Thanks for this. I was using 100% power and was getting frustrated with the clean up. Reduced the power as you said and now have perfect results with little clean up.
Hello Mike, thanks for this video it was very instructive on the points of the cleanliness and the direction setup of the laser, these kind of material help us alot. Thank you again! "SP-Brazil"
Thank you very much for posting this video. I've been struggling with exactly the challenges you've identified here and I can't wait to try these techniques.
That's a great video with so much experience behind - had to add it to my 'favorites'! 👍 Just one thing about COREL: If multiple lines get selected and rotated by 180 degrees, the lines position would be changed, too. This should affect the cut order. So it would be better to stick with the "reversed sub-path", I guess.
Hi, What was your focal length for this job and also are you Lasering (printing) when only moving in one direction or is it printing when moving in both directions. we are doing it in both directions but gets a shadow at high speeds unless we either slow it down or print one direction only
Mike, This is another great video which taught me a lot about laser engraving. It would be great if you can show how you do test run for power and speed. I am going to follow your directions on keeping power low and go out of focus by 0.09 (using Z value). Do you have any formula which you suggest to keep in mind while determining power and speed? Also, how would you handle circle cutting? Would you not cut all the way through?
Hi Manoj, thank you for your kind words! Thats a good idea and we'll keep thatvin mind. The more you work with a Trotec the more you'll get the feeling for power and speed on particular materials. can you please explain your circle question?
Any idea why the plastic is a tad sticky on the edges after a cut? I believe that these plastics use either a soft ABS or a modified acrylic (not sure what you use). I've tried wiping it down with a Mr. Clean pad, but it's still a bit sticky even a day later. Otherwise, a great product. Have etch, cut, and break setting developed.
Yes we do have 3 ply sheets, like Yellow-Black-Yellow, they're mostly used for signs to be viewed from both sides. You can find more on our consumables website www.engraving-supplies.ca
Mike, the tips you gave are great for creating a clear mark on our acrylic. Any suggestions for engraving a white mark on acrylic? Like in the piece you showed towards the beginning. Love your videos. You need to teach the USA guys to get their act together like you. ;)
Hi Brandon, thabks for your comment! What machine and wattage are you currentlyt using? Usually for a clear mark you want to go out of focus and for white you want to be fully in focus
We're using a Speedy 360 80w. I'm currently using 85 power, 100 speed, and 500 ppi with a .09 z-offset on 3mm casted acrylic. It's just making a white snowy look on areas that are engraved.
Hi Brandon, definitely play around with the settings (make little squares at different settings to find the best one). One thing we notice is that if you want a white mark on acrylic you should not go out-of-focus (z-offset should be 0), if you want a clearer mark then you should go out-of-focus. Also it looks like you're using too much power, try bringing it down to about a 55. Let us know how it works. Thanks!
Great! The testing worked, and I changed to a higher quality cast acrylic. Looks PERFECT. Thanks again for your help. I love the videos, keep up the great work!
Hi, this is a great video and it helped me a lot. I am using TroLase and must cut thru the material most of the time which causes of course a lot of smoke and dirt left on the surface of the material. The Magic Eraser improved the cleaning process a lot but it can not remove all of the dirt so I have made some tests with a soap-water mix which I apply after the engraving and before I cut the material. This seams to "cover" the surface and the engravings and protects them from the dust and the dirt. Is there an other tip or trick which I can do to "protect" the surface before I cut the material ?
I was taught to use tape to mask the material before cutting to keep it clean. After i’m done engraving I put a single layer of masking tape over the material, press it down real good with a squeegee or something similar so no dust can get underneath, and then make your cuts.
Hi, thank you! If you are using any Trotec Laser machine, in the JobControl Software where you set the power and speed of the colours, the last option is the "Z-axis". If you change it from "0" to "0.09" or "-0.09" the laser will raise (or drop if it's negative) the table 0.09 inches. This will cause the laser beam to go out of focus. Hope that helps!
Any tips for eliminating the white fog that shows up on clear acrylic when it is cut or raster engraved? I have tried multiple power and speed settings, as well as z-offsets and air assist on/off. Anything you might be able to share would be appreciated. Thanks! Using a Trotec Speedy 360 80W.
For cutting, are you keeping the masking on? For engraving drop both your speed and power, you can also use our greyscale matrix for the best results (www.troteclaser.com/en-ca/knowledge/tips-for-laser-users/grayscale-matrix/) Are you using our TroGlass cast acrylic?
Very informative thank you, We are still having issues with the powder sitting in the engraved areas and staining the white while the other areas are engraving. We do large engraved sections and files, any suggestions on how to cut down on the powdering? Should we put the laser more out of focus than .090?
Hello, I have a question... what is that magic erasure that you speak of? We've been looking for a way to remove the dust/smudges from our material after engraving it. Thanks!
