Doug Fennell
06-07-2008, 3:07 PM
This isn't a gripe or complaint, just a solution I'd like to share with the group -
I come from the printing side of the house, and if you know anyone like that, you'll know we're super critical about registration issues (side to side, front to rear duplex and skew). This may be a personal failing, but I am just really really critical about the work I put out, and if it's not lined up correctly, I just can't stand it.
Back to the Epilog... I've got a Helix 45w and love it (as a whole), but there is one aspect that is probably endimic to most laser systems that I don't love and that's locating the top left origin by mechanical means. Here's the issue - you can get the origin set very accurately using the built in firmware, but I find that it's not very repeatable from job to job. The issue can be as simple to dust and debris in the 0,0 corner or the actual act of sliding a several pound piece of granite or marble into the corner and each time minutely increasing the error until noticible.
My solution - center indexed jigs for work that requires precise edge to edge centering and ignoring the 0,0 origin for almost everything I do.
If you care to, have a look at the following files for illustration...
2 files, top and bottom of the jig. This one is for engraving 5X7 granite, marble and wood plaques.
The small holes are for initialy alligning the jig for glue up - they arn't utilalized after that. The large holes are cut into the bottom of the jig to make the pieces easier to extract - just poke your finger through. The + marks are rastered for laser centered targets for allignment of the jig.
Just print your files centered and set home to the correct + mark. If you're lasering one piece, center to the + for that piece (I marked every slot so there can be more use from the jig as each slot in it wears). If you're doing more than one piece, allign on the center of the jig
Hope some can use this idea for jig creation.
I come from the printing side of the house, and if you know anyone like that, you'll know we're super critical about registration issues (side to side, front to rear duplex and skew). This may be a personal failing, but I am just really really critical about the work I put out, and if it's not lined up correctly, I just can't stand it.
Back to the Epilog... I've got a Helix 45w and love it (as a whole), but there is one aspect that is probably endimic to most laser systems that I don't love and that's locating the top left origin by mechanical means. Here's the issue - you can get the origin set very accurately using the built in firmware, but I find that it's not very repeatable from job to job. The issue can be as simple to dust and debris in the 0,0 corner or the actual act of sliding a several pound piece of granite or marble into the corner and each time minutely increasing the error until noticible.
My solution - center indexed jigs for work that requires precise edge to edge centering and ignoring the 0,0 origin for almost everything I do.
If you care to, have a look at the following files for illustration...
2 files, top and bottom of the jig. This one is for engraving 5X7 granite, marble and wood plaques.
The small holes are for initialy alligning the jig for glue up - they arn't utilalized after that. The large holes are cut into the bottom of the jig to make the pieces easier to extract - just poke your finger through. The + marks are rastered for laser centered targets for allignment of the jig.
Just print your files centered and set home to the correct + mark. If you're lasering one piece, center to the + for that piece (I marked every slot so there can be more use from the jig as each slot in it wears). If you're doing more than one piece, allign on the center of the jig
Hope some can use this idea for jig creation.