One thing that helps remove the lines on Acrylic engraving is to pull the laser just out of focus. It makes the spot just a bit softer and will even out the engraved pockets. I usually lower the bed about 1-2mm out of focus while engraving acrylic. Also acrylic engravings look much better from the back side, so mirroring them provides better finish. JP
Hi John Thanks for the tip. As I mentioned in my videos, I'm a fumbling newbie that's videoing my experience of learning to use the free RDWorks software. My aim is to leave a trail (in understandable English) that other beginners can follow. Having mastered the major programming skills I am now at the stage of trying to find the best methods/settings for getting professional looking results. Several people like yourself have bounced some great information my way to shorten that learning process. Thanks again.
Oh.. BTW.. the manufactures greatly overdrive the laser tubes which reduces their lifespan. I burnt mine out cutting a batch of wedding invitations at 90% power because i wanted to cut hundreds of them as quickly as possible. When i got a replacement tube it came with a calibration certificate that showed the amperage at which the tube produced it's rated power. I installed an ammeter on the back of my machine and gradually increased power until i hit that rated power mark. Anything past that just increases heat in the tube and barely increases output power which results in the helium (most common gas in CO2 laser tubes, there's a whole lot to unpack there with lasing physics as to why) escaping faster. So once i knew the percentage to drive my tube at (was at 37% for me, keep in mind i upgraded to a 1 meter long true 50w tube) i went into the vendor settings of RDWorks and wrote that as the maximum power in the laser tab. My machine will now no longer go above the safe level. If i tell RDWorks to cut at a power level above that it will reduce it to 37%.
There is a lot to learn about how your laser tube works and you have grasped only a small part of the story. Watch these to gain a fuller understanding ua-cam.com/video/2F5O-1TH8b0/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/nZuatc3eIgU/v-deo.html Best wishes Russ
Did these ones come out with any smoke staining on the acrylic? My recent ones did, but I may be using the wrong settings. Did the dishwashing liquid & toothbrush fix that?
+Krefey Yes. Maybe not. Yes. That's the short answer. Acrylic evaporates just like water when you fire 10.6 micron radiation at it. However, unlike steam, the vapour is very heavy and settles quickly and sticks back to the surface Even the little air assist wont move it much. I originally had my workshop compressor tied into the air assist but even 10 times the flow didn't help much. When you get acrylic sheet its normally covered with a plastic protection film. I'm always very wary of cutting unknown plastic because of the risk of toxic fumes and I used to remove it. When I did my solar powered house nameplate (ua-cam.com/video/Mfk317JZE-w/v-deo.html ) I left the film on and it came out clean as a whistle. I didn't even wash the white debris out from the letters as this just helped the unlit letters be more visible. This would also work for a picture but the white debris would have to be scrubbed out to see the different tones in the picture. You will have the same resin residue/smoke problem working with mdf....but that's not available with protective film. Check out PAPER application tape that used in vinyl sign application. It's paper film and is safe to cut but the glue is normally acrylic based and is safe also. That works well on all surfaces including leather, wood and acrylic. It's ideal where you want to paint infill letters in wood signs, its the perfect paint mask. Sometimes the acrylic vapour is very persistent near cut edges and you may have to resort to a brass/silver liquid polish before a final soapy water wash
What’s the best file to import into Rd Works ? And what other files will it accept as imports ? I’d like to create my designs in CorelDraw or another program. Thanks
RDWorks can IMPORT many file formats. HPGL, BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, DXF, DST, AI and CDR. Most of the files in this list are bit mapped formats and can only be scanned. Ai and DXF are vector files and RDWorks loves these. You will have to use vector files for cutting but vector files can also be used for engraving (scanning). Working through my learning journey you will eventually learn about the differences. My short sessions are taking you on my journey of discovering the various tools but it's not until much later that I discover the real power of graphics Best wishes Russ
Hi Joshua Was only about 4 months old here . From very good olympic bloodlines, he is now 4 years old and nearly 17 hands but still has that lightening flash on his forehead, hence his affectionate name is Harry (Potter).Just about to start training as a Grand Prix dressage horse. He belongs to my daughter who is a professional and international groom. Best wishes Russ
One thing that helps remove the lines on Acrylic engraving is to pull the laser just out of focus. It makes the spot just a bit softer and will even out the engraved pockets. I usually lower the bed about 1-2mm out of focus while engraving acrylic. Also acrylic engravings look much better from the back side, so mirroring them provides better finish.
