New to Epilog. Compressor, Dust Collector, Software?

[David Gavril]

Hello everyone, I am proud to say my wife and I just purchased a laser engraver and are eagerly awaiting its arrival. In the mean time we are trying to gather some information on what different people are using with their lasers. A graphic designer friend of ours has been pushing hard for Adobe Illustrator is there anyone out there with some negative or positive comments about this software. Also, noise is a MAJOR concern of ours so we are shopping around for a dependable dust collector and compressor. We have seen numerous post on the issue put most are a few years old so we are curious if anyone has come across any new solutions? Thank you in advance and we look forward to getting to know many of you.

[Joe Pelonio]

I have not seen anything totally silent with enough power to blow out the fumes/cool and to produce enough air assist. The best thing is to configure it, if you can, with the noisy equipment outside in a shelter or at least in another room, just on the other side of the wall where the laser is placed to minimize the length of the hose/vent duct. I don't find my Grainger fan nor airbrush pump to be annoying at all but if watching TV while working I do have to turn it up pretty loud. :D

[Doug Griffith]

I use Adobe Illustrator but most of the others here use CorelDraw. Until you thoroughly know whatever software you choose, you'll need quite a bit of help. So, if your friend is readily available to help, I might lean towards Illustrator. If not, and you choose CorelDraw, then there's a great amount of help you can get here on Sawmill Creek.

As for which is better, that's subjective. Also, Illustrator and CorelDraw are both vector programs. You'll need bitmap software as well. Photoshop and Paintshop are prime examples.

[Viktor Voroncov]

Hello, David,
Air assist:
1) Some of our customers use medical compressors (usually for dentist). You can find them from local suppliers and it will cost about $200, noise level is very low.
2) Some of customers use compressors with big tank (not sure that this is on true English but you will understand). So you have heavy noise 10 minutes and silence for next 30-40 minutes.
3) But 90% use small, noisy, but SERVICE-FREE OIL-FREE original compressors like on picture
Anyway better have compressor in another room :)

If we speak about what you name "dust collector" possible solutions are
1) Corrugated pipe - channel ventilator - window (like on second and third pictures :) )
2) DIY air cleaning system as decribed here for $50
http://4volt.com/Blog/archive/2009/06/09/diy-3-stage-air-filter.aspx
3) Industrial READY-TO-INSTALL air cleaning system from Pyrex/TBH priced from $3000

[Gary Hair]

David,
I would recommend against Illustrator for one main reason - support. You will find that 95% of engravers use Corel, maybe more than that. If you need any kind of help with Illustrator you won't find the depth or breadth of knowledge that you will find with Corel. Those that use Illustrator tend to be more into graphic design and such and won't really be much help to a 2D, black and white, engraver specific type of design.

Either one will work, but my money is on Corel.

Gary

[Doug Griffith]

David,
I would recommend against Illustrator for one main reason - support. You will find that 95% of engravers use Corel, maybe more than that. If you need any kind of help with Illustrator you won't find the depth or breadth of knowledge that you will find with Corel. Those that use Illustrator tend to be more into graphic design and such and won't really be much help to a 2D, black and white, engraver specific type of design.

Either one will work, but my money is on Corel.

Gary

You WILL find the depth of Illustrator knowledge here, just not the breadth. That can be found elsewhere in an Illustrator forum or on the Adobe website... even your friend's brain.

Regarding vector, there aren't any specific processes related to laser cutting. The laser follows a path. That's about it. How you create that path is up to you.

Bitmap engraving is where you'll find the idiosyncrasies. Search for the Gold Method and you'll see it is applicable to Photoshop. Other software can achieve the same end result but if you are looking for support on Sawmill Creek, the pickings are slimmer.

I recommend Photoshop because it is an extremely powerful bitmap tool. I also recommend Illustrator because it shares the same interface and therefor will decrease your learning curve.

I only use Photoshop/Illustrator with my Epilog and can do anything other software can do. It comes at a price though, Adobe products are more expensive.

[David Fairfield]

Doug nailed it. Combined with Photoshop you have an extremely powerful graphics package that will do anything you can dream up.

I have Corel because it was recommended for use with the laser. At that time, Epilog hardware had communications bugs with Adobe. That has since been resolved with newer Epilog drivers, and Adobe interfaces perfectly with the Epilog.

I use Adobe for 2d graphics, for 3d engraving, converting photos for engraving, fixing damaged photos, designing parts. You name it, anything you can do with a laser is supported by Adobe. If you have a graphic designer friend with Adobe, that's your personal help desk right there. Take advantage of the offer.

Bottom line, I have experience with Corel and Adobe, but I much prefer Adobe.

Dave