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Joe Pelonio
07-16-2006, 5:55 PM
I'm doing these items for display. They are 4" square cubes, open on 2 ends, made of 1/4" walnut. The insides are painted orange, the outside
natural wood finish. The corporate logo goes on the top and the front, vector cut out except for the trademark R symbol which is engraved.

First, I have to use a sacrificial square of water soaked wood inside to keep the beam from messing up the orange paint, and transfer tape inside and out to keep the edges of the letters from getting charred. Since it's solid wood there's a variation in density and grain. So I have it adjusted so that most will cut just through and I have to pop out the letters. I found the hard way that if I use enough power to let the letters fall through, the beam will hit them after they drop and they'll catch fire. If it doesn't cut
far enough I have to recut the letter/s because there is very little wood between some of them and if you try too hard to punch out a letter it will break. So I started at 7am this morning and it's nearly 3pm, have done
52, of 250, due tomorrow. Takes about 5 minutes each actual run time but I also have to apply little plastic bump dots on the bottom, and bag them. And since they run so fast I can't do anything else in between
runs.

I told my customer "estimate" $5 each, looks like it's going up!

I can't show a pic yet as this is for a national ad campaign and I'm doing it for a wholesale customer so don't know if the shoe company involved would like it to leak out ahead of time.

Ed Lang
07-16-2006, 6:45 PM
I feel your $1250. pain. Good luck and keep on pushing "Start".

Carla Lange
07-16-2006, 8:47 PM
Hey Joe,

Yipes!
I'm sure glad you didn't ask me to help.....:D


Carla Lange

Joe Pelonio
07-16-2006, 10:01 PM
I wouldn't do that to anyone. I'm cutting at 8sp/100pw/5000 freq and while some cut beautifully, others require two or even 3 passes due to differences in the walnut wood grain and density. Look at these letters, the distance between the left and right sides is .013, paper thin. Some
of them break off just from removing the transfer tape. If they ever want me to do these again they will have to send the box sides before assembly
so I can cut them flat.

Mitchell Andrus
07-16-2006, 11:44 PM
I'd see if you can sneak in a little change there - fatten up the webbing. Live and learn, and thanks for sharing.

Mitch

Shaddy Dedmore
07-17-2006, 2:47 AM
I agree, use the node tool and select the 4 nodes of the round part of the P, then move them over to the right a tad. THe other looks wider already, maybe use that as an excude to enlarge.

Shaddy

Dave Jones
07-17-2006, 8:54 AM
I'm cutting at 8sp/100pw/5000 freq

In the wood tests I've done I get a lot less char on the edges of vector cuts when I use a frequency of 300-500. The only walnut I did was 1/8".

Joe Pelonio
07-17-2006, 11:38 AM
Dave,

I tired cutting back on the frequency and found it wasn't cutting all the way, more like perforation. Mitch and Shaddy, I tried that when I did the prototype and the actual customer wouldn't accept it because it was not within their corporate logo standards.

It will be ugly here this morning when my wholesale customer arrives, since I only managed to do 72 of the 250. Further, I'm telling him I need two more weeks and at least 20 more boxes. I cannot run them during business hours since they require my full attention. Not to mention all the other work I have to do for other customers.

Mitchell Andrus
07-17-2006, 2:37 PM
It'd be a shame to loose this one. Perhaps a HS student can stand there and hit the button...

Joe Pelonio
07-17-2006, 3:17 PM
It'd be a shame to loose this one. Perhaps a HS student can stand there and hit the button...
Mitch, if it was that easy I'd do it. I could also bring my college student daughter. Unfortunately it's a matter of knowing when and how to make another pass often with less power and more speed to complete the cut without having the piece drop in and start a fire.

We worked out a plan where I'll run them 5am-9am every morning until done and hopefully that's by 6/31, and they will pick them up by the box of 36 as I do them. We haven't discussed money yet, but looks like a total of about 50 hours, which works out more than double my original estimate.