Thanks! We actually manufacture them. If you're in Canada go to www.engraving-supplies.ca . If not, let us know and we will direct you to the appropriate website.
Hi Mike, If you do not cut all the way through than you have less issues with sticky edges. If you have to cut all the way through take the magic erasure and clean the edge. The stickiness will go away as the material is still off gasing as it cures. This is why it still smells hours later after it has been cut. For this reason I put my cut pieces in another room. The stickiness will decrease as time goes on say a day or two. Thanks, Mike
Hi Rachid, thank you for your inquiry, the purpose of the video was to teach you to test your own setting and see what works best on your own machine. Giving you the answer would defeat the point.
Hi Mike, thanks for your posts they are a great help. Is there any chance you can do a session with tips and tricks using CorelDraw? I have created few simple jobs and even those are not always transferring to the JobControl 100%. If that happens the "investigation" got to start... Sometimes I have to wait 15 min to get the job over to the JobControl. Is it normal for a 382kB job to appear in the JobControl after such a long time? Many Thanks Pav.
Hi Pavol. Thank you for the kind words! 15min is quite unusual. Have you spoken to our tech guys? Are you in Canada or elsewhere? We are planning some CorelDraw tutorials in the future.
Hi Pavol, yes our team in the UK are wonderful and very knowledgeable, they can certainly assist with the JobControl issue. Thank you again for your inquires!
Thanks for this. I was using 100% power and was getting frustrated with the clean up. Reduced the power as you said and now have perfect results with little clean up.
Thanks Phil, we appreciate the feedback!
Hi Mike, thank you for a great video, I'm in the UK but don't have a Trotec laser but do use Corel and that helped me very much.
Thanks John, we really appreciate that! We hope to host more Corel webinars in the future!
As always, great video!!!!!!
Thanks again!
Hello Mike, thanks for this video it was very instructive on the points of the cleanliness and the direction setup of the laser, these kind of material help us alot. Thank you again! "SP-Brazil"
Thanks Cristiano! We're glad you've enjoyed them, There's more to come!
Thanks a ton Mike. Loved the video. Very informative for us NEWBIES.
Thanks Sean!
A great teaching video. Thank you very much.
Glad it was informative. Thanks for watching.
great video, thanks for the info!
Thanks!
Thank you very much for posting this video. I've been struggling with exactly the challenges you've identified here and I can't wait to try these techniques.
Thanks Daniel!
That's a great video with so much experience behind - had to add it to my 'favorites'! 👍
Just one thing about COREL: If multiple lines get selected and rotated by 180 degrees, the lines position would be changed, too. This should affect the cut order. So it would be better to stick with the "reversed sub-path", I guess.
Thanks so much, we appreciate it!
Thanks, Mike. One of the best videos you've made! Great topic. Can you do a clear acrylic one next? Like how to make a ruler?
Thanks Glen! We will definitely take a look at the request.
Hi, What was your focal length for this job and also are you Lasering (printing) when only moving in one direction or is it printing when moving in both directions. we are doing it in both directions but gets a shadow at high speeds unless we either slow it down or print one direction only
Mike,
This is another great video which taught me a lot about laser engraving. It would be great if you can show how you do test run for power and speed. I am going to follow your directions on keeping power low and go out of focus by 0.09 (using Z value). Do you have any formula which you suggest to keep in mind while determining power and speed? Also, how would you handle circle cutting? Would you not cut all the way through?
Hi Manoj, thank you for your kind words! Thats a good idea and we'll keep thatvin mind. The more you work with a Trotec the more you'll get the feeling for power and speed on particular materials. can you please explain your circle question?
Any idea why the plastic is a tad sticky on the edges after a cut? I believe that these plastics use either a soft ABS or a modified acrylic (not sure what you use). I've tried wiping it down with a Mr. Clean pad, but it's still a bit sticky even a day later. Otherwise, a great product. Have etch, cut, and break setting developed.
Thanks Bob we have both actually. The edges can remain sticky for a few days yes
Have you tried spraying Aqua Net hair spray on the acrylic before engraving?
It rinses right off, taking the residue with it.👽✌
Hi Willy, no never tried ti! We do sell 3 types of acrylic cleaners as well.
Thank you very much learned a lot here.
do you ever use 3 color sheet ?
Yes we do have 3 ply sheets, like Yellow-Black-Yellow, they're mostly used for signs to be viewed from both sides. You can find more on our consumables website www.engraving-supplies.ca
Mike, the tips you gave are great for creating a clear mark on our acrylic. Any suggestions for engraving a white mark on acrylic? Like in the piece you showed towards the beginning. Love your videos. You need to teach the USA guys to get their act together like you. ;)
Hi Brandon, thabks for your comment! What machine and wattage are you currentlyt using? Usually for a clear mark you want to go out of focus and for white you want to be fully in focus
We're using a Speedy 360 80w. I'm currently using 85 power, 100 speed, and 500 ppi with a .09 z-offset on 3mm casted acrylic. It's just making a white snowy look on areas that are engraved.
