Got myself on the tile kick

[jamesdhatch]

That would be cool too. Could just pull one tile out

[quinnone2]

I’ve had these images for like over 10 years saved a lot them from books I’ve found on my travels and scanned them for computer use

[julesweissman]

VERY GOOD art choices

[mmcnama4]

@quinnone2 Are these a specific type of tile or do you treat it with something first? AKA… how do you do this

[mmcnama4]

@jamesdhatch love the idea of spreading the image across multiple tiles, but my alignment between camera and finished product is always 1/8" to 1/4" off and so alignment seems like it would be a nightmare.

Have you seen the same for alignment?

[evansd2]

Jigs, man. Jigs.

Alignment of irregular objects (Coasters)

I got a set of slate coasters. Unfortunately slate’s a pretty analog material, and each square was very slightly different. Under normal circumstances, this would not be an issue, as the differences were very small… but these are to be a matched tiling set, and so alignment was crucial. The way I solved for it was to make a “consumable” jig. Carefully measure your coaster: length, width and height. Be sure to mark the bottom somehow so you know your orientation later. Go to your favorite S…

Exact alignment. Every time.

[quinnone2]

Nope… just got them at the depot…think there were like 80 cents…nothing fancy.

[jamesdhatch]

@mmcnama4

Have you seen the same for alignment?

I calibrated for my offset. It’s pretty close by eye but I did tests using scores on targets I had printed on paper I had on the bed. After each score I’d adjust the on-screen image using the arrow keys and counted the clicks. I can drop an image dead on something on the bed.

The other way to do it is using a jig to hold the tiles. Score the outlines you need to hit and move the image as needed.

Or run a “corners” test on your bed so you know where the absolute limits are on your bed and you can adjust your image in the design software to zero at the corner. But the limits change with speed of engrave so it’s a bit harder for this approach because you’ll actually end up with multiple marks on the bed to zero to based on engrave speed which would need different offsets in the design software.

[mmcnama4]

Thanks!

[mmcnama4]

I actually created my first proper jig a couple days ago and it works pretty well assuming I don’t mess with the alignment points in the source file.

I do wish alignment was better. Even at the center of my camera it is very off. Also, my camera is blurry throughout the whole image… might just need to clean of residue from smoke or what not.

@jamesdhatch

I calibrated for my offset.

I’m having a hard time visualizing what you described. If you have a moment, any pictures you can share?

[jamesdhatch]

@mmcnama4

I’m having a hard time visualizing what you described. If you have a moment, any pictures you can share?

I may have a post out there but either @kittski or @cynd11 were the creators of the process I used. The right one will pop in now with a specific link that I referenced them

[cynd11]

Yep! That would be this one, most likely:

A way to improve object placement

Here is the method I use to compensate for the slight offset I currently experience with object placement. This method will probably be obsolete when precision alignment is available but in the meantime it can help if you want exact (or at least extremely close) placement of artwork on the bed. Using this file: [image] Upload it to the GFUI. Set up a score. Attach a piece of graph paper (here I’m using 1 inch grid divided into tenths) to a piece of card stock and measure the thickness w…

And you don’t really need to use graph paper, you can just make crosshairs on cardstock or draftboard or whatever.

[jamesdhatch]

@cynd11

And you don’t really need to use graph paper, you can just make crosshairs on cardstock

Which is what I used.

Thanks @cynd11 for providing the link.

[rebecca]

I love the images you used! The tiles are great.

[rebecca]

I seriously need to raid your image collection. Ha! I just love what you’ve selected.

[orsini]

I love these. Can you pls share where did you get the tiles? Also, did you paint on top of the engraving? Really cool colors there!

[quinnone2]

Thanks…they are just home depots …think they were 50 cents…,the two that came out kinda blue was a really old sharpie then switched to a new one for the other two.

[DaveL]

I’ve seen a few threads on this and decided to give it a try. Got some cheap tiles at Lowes and tried it, the etch worked great with the settings from one of the threads but I can’t ever see doing a second one with the amount of work to color it. Do you let the Sharpie dry first or clean it right after coloring it in? I tried coloring it and then wiping it off right away but it was also taking off the color I wanted to stay. So I then tried to let it dry a bit but then it was very hard to remove. I used baby wipes so maybe that was part of the issue? I read from one thread to use MrClean pads I think.

[geek2nurse]

Get the big FAT Sharpies. Or the oil-based ones. They’ll cover faster!

[jamesdhatch]

Oil based Sharpies with the fat tips. Color the whole tile smearing it on. Let dry and then using a slightly damp Magic Sponge rub the tile. It will only take off the Sharpie that’s on the glaze, not the ink that’s in the engraving.

It will take some rubbing but it’s only a minute or two.

Other folks use alcohol but that can wash out some of the engraving.

BTW, if you much up a tile you can soak it in bleach and it will clean out all of the ink and you can repaint it.