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Ed Maloney
06-13-2007, 2:42 PM
Anyone have a good experience or tips for engraving bricks? Seems to me it would be a dicey situation if bits of particles start flying around the laser enclosure.

James Stokes
06-13-2007, 5:44 PM
That is not going to happen. With your laser you will have to use a very slow speed. Vectoring will work better than rastering.

Thad Nickoley
06-13-2007, 8:26 PM
I did a brick a while back. It turned out nice but takes a long time. I dont remember the settings, I remember that it was slow and i ran the job multiple times. I can post a pic later.

Mike Hood
06-14-2007, 12:07 AM
I think a better approach would be using the laser to cut out sandblasting resist mask and then sandcarving them.

Ed Maloney
06-14-2007, 11:36 AM
Since this engraved brick will be outdoors, what type of fill would be recommended?

James Stokes
06-14-2007, 5:14 PM
If you use a clay based brick, when you laser it the clay melts and turns black no color fill needed.

Todd Schwartz
06-14-2007, 5:41 PM
Ed - have laser engraved my share of rocks. Sandblasting would be easier and faster but you have to use the toys you have.

I assume bricks may be a little easier since they are a little softer and more consistant, but for my rocks it is slow, slow, slow. 100% power and 1% speed. I raster the words and art and then vector the outline. If anyone has an idea how to vector the entire thing, would be interested to learn, since that is the slowest part.

Depending on the rock/brick, some have enough contrast after engraving that you do not need to color fill. For the ones that do, I have just used plain old acrylic paint, again, use what I have. It was applied with a toothpick and a test rock has lasted over a year out in our garden.

Good luck,

Todd

Brian Robison
09-15-2007, 8:17 AM
Any new information? I sampled one and it engraved a very light color.

Wil Lambert
09-15-2007, 9:01 AM
Since this engraved brick will be outdoors, what type of fill would be recommended?

Most of the outdoor bricks are filled with an epoxy. This will help the engraving outlast the brick itself. Paint will not hold up after time in the UV and rain/snow, etc.

The key to lasering bricks is using clay bricks. The concrete ones don't laser well. Either type sandblasts better then lasering.

Wil

Linda Tetreault
09-15-2007, 11:05 AM
Todd,

Could you use the contour tool & go from the outside in, might be an interesting look. Now I'm going to have to go try it!!:D

Brian Robison
10-29-2007, 4:14 PM
If I wanted to sand blast and color fill what would I use for a mask? Where would I get it?

Mike Null
10-29-2007, 4:53 PM
Brian

Most sign supply houses will carry it.

James Stokes
10-29-2007, 5:45 PM
If you want to put a vector fill in the brick, Do the text with a vector outline no fill, then go in to the postscript fill and fill with the crosshatch. You will have to play with the settings to get it right but that works.

Brian Robison
10-30-2007, 8:03 AM
Just a regular mask or do I need to get the "laser mask" like laserbits carries?

Wil Lambert
10-30-2007, 8:38 AM
You need a laser mask if it going into your laser. I would recommend getting a mask that is made for stone and brick. It is a thicker material. I don't buy this product from Laserbits I purchase from Innotec. Call and talk with Judy about what you need. They are very helpful. www.innotape.com Wil

Brian Robison
11-01-2007, 8:07 AM
Thanks Will, I'll give Judy a call.

Steve Clarkson
01-26-2009, 6:25 PM
If you want to put a vector fill in the brick, Do the text with a vector outline no fill, then go in to the postscript fill and fill with the crosshatch. You will have to play with the settings to get it right but that works.

I tried this, but it only vector cut the outline.....do I still raster the fill?

James Stokes
01-26-2009, 6:49 PM
No the fill needs to be vectored also. What I do now is type my text with a hairline outline then use no fill on the lettering but use the contour tool and do an inside contour with 2 or 3 lines depending how big and wide the letters are. Then vector the whole thing.

Angus Hines
01-26-2009, 7:00 PM
Here is one I did when this subject came up last time as just an experiment.

60watts @ 100 power 1.0 speed...time to raster 2:45.

James Rambo
01-26-2009, 7:13 PM
Steve did you change the line width? I used 1.

Steve Clarkson
01-26-2009, 10:42 PM
No the fill needs to be vectored also. What I do now is type my text with a hairline outline then use no fill on the lettering but use the contour tool and do an inside contour with 2 or 3 lines depending how big and wide the letters are. Then vector the whole thing.


That should work.....thanks!

Steve Clarkson
01-26-2009, 10:45 PM
Do you mean the line width on the outline? No.....I need the hairline with my Epilog to cut a vector line. Or am I misunderstanding you?

Steve Clarkson
01-26-2009, 10:49 PM
Here is one I did when this subject came up last time as just an experiment.

60watts @ 100 power 1.0 speed...time to raster 2:45.

Angus, I just can't find the right bricks around here that give that nice black mark......the ones I've found engrave nicely......but it's a white frosted look.....still nice against the red contrast of the brick.....but not black. I was thinking about trying to color fill them with a black stone paint.

James Stokes
01-26-2009, 11:04 PM
The bricks need to be clay based bricks not concrete based. They are generally a solid paver style of brick.

