Joseph Shawa
10-04-2016, 6:21 PM
So I used the rotary tool to engrave a private label onto a wine bottle. I actually came out good but I have absolutely no idea how I got there. Strictly trial and error......had to drink LOTS of wine to get test right. : }
Now I am doing custom engravings on wine glasses. Every guest gets their face on their own glass....no more charms.
My first few attempts have been disastrous. Blotchy, faded, dark. Anything but good.
So I am going to make a check list of variables.
I would love it if anyone had any more variables and give input on what seems to work.
I also have questions if anyone can answer please do.
Tube Power:
I don't think that 150W is going to be a problem as it doesn't mark glass at it's lowest useful setting of 13%
Focal Length:
I have a lens that has a 3.5" focal length. ( I ordered a 4" but received a 3.5"....China)
The spot size should be between 2.5” .007” and 4.0” .012” So about .010? Anyone know how to figure this exactly?
In LaserCut, the "Half Bitmap" option breaks down the object into points/blocks. Is this some kind of dithering? Any specific variety?
Is it only for solid objects so that every point doesn't get lased? It isn't an available options for objects drawn within the program, only imports.
The "Simulate" function doesn't seem to hit every dot on the horizontal. You can see this if you really zoom in before the simulation is done. The red simulator line skips a dot once in a while but not with any regularity. Anyone?
As an aside, has anyone ever zoom in to an image in LaserCut? REALLY zoomed in? Strange code starts showing up instead of pixels.....think I'll stay out of that type of depth.
On an untouched .JPG or .BMP I just import into LaserCut and run the "Half Bitmap" operation and just invert and print as long as no pre processing. I need to compare that type of processing with the best from CD.
If I perform the "Half Bitmap" option it sets the scan gap as expected. With a Gap of .1 the simulation line is exactly right across the middle of each block on a 254 dpi CD image. So I can see that is correct on the Y Scan line.
I believe that this can be set to anything that divides evenly into the pixel size of the image. So if I enlarge and resample the image in CD and set the scan gap appropriately I should avoid banding?
If I run the "Half Bitmap" operation on the CD image there seems to be a lot more points in the image but I don't know what to make of them. And I can run it again and get even MORE detailed patterning. Anyone know what is going on?
There is also a "Dot Size' option in "Half Bitmap" operation. This seems to be like a resample but instead of DPI it is the actual dot size. Anyone? It makes big dots when set at 10 for example. I imagine that ideally it should be set to the same size as the dot size at 300DPI for instance (same as .1 Scan Gap).....OR should it be set to the Spot size of the beam? I cannot imaging the latter is correct as the spot size would change with Power and Speed settings.
It's getting so dang complicated!
And then there is the amount of grey and contrast in CD and more export options. I have read of the Gold technique and will try that when I get the machine figured out.
But for you glass engravers. Any tips? Cold glass. Wet glass. Wet paper on glass. I already read about these.
How to approach glass vs plastic? Shorter focal length? Longer? In focus? Slightly out? Speed? Number of passes at a lower setting maybe, so as to keep marks small?
Any other considerations?
I will test all of these and plan to make a big table but I can only imagine it would take an AWFUL long time to complete it. I hope to narrow it down a bit.
Finally, can Corel Draw X6 64 bit output directly to Engraver? If anyone knows how to get this working I would love it. LaserCut crashes too frequently.
Now I am doing custom engravings on wine glasses. Every guest gets their face on their own glass....no more charms.
My first few attempts have been disastrous. Blotchy, faded, dark. Anything but good.
So I am going to make a check list of variables.
I would love it if anyone had any more variables and give input on what seems to work.
I also have questions if anyone can answer please do.
Tube Power:
I don't think that 150W is going to be a problem as it doesn't mark glass at it's lowest useful setting of 13%
Focal Length:
I have a lens that has a 3.5" focal length. ( I ordered a 4" but received a 3.5"....China)
The spot size should be between 2.5” .007” and 4.0” .012” So about .010? Anyone know how to figure this exactly?
In LaserCut, the "Half Bitmap" option breaks down the object into points/blocks. Is this some kind of dithering? Any specific variety?
Is it only for solid objects so that every point doesn't get lased? It isn't an available options for objects drawn within the program, only imports.
The "Simulate" function doesn't seem to hit every dot on the horizontal. You can see this if you really zoom in before the simulation is done. The red simulator line skips a dot once in a while but not with any regularity. Anyone?
As an aside, has anyone ever zoom in to an image in LaserCut? REALLY zoomed in? Strange code starts showing up instead of pixels.....think I'll stay out of that type of depth.
On an untouched .JPG or .BMP I just import into LaserCut and run the "Half Bitmap" operation and just invert and print as long as no pre processing. I need to compare that type of processing with the best from CD.
If I perform the "Half Bitmap" option it sets the scan gap as expected. With a Gap of .1 the simulation line is exactly right across the middle of each block on a 254 dpi CD image. So I can see that is correct on the Y Scan line.
I believe that this can be set to anything that divides evenly into the pixel size of the image. So if I enlarge and resample the image in CD and set the scan gap appropriately I should avoid banding?
If I run the "Half Bitmap" operation on the CD image there seems to be a lot more points in the image but I don't know what to make of them. And I can run it again and get even MORE detailed patterning. Anyone know what is going on?
There is also a "Dot Size' option in "Half Bitmap" operation. This seems to be like a resample but instead of DPI it is the actual dot size. Anyone? It makes big dots when set at 10 for example. I imagine that ideally it should be set to the same size as the dot size at 300DPI for instance (same as .1 Scan Gap).....OR should it be set to the Spot size of the beam? I cannot imaging the latter is correct as the spot size would change with Power and Speed settings.
It's getting so dang complicated!
And then there is the amount of grey and contrast in CD and more export options. I have read of the Gold technique and will try that when I get the machine figured out.
But for you glass engravers. Any tips? Cold glass. Wet glass. Wet paper on glass. I already read about these.
How to approach glass vs plastic? Shorter focal length? Longer? In focus? Slightly out? Speed? Number of passes at a lower setting maybe, so as to keep marks small?
Any other considerations?
I will test all of these and plan to make a big table but I can only imagine it would take an AWFUL long time to complete it. I hope to narrow it down a bit.
Finally, can Corel Draw X6 64 bit output directly to Engraver? If anyone knows how to get this working I would love it. LaserCut crashes too frequently.