I have a platter used for a record player in my possession with hopes to engrave on it. It is 16mm thick (0.62 inches) and is made of frosted acrylic. I have some questions as it is an expensive item, so I do not have room for error and would like to get things right on the first try. My question(s) are:
Is it safe to engrave it on the crumb tray? Or am I better off removing the tray? While it is thicker than other materials I have used in the past, I believe it should be within the range that the crumb tray can handle as far as height goes, correct?
What settings are best for something like this? I am just looking to engrave the platter, and if possible add a score on top of the engraving for a solid, defined outline. Quality of engraving does not matter so much, as long as it is clearly visible
The item I am looking to engrave is called High Density Frosted Acrylic Platter For Fluance Reference Turntables, for reference. I imagine no one will have an exact answer for my situation, but if I can be lead in the right direction it would be much appreciated!
16mm is thicker than can be worked on with the tray in-place, max is 12mm, so you will need to remove the tray and support it to get in the focus range.
As to settings, if you are confident it is actually pure acrylic and contains no PVC (have checked the SDS), then regular Proofgrade acrylic settings should work fine.
Welcome to the forum.
If you place your item on the honeycomb tray and try to engrave it, the printhead will crash into it. The maximum that can be placed on the tray to be engraved or cut is 1/2". The focus height of the Glowforge is 1/2". With the honeycomb tray out, you will need to elevate your platter in such a way that the surface to be engraved is within the focus range of the Glowforge lens. Therefore, the platter must be between 1.5" and 2" from the floor of the Glowforge.
You must insure that the material to be engraved is safe to engrave.
To insure proper focus and alignment of your artwork, I suggest putting a piece of paper or cardstock on top of the platter and lightly scoring the paper to insure that the alignment is correct.
What they all said:-). For placement issues i do what @dklgood suggested. Put some masking on the piece and score it at 500/1 and it will show up on the mask but not go through it. That way you can be assured it’s in the correct ‘place’. Then, if it’s acrylic, I would use the acrylic settings.