Steve Clarkson
01-26-2009, 11:12 PM
The bricks need to be clay based bricks not concrete based. They are generally a solid paver style of brick.

I knew that they needed to be clay based......just can't seem to find any where I am in NY.....they're all the concrete based types. Oh well, maybe in the spring there will be a better selection.

Michael Hunter
01-27-2009, 6:40 AM
I've had great results on terracotta clay tiles and I expect clay bricks would be the same.

I only use vector (rastering results were too variable) as follows :

100% power, 2% speed, tile 10mm (3/8") BELOW the focus point.
(This on a 60W Epilog).

The laser melts the tile surface and turns it into black glass (obsidian). With the above settings, the line width is around 1.5 to 2mm (1/16 to 3/32").

Text is easy - just choose someting suitable, convert to curves and give a hairline outline and no fill. For filled areas, hatching works but I did find that if the lines were too close together or crossed, then the new line could damage previous ones.

I have two sundials done this way on the front of our house. Exposed to full sun and winter frosts, the engraving is still as good as new after 4 years.


Note that engraving names onto bricks to build into a charity wall (or similar) is covered by a patent which I understand is rigourously enforced. I don't suppose that they would chase you for the occasional foundation stone (brick) or other small scale decorative use.

Steve Clarkson
01-27-2009, 8:05 AM
For filled areas, hatching works but I did find that if the lines were too close together or crossed, then the new line could damage previous ones.

Note that engraving names onto bricks to build into a charity wall (or similar) is covered by a patent which I understand is rigourously enforced.

I still don't understand how you can vector cut a fill.....can anyone explain how this is done?

I've heard about this patent, but have never read it. Did they patent the process or the substrate? I guess I'm very skeptical about it. Has anyone actually run into a problem with this?

Mike Null
01-27-2009, 8:48 AM
Steve

A vector does nto always mean a cut--it can mean engrave as well. It depends on the settings and the drawing. A vector requires a hairline width and in some machines a red color.

Look over in the Corel tips for a way to change a PS fill to red and to set line thickness.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1033154#post1033154

Angus Hines
01-27-2009, 10:14 AM
Did they look like this Steve?

If you wire brush them and then rinse you will find the black

Angus Hines
01-27-2009, 10:16 AM
I meant like this

George Brown
01-27-2009, 12:22 PM
I tried this, but it only vector cut the outline.....do I still raster the fill?
I did this on wood. The fill was horizontal lines, not really a fill in the normal terms though. I drew a line, then duplicated it at the line spacing I wanted. Put the outline over it and trimmed the extra using the trim tool. So all the artwork was really just vector lines, but due to the close spacing, it looked like a fill.

Steve Clarkson
01-27-2009, 12:52 PM
Steve

A vector does nto always mean a cut--it can mean engrave as well. It depends on the settings and the drawing. A vector requires a hairline width and in some machines a red color.

Look over in the Corel tips for a way to change a PS fill to red and to set line thickness.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1033154#post1033154


Thanks Mike!

Steve Clarkson
01-27-2009, 12:53 PM
I meant like this

Nobody said to use a wire brush! Thanks for the tip Angus.

Steve Clarkson
01-27-2009, 12:55 PM
I did this on wood. The fill was horizontal lines, not really a fill in the normal terms though. I drew a line, then duplicated it at the line spacing I wanted. Put the outline over it and trimmed the extra using the trim tool. So all the artwork was really just vector lines, but due to the close spacing, it looked like a fill.


Thanks George....sounds like that would work alot like doing the contour....but your way would probably come in handy for times when the contour function wouldn't work (not that I'm saying things don't always work the way they're supposed to in Corel!!!!).

James Rambo
01-27-2009, 11:01 PM
Steve, after you type the words needed, use a vector outline and a post script fill and select crosshatching. A window will show the choses. You can play with the distances (between vector fill lines) and the line width should be 1 or 2 .

Kevin L. Waldron
01-28-2009, 6:58 PM
This is all per Universal and it does work.

1)Graphics need to be vector-based to begin.
2)Design your file.
3)Size & Create outline of your graphics
4)Use the "Contour" feature in your drawing program & chande outline color to match.
5)Change the Contour "to center"
6)Change the offset to 1/3rd larger then the spot sixe diameter of your lens 2.0"=.008"
7)Larger offsets can be accomplished by taking laser out of focus
8)apply the contour-see lines automatically fill towards the center per the offset
9)Run Finish file
10)High power, Low speed on the laser

example 30 watts 100% power, 3% speed


Kevin

Steve Clarkson
01-28-2009, 10:46 PM
Thanks...I'll try it.

John Frazee
01-29-2009, 12:03 PM
I have done a couple by engraving the text first and then switching the laser to cut. When I run cut, it gives the letters a better defined edge. As others have said, you have to run your machine very slow and with high power. You also need to run the job several passes.

Jerry Hay
02-03-2009, 7:40 PM
I tried this a while back. I ran the laser slow and hot at max dpi. It turned the clay from the brick shiny and dark like glass. It was 100 % power 4% speed at 1500 dpi. It was a tester just to see if I could do it. here is the link to the post http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=83713