yours may vary)

The 'tailstock' is a movable stand with a clamp that has a similar shaft on
it (when you remove the tail cap) and that shaft rides in a bearing. So
when I put another center on that shaft, it functions like a live center.

Here's a quick scan of them.. you can't see the threaded holes for the set
screws though.



I kind of like that idea. Which set of wheel positions did you mount the dead center on...although it seems like it shouldn't matter. Can you provide me the size specifications you used for the dead centers? Thanks.

[Martin Boekers]

Tim,

Here is a sight you might check out, it shows how they make the cuts on a Stars & Stripes pen.

Pretty Cool!

http://www.epiloglaser.com/cs_kallenshaan.htm

Marty

[Tim Neal]

I'm not sure about 'wheel positions' .. I have a Mercury laser and it has a
rotary attachment that sort of looks like a lathe, so I think of it that way....

Ahhh...I see the problem. My rotary attachment has a differnet design. It has a set of wheels at each end. The wheels at the drive end are linked via a belt. The centerpoint for engraving is midway between the wheels. I don't believe I can adapt your methos to work for me. Here's a stock photo of my rotary attachment.
139751

[Tim Neal]

Tim,

Here is a sight you might check out, it shows how they make the cuts on a Stars & Stripes pen.

Pretty Cool!

http://www.epiloglaser.com/cs_kallenshaan.htm

Marty


Marty,

I actually think that will work for me for the stationary platform. Thanks! I'm still looking for the rotary attachment solution. I'm going to email my sales rep to see if he can point me to a solution.

Tim

[Harlan Kilbourn]

Tim,

Check out the pen parts engraving solution posted last year by Roy Brewer.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1109506#post1109506

Harlan

[Rebecca Hardesty]

Would you happen to have a picture of the rotary setup you have? I too have a ULS with the standard rotary attachment, but want to engrave around pieces that are about the size of pens (about 1/2" diameter and 3-4" long)
Thanks
Rebecca

[Robert Silvers]

I recommend 3D printing fixtures for laser engraving.

[Tim Neal]

I recommend 3D printing fixtures for laser engraving.

Need more detail to understand what you're talking about. Thanks.

[Robert Silvers]

It is simple to whip out fixtures by creating them in a 3D CAD program, and then send them to a 3D printer. You can buy a consumer 3D printer for between $400 and $3500. The fixtures may not be strong enough to hold parts for milling, but since laser is non-contact, they are great for that.

[Dan Hintz]

It is simple to whip out fixtures by creating them in a 3D CAD program, and then send them to a 3D printer. You can buy a consumer 3D printer for between $400 and $3500. The fixtures may not be strong enough to hold parts for milling, but since laser is non-contact, they are great for that.

I own a 3D printer and even I wouldn't go down that road... also, (if you don't have a printer) seems like a lot of cash to spend just to make one quick fixture.

For an indexing attachment, just attach a steel disc to your rotary... a large washer with some notches cut with a Dremel should work nicely. Dirt cheap.

[Robert Silvers]

No one should buy a 3D printer to make one part for anything. But people who are into making things and are able to learn CAD software are going to tend to want a 3D printer sooner or later.

[Gary Hair]

I own a 3D printer and even I wouldn't go down that road... also, (if you don't have a printer) seems like a lot of cash to spend just to make one quick fixture.

For an indexing attachment, just attach a steel disc to your rotary... a large washer with some notches cut with a Dremel should work nicely. Dirt cheap.

I cut my pen fixture out of foam core - took about 5 minutes and it holds 40 pens. Just out of curiosity, if you had the drawing already done how long would it take to print a fixture to hold a pen?

[Robert Silvers]

Probably a few hours, though it would do it without intervention. Oh, and it would be small. I could never hold 40 pens with my current 3D printer.

[Dan Hintz]

if you had the drawing already done how long would it take to print a fixture to hold a pen?

I'll give the 3D printer one thing... due to the slow speed at which it prints, it makes you pay close attention to how your item is designed. First thought might be to create a thick plate with wedges cut out, just like your foam. But that would be extremely slow and wasteful of the plastic. Better idea is to make a thin plate with long wedges on it, nothing in between the wedges to save on plastic. Even better would be to just make a couple of tiny wedges at each end of the plate, or better yet just the wedges themselves and attach to a separate piece of plastic that wasn't done on the printer. But the best idea is to realize the printer is not the best solution and stick with the foam idea ;)

[Robert Silvers]

Yeah - sometimes there is an old-school solution that you never thought of. When I told a guy that I was getting a laser cutter to cut out many shapes of the same thing from Acrylic, he said "Oh - I can use one as a template for a hand-router with a bearing guide and whip out a dozen of those in an hour."