Friday evening my new Trotec laser engraver was delivered. It was a bit late but I got it unloaded without a problem with the help of John Deere.
In the first picture you can see that it was not installed on the stand, this could be a problem for some because the machine weighs in the neighborhood of 700 pounds. The sun had already gone down so I had to wait for John Deere to wake up Saturday morning so he could help me lift the laser off the pallet while I installed the stand.
The second picture is obviously the new laser setting close to its new home in the shop. This one is way too large to make it through any of the personnel doors not to mention up the stairs to my shop office.
The third picture is a shot of the back wall of my shop from the left to right. The Trotec will share the same computer system I use to run my CAMaster Stinger II.
In the fourth picture you can see how I dialed in the speed and power settings to engrave Corian ADA signs. It took me six attempts to get the settings I need to get a perfect 0.032" deep engraving which is the depth necessary for braille and text for ADA work. The install time was just a few minutes, it went quick because it was just about ten days ago that I installed the same machine in the sign shop at CNU.
Sometime this morning I will start engraving the first door signs, I only have a few left to finish on my current project before I can start experimenting with other materials.
This is an incredible machine, I already know what to expect based on the time I have spent already with the CNU Speedy 300, the difference will be I have the opportunity to work with a wider variety of materials in my shop and to experiment with some new techniques. Eighty watts of power is a long way from my old 35 watt Epilog
.