Paper and Wood

[Ed Maloney]

Anyone have an idea on how this person does this?

http://www.etsy.com/shop/porkchopshow

[Doug Griffith]

It's the registration that's the pain.

How about:
1) scan the image at 100% size
2) trace as a vector line
3) copy all vector lines to a file and make a quick vector pass on a blank piece of wood that just leaves a mark.
4) glue the roughly scissor cut images onto the wood using the vector marks as a guide.
5) run the file again but this time cutting all the way through.

That is how I might do it,
Doug

[James Jaragosky]

On his site he posted this.


I make these cuts by applying paper images to 1/8" thick wood plywood and cutting with a laser cutting machine. Reverse painted black.

Sizes vary - 1 1/2" to 2" wide

Regards
Jim J.

[Lee DeRaud]

It's the registration that's the pain.

And once you have two "printers" (an inkjet to do the images and the laser to do the cut-outs) calibrated to each other, the pain subsides to a minimum.

[Doug Griffith]

And once you have two "printers" (an inkjet to do the images and the laser to do the cut-outs) calibrated to each other, the pain subsides to a minimum.

That's a good topic.

For that I'd:
1) create a vector file with the largest sized rectangle that fits in the laser less .100" all the way around.
2) position .100" from the top left corner of the file.
3) print that file as a hairline on the printer.
4) place the printed paper in the laser and vector cut the same file fast and with a very low pulse rate (so it perforates instead of cuts).
5) measure the top and left offsets with calipers.
6) adjust the original vector files offsets to match the measurements.
7) measure the width and height differences between the laser cut and the printed output.
8) do some math to determine the scaling percentages if any.
9) save the vector file as a template.
10) apply the scaling percentages to placed artwork with the origin at the upper left corner.

That should get you close. After that, doing the above with grids will help adjust for any non-linear inaccuracies.

[George Brown]

That is all fine, but it assumes that the printer registration is the same each time. Printer registration can be a little off from sheet to sheet.

[Doug Griffith]

That is all fine, but it assumes that the printer registration is the same each time. Printer registration can be a little off from sheet to sheet.

If that happens you just include a printed line in the template along the upper and left edge and then trim with a blade.

[Ed Maloney]

Thanks folks! I'll see how this works out but I'm still wondering how the paper doesn't burned-up or charred at the edges. I guess I'll find out!

Ed

[David Fairfield]

Definitely want air assist going to minimize charring and smoke staining. Maybe a spray coat of varnish first, so you can wipe the finished parts a little if necessary without damaging the paper.

For alignment, I'd use a jig. A 3 sided wood frame, with sacrificial cardboard taped to the top. Run one file through the cardboard, then refocus.

Slide the blanks in through the open side, and align the artwork through the holes. Thats how I do very small printed signs for scale models.

Helps to have a nice thick border in the artwork to compensate for minor misalignment. Artsy stuff like this doesn't need to be perfectly aligned anyway.

Dave

[Lee DeRaud]

Artsy stuff like this doesn't need to be perfectly aligned anyway.

Yup. The only tricky bits are round ones, like those typewriter keys on the website:
any slight misalignment of a round overlay on a round substrate sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Rodne Gold]

Alignment tween a printer and the laser is actually easy.

Make an a4 template on the laser , ie an oversize piece of pex shoved in the corner of your rulers and cut an a4 piece out of it from home , this is your master template. Save the drawing you used as your master drawing.

When designing the graphic , use a hairline vector dieline*cutting line) combined with the graphic , ie a cut line and just printing.
Step and repeat the image as you want and when printing it on the printer ALWAYS use "print in the centre of the page"

Do not print the die lines except for top right and bottom left one IF you need to - see a little under here why i do

Send just the die line corel file to the laser.

Align the die lines (group em) to the centre of the a4 square in the master drawing you used to make the master template. Turn off the a4 outline

Drop the printed page in the master template and just send the die lines to vector cut , and hey presto , you have a cut aligned with the graphic.

I print the 2 top and bottom die lines and send just these just to check the laser is indeed registered and I can adjust for any errors before cutting 100's of stickers or whatever Im cutting

Tolerances arent perfect , but within .2-.5mm or better in terms of registration and that is fine.
Its a good idea to make sure your a4 paper fits real good in the master template and is easy to get out.

Some lasers have calibration for mismatches in x and y axes , calibrate em.
If not , you can stretch or squash your drawing by a set amount if you do have these x y issues but no way of correcting em on the laser

There are probably other ways of making up the master template that might be better - we do this , but they complex to explain.

[Martin Boekers]

Am I wrong here? Is getting about $.35ea?
Seems like a lot of work for that kind of money.

Marty

[Tom Bull]

Take a look at the wooden cameo section and you will see this guy has this down cold.