Hi Brandon, definitely play around with the settings (make little squares at different settings to find the best one). One thing we notice is that if you want a white mark on acrylic you should not go out-of-focus (z-offset should be 0), if you want a clearer mark then you should go out-of-focus. Also it looks like you're using too much power, try bringing it down to about a 55. Let us know how it works. Thanks!
Great! The testing worked, and I changed to a higher quality cast acrylic. Looks PERFECT. Thanks again for your help. I love the videos, keep up the great work!
Brandon Young thank you so much! We will keep em coming!
Hi, this is a great video and it helped me a lot. I am using TroLase and must cut thru the material most of the time which causes of course a lot of smoke and dirt left on the surface of the material.
The Magic Eraser improved the cleaning process a lot but it can not remove all of the dirt so I have made some tests with a soap-water mix which I apply after the engraving and before I cut the material. This seams to "cover" the surface and the engravings and protects them from the dust and the dirt. Is there an other tip or trick which I can do to "protect" the surface before I cut the material ?
I was taught to use tape to mask the material before cutting to keep it clean. After i’m done engraving I put a single layer of masking tape over the material, press it down real good with a squeegee or something similar so no dust can get underneath, and then make your cuts.
Great video, thanks, what do you mean by "out of focus"? Laser negative or positive Z?
Hi, thank you! If you are using any Trotec Laser machine, in the JobControl Software where you set the power and speed of the colours, the last option is the "Z-axis". If you change it from "0" to "0.09" or "-0.09" the laser will raise (or drop if it's negative) the table 0.09 inches. This will cause the laser beam to go out of focus. Hope that helps!
Any tips for eliminating the white fog that shows up on clear acrylic when it is cut or raster engraved? I have tried multiple power and speed settings, as well as z-offsets and air assist on/off. Anything you might be able to share would be appreciated. Thanks!
Using a Trotec Speedy 360 80W.
For cutting, are you keeping the masking on?
For engraving drop both your speed and power, you can also use our greyscale matrix for the best results (www.troteclaser.com/en-ca/knowledge/tips-for-laser-users/grayscale-matrix/)
Are you using our TroGlass cast acrylic?
Very informative thank you, We are still having issues with the powder sitting in the engraved areas and staining the white while the other areas are engraving. We do large engraved sections and files, any suggestions on how to cut down on the powdering? Should we put the laser more out of focus than .090?
Hi Chris, are you guys engraving bottom-up or up-down?
We are engraving bottom up.
Hello,
I have a question... what is that magic erasure that you speak of?
We've been looking for a way to remove the dust/smudges from our material after engraving it.
Thanks!
Hi there, are you in US or Canada? We have a Mr. Clean magic eraser that you can buy in most hardware stores.
I live in Canada.
Thank you for the heads up, I will definitely look into that!
thanks for your helpful videos, can you tell me where to buy those plastic sheets?
Thanks! We actually manufacture them. If you're in Canada go to www.engraving-supplies.ca . If not, let us know and we will direct you to the appropriate website.
In Germany?
Hi Mike. Great video. You didn't address the "sticky edges" when cutting.
Hi Mike,
If you do not cut all the way through than you have less issues with sticky edges. If you have to cut all the way through take the magic erasure and clean the edge. The stickiness will go away as the material is still off gasing as it cures. This is why it still smells hours later after it has been cut. For this reason I put my cut pieces in another room. The stickiness will decrease as time goes on say a day or two.
Thanks,
Mike
You didn't show us the sitting you use in your laser machine, Thanks a lot
Hi Rachid, thank you for your inquiry, the purpose of the video was to teach you to test your own setting and see what works best on your own machine. Giving you the answer would defeat the point.
Hi Mike, thanks for your posts they are a great help. Is there any chance you can do a session with tips and tricks using CorelDraw? I have created few simple jobs and even those are not always transferring to the JobControl 100%. If that happens the "investigation" got to start... Sometimes I have to wait 15 min to get the job over to the JobControl. Is it normal for a 382kB job to appear in the JobControl after such a long time? Many Thanks Pav.
Hi Pavol. Thank you for the kind words! 15min is quite unusual. Have you spoken to our tech guys? Are you in Canada or elsewhere? We are planning some CorelDraw tutorials in the future.
Hi Mike, I am based in the UK. I shall get in touch with my local rep. Looking forward to the videos. Cheers
Hi Pavol, yes our team in the UK are wonderful and very knowledgeable, they can certainly assist with the JobControl issue. Thank you again for your inquires!
Not working for me
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