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Linda Forte
01-22-2005, 4:31 PM
I am interested in paper scultpture, particularly pop-cards. Has anyone got tips on successful vector cutting and scoring of card weight patterns? Does the paper stock burn or discolor?

Thanks for your input! :)

Jeff DeVore
01-22-2005, 7:19 PM
Hi Linda,
I use my laser to make my own tearoff price tags out of card stock and it does slightly discolor around the cuts. I do however do two sheets at a time so if you did a single sheet you could lower the power and probably have almost no discoloration. I have my laser perforate, cut the holes and cut the outside of the tags. Hope this helps, Jeff.

George M. Perzel
01-22-2005, 7:32 PM
Hi Linda;
Like so many answers in this business-it depends. On the thickness of the stock, paper density-even the moisture content . I have a 60 watt Laserpro which runs at 60 inches/sec and often cut 1/16" matboard at 8% speed and 100%power with minimal discoloration of the edges.
No simple answer-best thing is to try the standard 1" square cut at various setting using your sample stock. Good luck
George M. Perzel

Linda Forte
01-22-2005, 10:11 PM
Thanks - I'll use your suggestions and do some tests. It is encouraging to have this forum for input on even seemingly small issues like this!

Jerry Allen
01-25-2005, 7:43 PM
I was interested in trying some popup cards myself. I have had a couple of books by Masahiro Chatani for years and used to cut them with an Xacto knife when I could still see straight. Yesterday I went to the local office supply store an bought a pad of 11x14 white Bristol drawing paper, 146#, about 12 mils thick, by Bienfang. Just the right thickness and size.
My first cuts worked on speed=25% and power =100% on a 25watt Mercury. Came out great. No burn marks, nice and clean cuts, way better than I could do it by hand, (just a dirty finger print of course) I have not tried scoring yet because I wanted to redraw some of the artwork and am not sure if I should score everything on the front side, or index and flip it to do the back. I'll report back when I know more.

PS-cut another card at settings above and scored on front side only (design could be reversed if desired) using speed=100% and power=30% which made a nice clean score.

Linda Forte
01-16-2006, 9:01 PM
Well, I finally got around to doing a pop-up card. This was an invite to a martini party/product launch for the company I work for. The cover says-- "We're ready to shake things up" and the inside says (more or less) "unless you prefer yours stirred" :rolleyes:.

The pop-up is at 90 degrees and is a martini glass with the logo on a swizzle stick. I used a perforated line for the folded areas. Just thought I'd share this with you!

Linda

I’d be a master if my peculiarities weren’t so inconsistent.

Mike Mackenzie
01-17-2006, 3:06 PM
Linda,

We have several of our customers doing this the key in cutting paper without burn is to lower the PPI and keep the cutting table clean. Here is a picture of one of the cards that our customer did with our system.

Lee DeRaud
01-17-2006, 3:32 PM
...and keep the cutting table clean.Mike, what's the secret to that? I tried Simple Green (Treavor's suggestion), might as well have used tap water. Ditto for 'orange' 409.

I'm under the impression that most oven cleaners can't be used on aluminum...is there one that can?

Bob Tate
01-17-2006, 3:37 PM
Go to Home Depot (only place I know that has it) and buy Krud Kutter. It cleans mine like nothing I have ever seen, and does not hurt the aluminum at all. Spray, soak, rinse, and it sparkles.

Lee DeRaud
01-17-2006, 3:40 PM
Go to Home Depot (only place I know that has it) and buy Krud Kutter. It cleans mine like nothing I have ever seen, and does not hurt the aluminum at all. Spray, soak, rinse, and it sparkles.
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

(And of course I just got back from a "Borg Run"...:p )

Bob Tate
01-17-2006, 4:13 PM
OK, call me before you go again. I will give you the list.

Mike Mackenzie
01-17-2006, 6:40 PM
Lee,

We actually use the purple Zep from Home depot. I have not tried the krud cutter but I will probably go pick some up to experiment with.

Lee DeRaud
01-17-2006, 8:32 PM
We actually use the purple Zep from Home depot.Purple Zep, Simple Green...no wonder I'm confused.:p

Shaddy Dedmore
01-17-2006, 8:44 PM
Where do you get patterns for this type of thing? Looks interesting.

Mike Mackenzie
01-18-2006, 3:47 PM
Shaddy,

This lady hand draws everything this picture is nothing she has done some incredible work.

You can look at her web site http://www.liveyourdreamdesigns.com/

Jay Johnson Smith
07-10-2014, 3:38 PM
I also used the purple Zep. (Degreaser) and soaked for 5 - 7 minutes. According to the Epilog website you should not leave the Solution on longer than 10 minutes.
Use one part Zep and four parts hot water. This will leave your vector grid like new.

Good luck.
Jay

Henri Sallinen
07-11-2014, 5:36 AM
You can also elevate the material from the cutting grid with a pin table (selfmade or bought). This gives the lasercutting on the bottom side an even better result than the top of the cuttable material.

Brian R Cain
07-11-2014, 8:51 AM
One tip that works better in some instances is to have perforations instead of scored lines. Don't try to create dotted lines, they will take an eternity to cut. Instead use a continuous vector and set the PPI to 20, using the same power and speed settings for cutting. You end up with a series of spots spaced 0.05" apart that creates a fault line to fold on and end up removing less material than a score does. Try it and see if it works for your specific application.