I posted a while back trying to see if anyone had done braille with the GF. After a bunch of trial and error I was finally able to find out the best settings. I had tried a few different materials, but for this current order I’m working on I’m using 1/4" non glare acrylic. Using 295 speed and 18 power I was able to create the perfect size hole that the braille beads lock into. Just had to set the hole size to .001 inch larger that the bead. I attached some photos. I just have masking on the text now, but that will be 1/32" black acrylic. Figured I’d just drop in with my discoveries in case it helps anyone else!
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Very nice. I had no idea that Braille beads existed.
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That’s fabulous! Do the beads come with any sort of adhesive?
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This is awesome!!
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Nice work; and thank you for sharing this with us.
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No, typically the holes are drilled and the beads are popped into the holes just with friction.
The trick is getting the hole the perfect size so that they snap in, but don’t fall out.
You can get the beads from almost any ADA supplier.
My last project was acrylic with an 1/8" aluminum laminate. for that one I use the GF to mark the braille location then I hand drilled them on a press. Using only clear acrylic this time saves me a whole step!
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Here are some photos with the black lettering. I’ll be mounting these on a brushed silver backer in the end.
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These are very nice!
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These are so professional, they look great! Wonderful learning about the braille beads, thank you for sharing that.
Terrific work! You can do anything with a GF, even braille! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for sharing that with us!
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That turned out great. Thank you for sharing your info with us. It’s something I never would have thought of.
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This may be my ignorance talking but why can’t you just leave the holes why do you need to use braille beads?
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Braille is raised bumps that blind people need to feel in order to read. The holes may not have edges that are distinguishable enough to be felt. The holes may work, but for quick reading, and what the blind community has been trained to do, the holes would not be as good. For ADA signs, one must adhere to the rules set forth by the ADA.
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Great job!
Hi Sean,
Great post! What settings do you use for the appliqué?
Welcome to the forum.
The settings are in the first post.
The settings on the first post are for the rasters or “braille beads”. I was asking for the appliqué which is the black lettering.
Hi Victor,
The lettering is 1/32 black acrylic with gel tape on the backs. You can the ADA acrylic with tape from Johnson plastics or many other suppliers. I just buy the acrylic because I get the large gel tape rolls from a local supplier.
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