Cermark a Raster Table

[Jesse Anderson]

""Not sure if i asked this or posted a thread with my idea"

Has any one ever thought about Using Cermark to make Ruler's or Grids on the Raster Table ? Maybe some laser systems have table's with grids and geometry.. Maybe even a few Conversion note's...And a more detailed ruler that matches up with the ruler that is on the side of the table..

In addition to this Maybe even have a few geometric shapes engraved on the table along with the grid... That way u can more easily make adjustments in the software on a more irregular shaped piece..

I am at the cusp of the learning curve... I have learned allot but at the same time the process of learning new stuff is slowing down a bit.. I still learn new things about laser engraving every day ""And i would say even a experienced laser engraver will admit that they learn something new all the time"... To some people the process of laser engraving seem pretty simple. In a way it is.. But being a savant, artist, skilled worker, master, or entrepreneur. Take allot of work and years of dedication...

Just saying that making a Whole Cermark Grid and Setup to help with daily engraving jobs might be a good idea.

I am sure some one has thought of it... Cause i bet allot of engravers think alike in some way or another.. I do know one thing though... Every person i have ever met that has a Laser Engraving/cutting machine has there own unique style and way they do things...

I think a built in grid engraved on the raster table would personally help me out allot... I have had projects that only take seconds to measure and do.. Then i have had projects were i am using all sort of off the wall ways to make sure my clients product is perfect.....

Any one ever thought of this ? I am sure its not a unique idea... Because it seems so practical that you would thing a standard raster table would have some sort of marks to help with alignment , geometry, mathematics, centering, or creating a jig without having a jig... If you know what i mean ??

[Gene Howard]

I have a milled acrylic table for our Xenetech rotary with the equivalent technique, ran very shallow 0.010" lines at the 1" marks to form a grid. Absolutely essential for lining up plates for a quantity job since you can't just drag and drop engraving jobs like in Trotec JobControl.

You would most likely have slight drift over time or after any realignment but as long as you have your 0, 0 point marked well and your laser supports an origin offset then it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to re-center the grid occasionally.

[Tim Bateson]

I rarely use the built-in guide except for a rough placement point. If I want precision, I use the red dot pointer - move to the desire position & the front panel of my mini gives me the exact X/Y location down to the .00000000 - Well maybe not that precise, but more precise than my ruler can get me.

[Dan Hintz]

Not to mention you'd have to sand and remark every time you re-aligned the machine. Not a fun job...

[Jesse Anderson]

I have had my Epilog 9 months. Cannot say that i ever had to align anything... Every project i do seems very precise.. I have heard people talk about alignment. Maybe i will run into that road when i get there. Maybe i just have not read the whole Epilog manual... Is alignment part of regular maintenance ?

[Dan Hintz]

You haven't had to replace anything yet.

[Jesse Anderson]

No i have not had to replace anything. I try to clean and maintain everything very meticulously.... I frequently shop vac all the larger particles. Wipe everything down... Then clean with a Q-Tip... It take's me about an hour or so... But i would rather clean and keep every in top shape.. A few years down the road hopefully i will not have to do any major overhauls.... From what i am told Epilog is a good brand. I must cases i would not purchase a warranty. I ended up purchasing a extended 2 year warranty just in case anything did happen.. A extra $1000 or so.....

Hope my good fortune with the machine continues. The only thing i have almost broke is the auto focus.. And i am sure we have all have ran that into a project or had it grind up against the Table..

[vic casware]

I had to replace my tube a few weeks ago, it was just a very small fault but Epilog sent it halfway round the world, no questions in 3 days and that was 4 days before my 2 year warranty expired, other than that I have replaced nothing in 2 years, I'm happy :D

[Mike Null]

Since nobody has come right out and said this is a bad idea I will do it. In my experience with 2 Epilogs the rulers always needed adjustment. Granted, they were old machines but the Cermark would have been obsolete in short order.