Ok you all got me distracted with tiles…I’m learning Illustrator at the same time. I made 4 today. The all blue and all black tiles are set with “convert to dots” on the grayscale option; the other one is the “vary power” with 2 passes. Manual engrave, speed 1K, full power, 225 lines per inch.
I did make a box that has a lid for lasertiles. you may have to check measurements to see if your generic 4" tile would fit, but the lasertiles fit perfectly here.
I’ve made two. One is a coaster and the other I made a little stand for: sort of like a picture on a table. I’ve been considering a shadow box as well.
Here is a basic stand that should work for a 4-inch tall tile with medium proofgrade ply or draft board. It’s a little loose with hardwood. LargeTileHolder.zip (5.1 KB)
So lasertiles – where do you get them and how are they different than say the ones we pick up at Lowes? What size are they?
Would like to put together a box and put one of those 4" tiles from Lowes in it if it would fit for a presentation at work on Wednesday. I am supposed to be giving the Technology Club ideas of ways to use a laser cutter in their home…this is a really nice looking gift.
I would like to get some laser tiles and cut one with our first dog’s picture on it. It seems fitting to put in some of his items that my son kept. He would be really happy to have something like this. Thank you for sharing.
lasertile is a tile with a special coating that will darken with laser etching. they cost more than regular tiles (not surprising). the web site is slow and the company that sells them sometimes takes a bit to process/ship orders. but many of us have done some pretty nice tiles with them.
@evansd2 - im still trying to find black CERAMIC tile… as it etches WAY better… this was a big piece of granite. i think the laser is kinda “wiggy” on granite… as the particles of stone dont “cut” or “burn” in an even-handed kind of way… so it’s all “grainy”…
porcelain (like those white tiles we’ve been playing with) i think is better… as you are removing the “glaze” (burning off the shiny protective layer) and exposing the porous porcelain underneath… which soaks up the marker/paint/dye - while the remaining glazed part “wipes clean”…
now i gotta google it… someone has to sell black glazed ceramic tile… lol
There’s a huge tile store in Atlanta that I keep meaning to go to… it’s a flooring store and they carry a ton of stuff. I wonder if a dedicated flooring store would have glossy black large tiles?
Weeded and assembled. I like the thin finger joints, but it was really too tight. I had to use a hammer wrapped in a rag to get it together. The hinge worked better than I expected. I used a box generated from the festi boxes.py site, then created the lid and added the hinge in illustrator. I would like a bit more contrast, so I will try staining or make another one before Mother’s Day.