JP
Hi John
Thanks for the tip. As I mentioned in my videos, I'm a fumbling newbie that's videoing my experience of learning to use the free RDWorks software. My aim is to leave a trail (in understandable English) that other beginners can follow. Having mastered the major programming skills I am now at the stage of trying to find the best methods/settings for getting professional looking results. Several people like yourself have bounced some great information my way to shorten that learning process. Thanks again.
This series is very informative and I very much appreciate you publishing them. I know that you have many more, awesome.
Oh.. BTW.. the manufactures greatly overdrive the laser tubes which reduces their lifespan. I burnt mine out cutting a batch of wedding invitations at 90% power because i wanted to cut hundreds of them as quickly as possible. When i got a replacement tube it came with a calibration certificate that showed the amperage at which the tube produced it's rated power. I installed an ammeter on the back of my machine and gradually increased power until i hit that rated power mark. Anything past that just increases heat in the tube and barely increases output power which results in the helium (most common gas in CO2 laser tubes, there's a whole lot to unpack there with lasing physics as to why) escaping faster. So once i knew the percentage to drive my tube at (was at 37% for me, keep in mind i upgraded to a 1 meter long true 50w tube) i went into the vendor settings of RDWorks and wrote that as the maximum power in the laser tab. My machine will now no longer go above the safe level. If i tell RDWorks to cut at a power level above that it will reduce it to 37%.
There is a lot to learn about how your laser tube works and you have grasped only a small part of the story.
Watch these to gain a fuller understanding
ua-cam.com/video/2F5O-1TH8b0/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/nZuatc3eIgU/v-deo.html
Best wishes
Russ
Did these ones come out with any smoke staining on the acrylic? My recent ones did, but I may be using the wrong settings. Did the dishwashing liquid & toothbrush fix that?
+Krefey
Yes. Maybe not. Yes. That's the short answer.
Acrylic evaporates just like water when you fire 10.6 micron radiation at it. However, unlike steam, the vapour is very heavy and settles quickly and sticks back to the surface Even the little air assist wont move it much. I originally had my workshop compressor tied into the air assist but even 10 times the flow didn't help much. When you get acrylic sheet its normally covered with a plastic protection film. I'm always very wary of cutting unknown plastic because of the risk of toxic fumes and I used to remove it. When I did my solar powered house nameplate (ua-cam.com/video/Mfk317JZE-w/v-deo.html ) I left the film on and it came out clean as a whistle. I didn't even wash the white debris out from the letters as this just helped the unlit letters be more visible. This would also work for a picture but the white debris would have to be scrubbed out to see the different tones in the picture. You will have the same resin residue/smoke problem working with mdf....but that's not available with protective film. Check out PAPER application tape that used in vinyl sign application. It's paper film and is safe to cut but the glue is normally acrylic based and is safe also. That works well on all surfaces including leather, wood and acrylic. It's ideal where you want to paint infill letters in wood signs, its the perfect paint mask. Sometimes the acrylic vapour is very persistent near cut edges and you may have to resort to a brass/silver liquid polish before a final soapy water wash
What’s the best file to import into Rd Works ? And what other files will it accept as imports ? I’d like to create my designs in CorelDraw or another program. Thanks
RDWorks can IMPORT many file formats. HPGL, BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG, DXF, DST, AI and CDR. Most of the files in this list are bit mapped formats and can only be scanned. Ai and DXF are vector files and RDWorks loves these. You will have to use vector files for cutting but vector files can also be used for engraving (scanning). Working through my learning journey you will eventually learn about the differences. My short sessions are taking you on my journey of discovering the various tools but it's not until much later that I discover the real power of graphics
Best wishes
Russ
SarbarMultimedia
Thank you!
Very cute horse!
Hi Joshua
Was only about 4 months old here . From very good olympic bloodlines, he is now 4 years old and nearly 17 hands but still has that lightening flash on his forehead, hence his affectionate name is Harry (Potter).Just about to start training as a Grand Prix dressage horse. He belongs to my daughter who is a professional and international groom.
Best wishes
Russ