Well, my new laser arrived. I ended up going with a LaserPro Explorer 35W, my final decision being based on wanting the larger table size, 20 x 38. The sales rep arrives this Friday (from Jorlink in NC) so if anyone’s interested I can give my impression on what support will be like after that.
In the meantime, I’ve been engraving and cutting a few items and I’ve a couple of questions for the more experienced.
I’ve been engraving and cutting some acrylic squares (3/16″ thick) to be used as coasters and each one looks better but…. the bottom side is being imprinted with the pattern of the honeycomb cutting table about 1/2″ either side of the cut. Is this an indication that I am cutting too slowly or with too much power (.3% at 100), or will this problem completely go away by using a mask (which I’m not)? On that note, is there an acceptable type of mask that might be available at the hardware or art supply store, or must I go with the more expensive stuff from Laserbits? A local source of this stuff would be nice.
I want to thank everyone for their past advice, and hopefully I can contribute more soon. Hope to post some photos as well.
Congratulations on your acquisition! I experienced the same problems with the plastic and it takes a bit of experimentation to get the right technique. Try these:
1…Leave the paper on the plastic material until the last possible minute. It protects the surface like nothing else, including the cutting. If it doesn’t have paper on it, get some transfer paper and use that. If you’re doing any glueing, same thing. It protects the surface from spills and fumes. Don’t take it off until the very end.
2…Put a piece of thin cardboard on the bottom of the laser under the honeycomb. The honeycomb pattern on the bottom of your plastic comes from reflections off the bottom of the laser that are bouncing back up and striking your material. The cardboard absorbs the beam and gets scorched instead of your finished piece. It needs to be changed out periodically.
3…When I got my machine, I went out to a sheet metal shop and got a thin piece of steel to put on the bottom of the laser. The bottom of the machine gets scratched up and marked badly with normal use. The metal sheet takes the abuse instead of your new machine. It cost me around $3.00 and is a disposable item.
Good luck with your new machine!
I tried the cardboard, underneath and on top of the honeycomb. It definitely helped, but now there are some irregular markings instead of the honeycomb, so I suspect I will need some sort of masking material applied directly to the acrylic such as they recommend at Laserbits. I’d still like to find a local source however. I get some “formal” training on Friday, so I’ll pass on any tips. I am glad to report that each run gets better. I am making acrylic coasters to give away to perspective clients, in some cases with their logos on them. In the meantime, every one in the family will be getting their own personalized coaster as I learn the techniques. There will be no excuses for condensation rings on any of our furniture. :)
I have found two local places that carry masking. Hosever, I am not sure if their price is competitive. Check to see if you have a local distributor for sign products by going to a place that sells signs, and asking the owner of the sign company. In my city, there is a company called “Farco Plasitcs” that sells signmaking supplies. Another source is any large craft store, such as “Michaels”.
I received that same machine from jorlink about a year ago. Be sure you have him get you setup with an account for the laserprousa.com web site so that you can download new drivers and have him show you how to install the driver and firmware. The laserpro driver is constantly being improves (fixed) so the newest of the drivers tends to work the best. The driver bugs are annoying but the large size of the machine outweighs any minor driver issues.
The laserpro also likes to be warmed up before producing halftones. If you run it cold you will see some banding in things like granite.
I don’t worry about the aluminum table getting marked up. The laser isn’t eating into the aluminum. It’s staining or depositing material onto the bed. I found that painter cleanup wipes (like diaper wipes) do a good job cleaning up. I can still see lots of memories stained into the aluminum but it has not caused any issues.