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View Full Version : glass engraving with Rotary tool - help...



Mike Burroughs
05-11-2007, 2:17 AM
Anyone have any advise on how to use these?

I set mine up...but cant get the laser to engrave the right spot on the glass. I seems to end up an inch lower and an inch over(turned).

I have a pinnicle 25w laser. I followed the directions (which are poorly written - my opinion). Made the new plate, but cant seem to get it right.
Would it matter if I have the landscape or horizontal selected?

If you have any advice, please tell me, I have a bride that wants me to engrave her wedding party glasses.

Thanks,

Frank Corker
05-11-2007, 5:44 AM
Mike, I'm not too sure which program you are using but here is an example using an Epilog from their users club. It gives a pretty good explanation and an example to download and test.

http://www.epiloglaser.com/sc_glass.htm


Glasses are a funny old subject when you first start and they need quite a bit of thinking and 'figurin'. It's all about measuring. The top of the glass, the bottom of the glass, the circumference and distance between the point on your laser/rotary where it is 0/0. As it will only travel from left to right, the left hand side is your 0. The rotary attachment will turn your glass away from the front of the laser and rotate it upwards toward the back of your laser. In corel, this is going to be the top of the page going downwards and is the circumference measurement.

The corel draw settings will put the top left hand corner of your corel workspace as 0/0 - you have to match those to your rotary 0/0. In corel you flip your graphic 90 degrees. This makes the top of the page the left hand edge of your glass and graphic, your working area will start engraving from that line downward. (the circumference measurement of your glass)

The measurement from 0/0 in corel workspace (top left corner on the xy axis - left and right) to the point where you have put your (flipped) graphic is effectively the bottom of your glass to the top. When your laser starts it will travel from the 0/0 to the point where it will match your in graphic in corel. (on the glass this is the bottom edge of your graphic - not the top). It will then rotate the glass upwards the same distance as your graphic in corel is downward from the top of the page. If you get this the wrong way around you will run out of space on your glass and go over the rim.

Things that can go wrong. Usually the fault is poor measurement.
The other thing is the shape of the glass you are using. If the glass has a shape which has straight sides and looks like this: l l standing upright, you should have very little problems engraving it evenly. If the glass has bell shape to it and looks like this: () your graphic will distort slightly at the top and at the bottom. The more rounded or bellshaped, the more distorted it will come out.

I may have lost you in all of that, but it's the best I can explain at the moment, hope it helps you.