Lets start a "Tip of the Day" thread...

[AL Ursich]

Time for a "Tip of the Day" thread....
We all do things that make tasks we do easier or less complicated as a second nature. This is not a Engraving tip but a Corel tip that Engravers might find handy. I use this tip often as I make Sublimated clip boards for Firemen called Accountability Boards. I often need to space blocks or lines within a given area. Tried the math method and it works but I have been using this easier way for a long time and wanted to share it.


So the task is to divide a space in Corel into 4 equal areas.
I draw a rectangle about 1/4 the size of the space.
I copy and paste the first making 3 more copies.
I stack them on top of each other slightly offset. (yellow)
I select all and move the group over to the space placing the bottom of the group on a grid line.
I grab the top of the group and stretch or shrink the group to match the top grid line. (green)
I now have the spacing and add grid lines to each junction.
Done... Delete the boxes...

If you were doing a 40 plate of 40 names on a plaque this could be used to get your spacing quick.

Could have put this in the Sign thread but I thought it applies to both and some read both threads.

Lets hear alternates to this method as more than one way to easily skin a "task"...


Please feel free to add your tips... Lets have some fun...


AL

[John Blazy]

Cool. I like these threads - Learn a lot and save time. One of my favorite all time shop tips is making tons of clamps from PVC pipe. 3", 4" and 6" pipe, solid core, make the most useful. First, cut a length based on how many clamps you need, say 36". Raise your T-saw blade about 1" high, and rip one kerf the full length (this is the mouth opening of the clamp). Then chopsaw the pipe like a carrot into 1-1/2" to 2" lengths and you're done. Use where you would use spring clamps. I melt nails into the ends, and use them as miter clamps sometimes to hold miter shut til glue dries.

But here is a laser oriented tip: If you need to mark metal for cutting or aligning for welding like I needed last week, and you dont have Cermark but access to powdercoat powder (a handfull will go a long way - ask a powdercoat shop), you can mark any metal easily - the laser melts the powder coat nicely:

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[Bert Kemp]

can we see a picture of the clamp to give us a better Idea:) Oh and when using powered coat don't forget to turn the air off:eek:


Cool. I like these threads - Learn a lot and save time. One of my favorite all time shop tips is making tons of clamps from PVC pipe. 3", 4" and 6" pipe, solid core, make the most useful. First, cut a length based on how many clamps you need, say 36". Raise your T-saw blade about 1" high, and rip one kerf the full length (this is the mouth opening of the clamp). Then chopsaw the pipe like a carrot into 1-1/2" to 2" lengths and you're done. Use where you would use spring clamps. I melt nails into the ends, and use them as miter clamps sometimes to hold miter shut til glue dries.

But here is a laser oriented tip: If you need to mark metal for cutting or aligning for welding like I needed last week, and you dont have Cermark but access to powdercoat powder (a handfull will go a long way - ask a powdercoat shop), you can mark any metal easily - the laser melts the powder coat nicely:

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[Kev Williams]

For marking metal, I use something everyone has readily available... paper! I keep a couple of drawers full of old print and dupe PO's just for this!

I use paper to mark where to put Cermark. I engrave large SS panels with diagonal logos and words over holes and around holes and outlines etc etc...
I draw outlines around everything that needs engraved, cover the plate with paper and vector the outlines.
Burn thru the paper good... It actually makes a bit of a sooty mess, however- the cut lines are distinct,
the mess has never affected the Cermark burn, and it just wipes off afterward. This way I use ONLY as much Cermark as needed instead
of covering half the plate to make sure I got enough on!

[Chris DeGerolamo]

I've done similar by printing the logo and "punching through" the paper with a dry erase to temporarily mark the extents of the engraved area thereby reducing wastage. Good tip with the vector/paper trick Kev!

[Evan Requardt]

Here is a good Cermark trick for anyone who doesn't already know. I use it at least once a week!

If you are unsure about where your laser will hit you can just engrave on top of the Cermark by turning your speed all the way up and using about 5-7% power. It won't go through the Cermark and onto your material. That way you can make adjustments before engraving onto your material. I hope this helps someone!

[Kev Williams]

Good tip Evan, I use that trick almost daily--- I put a guy's name on the $6000 knives he brings me, and it's nice to know exactly what you'll get before going OH $#**!!
--to expound a bit, I also turn the res WAY down to 100, makes the test pass go really fast...
Yes, blue tape would work but these knives (and guns and other goofy shaped objects) I just set on a towel, and I have a small round level I use to make sure the engraving area will all be in focus. If I use blue tape, I move the knife getting it off. So lightly grazing the Cermark is great! And it'll work on anything you put it on -although probably not wood, the new formula Simply Will Not Just Rinse Off like the old stuff did. I use a magic eraser and lots water to get the residue off. (not conducive to wood!)

[John Blazy]

That is pretty cool Evan. I use blue masking tape for that same purpose.

