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Barbara Buhse
10-14-2006, 9:03 AM
Can you laser a styrofoam pumpkin? I'm not sure what they're made of...
anyone try it?

barbara

Rodne Gold
10-15-2006, 12:26 AM
It's Styrene and can be laser processed , however its almost impossible to control depths etc with the foams cos they melt unpredictably when engraved.
solid sheet of styrene is much easier - we use em for stencils

Barbara Buhse
10-15-2006, 1:28 PM
thanks Rodne ... I think I'll just try it the old fashioned way :)

Jim Good
10-16-2006, 10:24 AM
Has anyone tried to laser engrave a REAL pumpkin?:eek:

I bet if it worked you could have some pretty neat looking pumpkins! I guess the cleanup might be messy!!!

Jim

Dave Jones
10-16-2006, 12:42 PM
How about something smaller? I think there are various gourds that look similar to pumkins but smaller.

Also, how about rather than cutting all the way through the thing, Jack-o-Lantern style, maybe just engrave the surface to get to the whiter part underneath? Maybe with a lot of detail done that way and some marks of which parts to later cut all the way through with a knife by hand. Then it would be multi-tone. The light would go through the cutouts but also make the parts with the skin engraved off glow.

Jim Good
10-16-2006, 5:35 PM
Dave, I was thinking along the same lines. I would only want to raster a nice picture or something else and not really try to cut through the pumpkin. Maybe some of the scrollsaw patterns would be good to try.

Hmmmm.....who wants to try something like this! :p I've only had my laser for 2-3 weeks so I'm very afraid!!!!

Jim

Joe Pelonio
10-16-2006, 6:03 PM
Come on, it won't hurt it as long as you focus on the highest part and prop it up so it can't move. We're all dying to see it. I have done other produce and even leaves with no problems. No time and no pumpkin or
I'd give it a shot. This could be a good product for a lot of us, so go ahead!

Jim Good
10-16-2006, 8:33 PM
Joe,

Is there a record for the shortest time a new laser was trashed and inoperable? I'm not really wanting to compete for that prestigous award but I trust you folks so I'm going to get my pumpkin and laser it's butt. :D

I'll post a picture once I've completed my assignment!

Jim

Dave Jones
10-16-2006, 9:39 PM
I haven't tried friuits or vegetables yet, but today I tried a bite-sized MilkyWay.


http://www.redtengu.com/images/raw/milkyway.jpg

I tried it at very low power, so as not to chocolate coat the inside of my machine. It took more power than I expected. This was 2 passes. The first at 5% P, 50% S, 300dpi on a 45 watt Epilog. The second pass was the same with 15% power. The second pass clearly melted a heat affected zone around the letters (a thin outline around the letters that melted).

Tomorrow I think I'll try a lot more power and see if I can make a real dent in it. Not sure it it'll work, or if it'll just melt and then fill in again. Of course, it'll have to be a different candy bar, since the one in the photo is no longer around. :D

Robert Alexander
10-16-2006, 10:00 PM
This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands:rolleyes: . I found out if you get the skin dry and you set the laser table down atbit out of focus, the skin burns darker than concentrating the laser beam. I did this pumpkin at 50 speed 100 power on my 45 watt epilog:)

Dennis Perry
10-16-2006, 10:43 PM
Dave, at least your proto types can be eat'n, my proto types go in the burn pile :confused:

Robert, the pumpkin is realy cool!!

Dennis

Leigh Costello
10-16-2006, 10:57 PM
I haven't mastered the art of lasering chocolate (I think because I tend to pop it in my mouth too fast), but my Epilog sales rep recommended freezing the candy first. I tried that, and Crystal was right, frozen chocolate tastes great.....d'oh!

Dave Jones
10-17-2006, 12:04 AM
LOL, yeah, but did it help with the lasering of the chocolate? I'll have to try that out anyway.

Joe Pelonio
10-17-2006, 8:16 AM
Darn, I meant to bring in a zuccini to try this morning and completely forgot.

Jim Good
10-17-2006, 10:01 AM
Robert, your pumpkin looks great. I'll have to try your parameters. My pumpkin cut into the skin slightly and that gave it some contrast but I think your pumpkin looks great. Instead of cutting into the pumpkin, you've more or less marked the pumpkin. I like that.

Robert, I like your choice of graphics. Is it possible to get a copy so I can try it out?

I'll most my feeble attempt once I get my digital camera back. It's been loaned out.

Jim

Rob Bosworth
10-17-2006, 10:31 AM
I was going to write something about pumpkin carving yesterday, but thought someone would jump in and say something. Be careful. Pumpkins are really just a big bag of water. As you vaporize the pumpkin skin, it should be emitting a ton of steam. Steam rises and probably will collect on your focusing lens. Now we are back to the hydroscopic coatings on CO2 laser optics. Moisture will hasten the breaking down of coatings on your optics. And when your coatings are bad, you get to pay a bunch of money for a new lens.

Rodne Gold
10-17-2006, 10:37 AM
On the Choc thing , why not use the laser to make a mould in pex etc and then pour your own choc , you could even get a gross 1/2tone pic on it.
Easy to make moulds in pex.
What about those beans that are lasered with a message and it appears on the leaves when it sprouts?
Anyone tried that?
I recon it would be a very cool way of promoting a product , send a lasered bean with a small plastic dish , some cotton wool etc , all the user does is add water - and wait a few days.
Iv'e lasered biscuits succesfully (cookies in amerika)
Might be an idea to try vector cut stuff , imagine going to a sushi place and getting a piece of edible seeweed intricately cut etc on your plate , nice wow factor.
As an aside , i thing fig rolls are cut and seperated by water jet and not blade due to excessive blade wear. Lasers are ideal in food prep cos nothing touches the item.
Cold meats? Wonder if the laser can do cuts into slices of em? Your pastrami in the shape of a co logo? Would be great for Caterers , party planners etc?? Another thing to try would be icing sugar , im sure someone would pay to have a photo done on a wedding cake etc?
What about bagels and buns? Im sure there lots of other places one could use a laser in the food and catering world , most ppl are prepared to pay for something different.

Joe Pelonio
10-17-2006, 11:59 AM
Oh, yeh, the laser vector cuts bologna beautifully. Couldn't resist one day when I had a sandwich for lunch. Maybe a specialty appetizer for coprorate parties, logo cut out of bologna??

Robert Alexander
10-18-2006, 8:33 PM
Jim here is the vector art piece. It's in a eps file

Jim Good
10-19-2006, 6:14 PM
Thanks, Robert. I'll give it a shot. :)

Jim