Hi All, I need some help ASAP!
I have a pocketknife with brass ends that I need to engrave on. When I place it on the tray, I get an error warning about its height and possible scorching. I have also tried to get it set without the tray in and still get an error.
The knife is 9/16th’s tall and has plenty of clearance. I don’t know what the actual depth of the brass is, so I’m not sure what material thickness depth to enter manually. I did try it once, bluffing with Medium Hardwood (the hardest option listed for certified material) and set Speed at 250, Power at 100% (not full) and 450 LPI. didn’t do a thing. I did a test on brass snaps and it engraved great. I have cleaned with denatured alcohol and have coated with CerMark.
This is supposed to be a Christmas gift so any help anyone can offer right away would be greatly appreciated!!!
Kidding aside it really is too tall. For a performance series the maximum height of your material on the crumb tray can only be half an inch. You’re over that. You should look on the forum for posts about how to engrave without the crumb tray.
Essentially what you’ll be doing is removing the crumb tray and then adding something to set the knife on that brings it up to the correct height. I would say get something that’s about an inch tall and then put your knife on it and use set focus. You should be just fine at that point.
If you have an aura, that’s a separate story. I’d have to check but I want to say the maximum height of anything even without the crumb tray is only half an inch in the aura and you’re over that. I’m not sure what advice to give you there if that’s what you’re up against.
Oh, also… It’s worth saying that whatever you put inside the Glowforge…
If you’re supporting your knife with an object, it needs to be something that’s relatively laser safe. Make sure you’re not putting anything in there that is made out of PVC or can’t take some laser damage.
Don’t prop it up on your first edition copy of Moby Dick or something.
Engraving wood with a speed of 250 and 100 power might give you lots of charring. It’s better to go faster and if you don’t get the depth you want repeat the engrave. Also don’t try to manually enter the height. Use the set focus and make sure the red dot lands on the material where you want to engrave.
since it’s probably not perfectly flat, one thing i’ve used for odd shapes is a big wad or two of aluminum foil. you can mash it however you like to fit your odd shape and if you need it level, just put a level on top and mash til it looks right. and foil will… well… “foil” a CO2 laser.
If I can make a suggestion that will relieve much stress in your life, get a set of digital calipers. For this purpose a cheap $15 pair on amazon is just fine (for machining I use a not-cheap set of Mituoyos but honestly the laser is far more accommodating than a harvey-3 end mill biting into 316L stainless steel where microns matter) Because once you know the thickness of things, the rest of it is trivial… Also if you have access to a 3D printer (or friend with one). Somewhere on here I posted a printable model of a set of stepped blocks to hold an object at adjustable heights without the tray for this very purpose.
Thank you for the info. I do not have a 3d printer or close friend with one. I was able to get the calibration of the brass end and it is approximately 3/16" or .1875" that is what I will need to enter into the manual setting.
Thanks for the info. I’ve removed the crumb tray and replaced it with a heavy steel weight that is about 1.25" No fire possible with it. I made that mistake with an earlier project. This is my 2nd pro engraver