Here's my latest tip: Easily do polished bevels in acrylic with a simple angle jig on the bed. The bottom edge of the jig has a lip to hold the material. I just rotate all the pcs of this Candylam four times and all edges are beveled. Any size can be done based on how large you make the angle block.

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[Makrel Johnson]

Evan, do you re-laser the Cermark you just blackened or do you wash and re-coat?

I found this out the grazing by accident once, getting my speed and power inverted. About had a heart attack when it all washed off!

[Rodne Gold]

My tip of the day is that you need to get a 10x jewelers or printers loupe .. inspecting the engraving with this gives you a lot of info as to what the laser is doing .. and is a great aid to optimise settings for the best result

[Evan Requardt]

Markel,

I re-laser over the same spot I just blackened and it burns into the material as it normally would.

[Brian Leavitt]

My tip would mainly pertain to people who do awards, which is mostly what I do. I cover the table with a large sheet of paper masking and laser an accurate rule for lining up plates, acrylics, glass plaques, etc. at the proper position. Helps to perfectly align multiple plaque plates, and especially when doing running several jobs at once. It also acts as scratch prevention for acrylics. Also for acrylics, I use the paper masking for positioning by lasering the outline of the acrylic onto the masking. I change it out every couple of months on the machine I use for acrylics. On the ULS lasers I cover the entire table. On the Fusion, I just use an 8-inch wide piece and to the top and left sides because the table is so large.

[Evan Requardt]

Here is another Cermark trick that I use a lot when engraving on a rotary attachment.

(I'm assuming this is what happens) When I'm engraving on a rotary attachment and there is a break, or a gap in the artwork where the laser has to stop firing, the rotary attachment always jumps. It's as if it's trying to be as efficient as possible by rotating faster when the laser is not firing. When it does this, the object I'm engraving gets jerked and hasn't set back on the attachment yet, so the laser leaves a line in front of the actual artwork that clearly is not suppose to be there and it's permanent. It looks like crap and produces a finished product that I'm not proud to claim as my work. However, I have found a fix!

All you have to do is create a line below your artwork to keep the laser firing, so the rotary attachment doesn't jump. I use CMYK colors and (C: 1 M:1 Y: 1 K:0) is what I make this line at the bottom and when you wash the Cermark off it comes right off with it. I hope this helps someone!

[Kev Williams]

My tip of the day is that you need to get a 10x jewelers or printers loupe .. inspecting the engraving with this gives you a lot of info as to what the laser is doing .. and is a great aid to optimise settings for the best result

Harbor Freight sells a 5-pack of loupes, 2x, 3x, 5x, 7x, and 10x.. They're just plastic but the optics are actually very good, I've never had a 'wavy' one yet. Best part is the whole pack is dirt cheap!
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(they might be a snick more in the store).

I'm on my 3rd pack, I have them all over the place. Yeah they break and come apart when repeatedly dropping them, but cheap to replace!

And a secondary tip-- you might think 'what good is a 2x loupe'--- I make a lot of operator panels, and most have small holes on them at least someplace- I reference where to align the engraving on the panels by lining up the red LED pointer to the bottom-center of one of the holes. Once I have the XY coordinates I put in guidelines to match, and place the whole panel layout on the screen and align the bottom center of the measured box at the guidelines. All the engraving is now ready to go...

The 2x loupe is PERFECT for that little bit of zoom to verify where the LED actually is! The focus length of the 2x is like 10" away so you don't have to get your head all into the machine :)

also-- I also mark mine with a white or silver paint stick with large numbers so I know which is which--

[David Somers]

Rodney...

I know you have LOADS of free time in your day. (teasing grin) But if you do actually have a bit of time, could you show or describe what you are referring to when you mentioned using a Loupe to check out in detail what the laser is doing? What will we be seeing? What clues do they give to us.

Dave

[David Somers]

Hey everyone1

Have you by any chance checked out the second thread at the top of our engravers forum? Titled Sticky Threads?

It is a combination of some of the "running threads" SMC has set up for us. It is called a Sticky Thread because it stays at the top of the forum listing. I believe Keith created it so that all those "standing threads" would stay at the top of the thread list.
You might check it out and see if what you wanted is contained in there? Of if you want to ask Keith to move this thread under it as well so it stays up by the top.

Dave

[Rodne Gold]

the loupes will sow you a lot of things

1) the heat affected zone around the mark.. what you think might be blurry engraving might be heat damage to the periphery of the laser mark.. prompting another strategy to minimize this .. heat affected zones should be minimized by the laser .. ie you want the best mark without the civilian casualties...

