Laser engravers......who knows about them?

[Odie]

Could something like this do design work and lettering on a bowl or platter?

Could you hand draw designs or lettering and transfer that to a turning, using a laser to engrave?

Can you take an in-line script and curve it to match a circular engrave?

Auxiliary rotary device? Is this something like a turntable?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50W-CO2-LAS...778?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c886c34b2

 

[hockenbery]

Kelly,
here is a youtube that shows how the rotary device works.
Sort of like a lathe turning the object under the laser.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D162OdpjD84

Going to work better on a cylinder where the whole edge is in the same plane.

To letter a platter or a bowl rim you can set that flat on and the laser will move around it.
It will work best if it is flat and in the same plane. These machines are software driven.
The software can usually trace black and white image well. The software will also have some lettering and text manipulation.
You would need to know what the capabilities of the software that comes with it.

Al

 

[Odie]

Right now.....just considering a few "what ifs"......most likely nothing to become of it. Al, I watched the video, and there is a laser where I work that engraves on aluminum and titanium coated stainless steel. This is a powerful laser, and the cylinder being engraved turns on it's axis....like in the video. Although I have run this laser, it's not a regular thing, and I have nothing to do with the programming. To do a bowl/platter, I'd imagine it would have to be secured to something like a turntable.

I don't claim to have knowledge, but I think the object being engraved, has to have the point of laser contact equal distant to the laser source. Something soft, like wood, probably has some leeway on that.

ko

 

[Jerry Bailey]

There's actually a new group that's started on Facebook about laser/engravers,
several of the members there have the smaller 40w version of this unit and are doing pens, etc on them.
Several others have larger units to engrave/cut other things from wood, almost all members are wood turners.
They will work fine with wood, for bowls, you'd just need a platter large enough to hold the vessel,
use the included software to set the laser burning depth, the design, etc. and go .......

If you're on Facebook, I'll gladly post the link for you,
or set you as a member so you can see the posts/reviews/info (just need your Facebook username)
As I said, it's a new group so info is just starting to be populated,
has minimal info on different manufacturers, here in US and in China
different systems, the related software for them, etc etc

 

[Bill Boehme]

One of our club members has a laser engraving business and has done several laser engravings for me. It can do everything that you asked about. Actually, it is the computer image processing software that does all that stuff and then rasterizes the output much like a computer would process an image that is displayed on a monitor. Scalable vector graphics work best if you have an off-line file that you want to send to the laser engraver. However, I tknow that professional level laser engravers can convert bit-mapped graphics to vector graphics, but the downside is that it's scalability would be limited. Yes, graphics and text can be curved, stretched, squashed, and whatever else you may wish to do to it. Also, the laser intensity can be modulated to add three dimensional relief to the engraving. Anything that a CNC milling machine can do to metal, a laser engraver can do to wood.

Here is an example on the lower right of a platter where the rim was engraved with a weave pattern.

 

[hockenbery]

The platter in Bills post is a good illustration of both the intricate detail the laser can do and the limitations of most lasers.
The focal plane of the laser is fine on the rim of the platter that is fairly flat.

One question was whether the laser could put that pattern on the surface of the bowl in the back left.

If you put the bowl rim down under the laser two issues come up.

1. The laser will be out of focus except for a narrow ring around the bowl. but! There are lasers on the market now that have a dynamic focus capability. Money can solve this problem
2. The pattern as it would be on the surface of the bowl has to mapped into the laser plane. Easy on flat surfaces as they are the same. Somewhat easy on spherical bowls.

I have been experimenting with sand carving. And some similar things happen.
It is easy to make patterns for flat objects. Somewhat easy to make patterns for spheres.
Things in between not so easy it sort of comes down to make a flat pattern fit or make a spherical pattern fit.

Below is a 4" cherry globe I plan to put in the instant gallery at the Florida symposium.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Nice cherry world, Al.

 

[Richard Coers]

Could something like this do design work and lettering on a bowl or platter?

Could you hand draw designs or lettering and transfer that to a turning, using a laser to engrave?

Can you take an in-line script and curve it to match a circular engrave?

Auxiliary rotary device? Is this something like a turntable?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50W-CO2-LAS...778?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c886c34b2

A laser engraver is basically a dot matrix printer. Instead of a ink dot, you have a laser beam fired. You have a computer graphic program, usually Corel Draw, that has a printer driver connection to the laser. You can import graphics such as pictures or line work, into Corel Draw, and the laser prints it by firing the laser (at the speed and power you tell it) where it is supposed to. It does not have to be vectors like cnc work, it prints whatever image or line is on the screen. They can also cut if the wattage is high enough. You can wrap text around a curve and engrave it. Locating can be tricky for a bowl. My laser basically has a framing square riveted to the bed. Locating a circle, 3 inches above that square will take additional fixturing for accurate locating. Height of the object may be a concern as there is a lense that has to be focused to the work. Usually 1 1/2 to 2" above the object. The laser is in the back, fires into a angle mirror, another angle mirror at the end of the traveling axis, into another angle mirror above the lens, then the lens. That's how you get the beam to the work if you were interested. So add the height of the bowl or platter, with the focus distance, then check the machine capability. As mentioned, the rotaries typically look like a lathe. Made to engrave wine bottles, cups, or shot glasses.

 

[Bill Boehme]

It should also be mentioned that the red laser beam is just there for getting things aligned. It is just a laser pointer. The real laser is not visible.

 

[john lucas]

I don't know anything about laser printers. However about 8 or 9 years ago I needed a wooden wine bottle engraved. A local guy did it for me. I think he had some sort of jig that rotated the bottle so the laser printed at the exact focal point as the bottle rotated. Wish I could give you more info but I talked to the guy about it. He said he could do it and he did. I didn't see the machine or get to watch.

 

[Richard Coers]

You are right John, you can't actually see the beam, but you can see a bright white spot when the beam hits the wood. Some lasers have that red aiming beam, others do not. Some rotaries work on the center line like a lathe, others have rollers with o-rings on them and the round object rests on the rollers and is spun in place. I have the center line system and with an adaptor I made, I can easily use a pen mandrel on it and engrave in the round. For normal one line pen work, I use a v-block rest to hold the pen in place. All lasers need a fume extractor to get the vaporized wood gases outside. Some lasers also have an air compressor to inject pressurized air directly on the point of burn. It keeps the smoke off the lense and keeps the gases from igniting. I never engrave other people's pens. Imagine a mistake on a $100 pen. That would wipe out the usual $7 per line profit really quickly. The engraver is the only tool in my shop that has not paid for itself. I've made some money with it, but truly a toy.