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View Full Version : A difficult to engrave tape for testing alignment?


Weston Porter
10-23-2015, 1:48 PM
I have a Speedy 100 I've mostly been using for production cutting but I'm tip toeing into engraving and I'm more than a little paranoid because I keep getting jobs on sentimental or expensive goods. Until I feel more confident in alignment, I was thinking it would be nice to have a tape I could put over objects to test engrave them. Is that a thing? What tape would you recommend?
Scott Shepherd
10-23-2015, 2:11 PM
Blue painters tape engraves beautifully at low power and high speed. It turns a nice white where it engraves. Works great for that sort of stuff. We use that, posterboard, and 1/16" clear acrylic scraps, depending on the item.
Mark Sipes
10-23-2015, 2:22 PM
Ditto what Scott recommends. Start with Very Low power and work your way up to the correct settings for your machine. With the Trotec major alignment issues should not be ... an issue

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Weston Porter
10-23-2015, 2:48 PM
With the Trotec major alignment issues should not be ... an issue.

Well more with me than the machine, engraving unusual shapes and positioning them accurately within the files and on the bed.
Mark Sipes
10-23-2015, 2:56 PM
I usually create a paper copy of the art. place it on the article to be engraved. place the article on the laser bed and then place the cross hairs of the laser on the text and test several letters for position on the screen.. adjust article position for X & Y alignment.... WYSIWYG.
Gary Hair
10-23-2015, 3:00 PM
Well more with me than the machine, engraving unusual shapes and positioning them accurately within the files and on the bed.

Are you using Job Control X? If so you don't really have to worry about placing the objects because you can do all that within JCX. As far as the bed, use Legos and the alignment issues go away - those things are made to within .0005" tolerance!
Mark Sipes
10-23-2015, 4:16 PM
Not sure where you are going with Legos alingment and .0005..... But I will allow Preston to ask if as confused as I.
Gary Hair
10-23-2015, 5:15 PM
Not sure where you are going with Legos alingment and .0005..... But I will allow Preston to ask if as confused as I.

He implied in post #4 that he had trouble getting things aligned on the bed of his laser - I use Legos for fixtures so I know exactly where a piece is sitting on the laser bed. They are made to within .0005" tolerance so when you setup a fixture with them you know that whatever you are trying to align is in the exact spot you think it is.