Then just looking at the surface of the mark , you can see all the himalayas there . smooth is always better , you can see the slag deposits , remelts , banding , power fluctuations there and take steps to minimize by fiddling with setting

Then there is the lining up of bidirectional engraving , a loupe will show you plainly the overshoots and most machines have a correction factor

then there is curve and square engraving , a loupe will show up nibs of incomplete or over fast circle or jerky curves , it will show you how the laser deals with the corners of squares , ie power ramping

It will also illuminate line spacing , you might be using too heavy a y axis overlap .. adding more heat into the material

It will also show exactly what marking process you are using , ablating material , annealing , colour change , foaming , bonding etc and see exactly where those marks can be improved

then of course , edge quality is paramount and a loupe helps big time there , you can see the striations and determine whether they are due to the motions system , too much remelt and solidify , are the striations even on all edges or just in some places

you can also see the quality of the front and back edge of the cut , ie too much slag , more air oressure needed ,

Also the flame polish effect is clearly visible, and you can see how smooth it is , frosty places indicate too much air assist and cooling

A loupe is also great to see the characteristics of test marks on new substrates etc.. helps put you in the ballpark as to what settings to use or if indeed attempting the job is viable

[Bruce Volden]

I too do many knives. I built a "jig" and lasered rule marks along it's ends and sides to aid in positioning as these are custom made knives and no 2 are uniform!
I also used a 3/8" forstner bit and drilled into the "jig" in various areas and inlaid some rare earth magnets to hold positioning at the correct spot.
Now I just slap the knives on the jig and GO!

Bruce

[John Blazy]

Gotta love them magnets. If I were to do my grid over again, I would mortice in a few magnets for added holding power with magnets over top of the material. The thicker the material, the less magnetic pull on my existing steel bars inset into the grid. COme to think of it I will side grind into my grid to slip in a few 1" long ones.

[Gene Uselman]

That is pretty cool Evan. I use blue masking tape for that same purpose.

Here's my latest tip: Easily do polished bevels in acrylic with a simple angle jig on the bed. The bottom edge of the jig has a lip to hold the material. I just rotate all the pcs of this Candylam four times and all edges are beveled. Any size can be done based on how large you make the angle block.

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Hi John- what is candy lam, please? Thanks Gene

[John Blazy]

Candylam is a newly developed acrylic that I had to make to compliment my other dichroic laserable acrylic products that are under development (cant give any more info due to forum rules, but if you become a contributor for as little as six bucks a year, you can access the Lumberyard forum and read ALL about it under the "machineable Opal - need feedback" thread).

Anyway, I started a thread a couple months ago asking for a purple laserable acrylic cuz I couldnt find any out there (since found Acrilex, but still not close enough), then I remembered buying some metallic fabric, planning to contact cement it to plywood, then lasering it, and wondered if I could actually laminate it to the back side of acrylic. So I did a small test pc, and it bonds great to acrylic. Then I ordered about 3 yds of each color and figured out a way to laminate in a continuous 48" wide process on 4 x 8 sheets of clear. Then I discovered that it burns from any underside flashback heat, so now I have to fill the back with a special polymer, and now it cuts great.

I do Cobalt, Lime, Fuscia, Purple, silver and gold. Pretty neat stuff. Look for a banner ad on SMC when these products are ready.

[Klaus Madsen]

My tip would mainly pertain to people who do awards, which is mostly what I do. I cover the table with a large sheet of paper masking and laser an accurate rule for lining up plates, acrylics, glass plaques, etc. at the proper position. Helps to perfectly align multiple plaque plates, and especially when doing running several jobs at once. It also acts as scratch prevention for acrylics. Also for acrylics, I use the paper masking for positioning by lasering the outline of the acrylic onto the masking. I change it out every couple of months on the machine I use for acrylics. On the ULS lasers I cover the entire table. On the Fusion, I just use an 8-inch wide piece and to the top and left sides because the table is so large.

Why haven't I come up with that idea myself :( In other words, that is a great idea, thanks.
Have you made the white rulers yourself or did the come with the machine ?

[Kev Williams]

A tip about having your laser make rulers-- When you're done, align it against a known 'real' ruler to check the results. You might be surprised... :)

[Brian Leavitt]

The rulers with the black numbers are part of the machine. They're good for putting plates up against, but I don't like to use them for horizontal positioning unless I'm using the top left corner of the machine.

I set up my lasers' offset and scaling using a machinists rule so my lasered ruler is 100% perfect in relation to the top and left sides of the machine. Even with western-made lasers, they're not necessarily perfect when you get them.

[John Blazy]

Got another tip for everyone, that I haven't really heard of before, although its been alluded to. Actually two tips - first, is if you just bought a laser one of the most asked questions is "what power / speed settings do I use for XXXX material?". Ignore those suggested speed / power charts - use them maybe as a start guide, but you need to make your own chart based on all the variables of YOUR machine, with YOUR materials. Materials vary so widely, I always do test ovals most of the time and record the optimum setting. Material variability is like cast vs extruded acryic, baltic birch vs same thickness of other plywoods (that may have exterior glues, which require more power).

Second tip that has really helped me recently. Just because 1/4" acrylic cuts fine at 18mm / sec @ 100% power, doesnt mean the edge quality is optimum - it likely has the "coin edge". I have recently been slowing down my laser to get better polished edges. Cutting your speed almost in half really makes a nice edge, if you have the time. I cut some 3/8" composite laminates today (top has 3/16" cast acrylic) and decided to run 3mm / sec @ 100%. Edge looks nearly buff polished.