When I designed some of these in fusion I used toothpick holes for alignment. Little holes that you would slip a toothpick in and snip and sand or slipt it back out once everything is placed and set. Just don’t do holes for the top layer all the rest would be hidden
2 Likes
You can (at least with other lasers). I do 1/4" acrylic all the time using 60W at 95% and 10mm/sec. On the 40W that would have to be about 6mm/sec but still very doable.
If it’s a standalone piece the slope on the cut is indistinguishable. But if you’re going to be edge gluing you need either a gel-based CA or you do 2 passes (faster or lower power) and that tends to make a more straight cut (but never truly straight due to the shape of the beam). I always cut with the focus 1/2 way thru the acrylic vs focusing on the top surface.
Can’t do it with the GF, but other lasers that have the room let you switch to a 3" lens instead of the standard CO2 laser’s 2" lens. That makes for more vertical cuts as well.
4 Likes
Really awesome…wondering…do you need all the indents ?Also after gluing can you reverse the climb?
1 Like
Don’t know if you saw this post where I tested the acrylic. I did it with 80/20, figuring it would work from my small tests.
One of the things I am discovering is that when I do my own settings, I tend to make it as minimal as possible. So for a big job it will cut through all the way on 95% of the work, just barely making it through the masking or not even through the masking. Then that leaves some not cut through. When tight tolerances aren’t required, I can blow through it and not worry about a wider kerf.
For my shadow box, the Proofgrade settings in walnut did every cut on every piece just perfectly with an amazingly small kerf.
That’s a good idea. A nice geometry problem to solve. Once again 3D programs assist in this.
4 Likes
The beam is pretty small though. I’d love to experiment once the GF arrives.
1 Like
Just very quickly looked at that (another great project) but there too you cut twice to get a clean edge it seems.
It is small at the focal point, maybe 0.2mm, but as it leaves the lens it will be a few mm in diameter, hence the cone. So over a 2" focal length it goes from something like 5mm down to 0.2mm. The shape is actually a bit better than a pure cone as it has an elongated point.
1 Like
Yes, best to do it twice rather than full power and slowest speed.
2 Likes
I have done one that was around 20" (500mm or so) which had about 20 something rings. I went upwards half way, then continued back down so the last ring was on plane with the bottom. Looked cool. I’ll try to find a pic.
1 Like
Holy cow! that is some fine workmanship. I can’t imagine having to cut them all out on the scroll saw. Very nice.
chip and salsa bowl.
6 Likes
Wow!
1 Like
Totally cool …love thecolors…thx 
1 Like
Seriously Wow!
1 Like
Stunning. There’s a real Escher thing going on there with my eyes…
2 Likes
I’ve only ever tried once on a scroll saw, and either my scroll saw sucks or I do. Reasonably certain my scroll saw is ok.
I did this on an old 3axis biesse rover CNC. 1/16" straight bit. 1000mm/m. 4 passes .
4 Likes
That makes sense now. I couldn’t figure out why the proportions of the width of the bands was so narrow. It was the wider kerf with the mill.
This will be a great test for a pass through on the Pro. You could make a pretty large bowl. Heck, even a sombrero!
3 Likes
Indeed - cutting twice vs. once is a question of finish, speed, and other factors. We’ll find the best balance for Proofgrade settings, but you can always switch to manual mode and experiment.
11 Likes
Ok thanks.
I’d have thought adding heat to the cut face twice doubles the risk of melting the acrylic.
I have always had in my mind that GF would be able to cut most wood & acrylic up to 1/4 inch with a single pass (for both the 40w and 45w tubes). Was that a misplaced perception or was it part of the marketing or specs at some point?