CNC (Lasers, Routers, Etc)

Denamian

Denamian

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Bandwagon said:
They're going to struggle if they can't use something like cad, inkscape or illustrator.
Click to expand...

Well, not my problem unless they make it worth my time. On the off chance they do, do you have any recommendations on the easiest one to look in to?

This has been a weird fucking year for my side jobs. Ancient PoS systems, getting paid in car parts, now laser engraving.
 
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Bandwagon

Bandwagon

Kolohe
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Denamian said:
Well, not my problem unless they make it worth my time. On the off chance they do, do you have any recommendations on the easiest one to look in to?

This has been a weird fucking year for my side jobs. Ancient PoS systems, getting paid in car parts, now laser engraving.
Click to expand...
Inkscape is free and not horrible to learn. If they're not halfway computer savvy though they're probably completely fucked. If they can put together a PowerPoint or use Excel, they should be ok
 
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Denamian

Denamian

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Bandwagon said:
Inkscape is free and not horrible to learn. If they're not halfway computer savvy though they're probably completely fucked. If they can put together a PowerPoint or use Excel, they should be ok
Click to expand...

I'll look in to that. Hopefully they aren't completely computer illiterate and just need a little guidance.
 
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Bandwagon

Bandwagon

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Working on a care package for my little sister...
1617562065942.png
 
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k^M

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Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator, Cad, Vectric (Cut2d), Silhouette etc are all at a basic level the same shit with a different skin. Some might have an extra feature or two that makes buying it better (nesting doesn't exist in Inkscape for example), but there are also free web services that can do that too.

One app may call it grouping/ungrouping, another calls it join/unjoin, merge/unmerge, but at the end of the day all the shit is the same with a different naming convention. Start with inkscape as its free, and if they can design a few shapes relatively easily and understand the concept of stuff like subtracting an object from that or merging it with another to create a different shape, they can do most anything.

YMMV, but my one stickler point that determines what app I find useful is just dumb basic shit. As an example, in silhouette mousewheel doesn't zoom in and out, it scrolls the screen up/down and you have to hold control to scroll left/right. For me, that is the most annoying shit ever, and while likely something you can fiddle with in the settings I couldn't be bothered to.
 
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Bandwagon

Bandwagon

Kolohe
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My friend that bought a glowforge wants to try making a coffee table, so I'm prepping this to engrave into 35 tiles that we'll split up between our machines. Will measure 30in x 22in when complete. I was aiming for doing something 24in x 48in, but I got tired of looking for a map that would work after 2 hours.

This one is from 1786. "Vol. 2. El Puerto de Mahon" Source
Preview.jpg
 
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Bandwagon

Bandwagon

Kolohe
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Whew, the tone looks like it matches pretty well across all tiles. I wish the small text had come out a little bit more clear than it did, but I'm pretty damn happy with this overall.

Notes, just in case I forget....
Speed: 1000
Power: Full
LPI: 640
Vary Power.
Clean laser lens between each group. Make sure to focus on a tile first (auto-focus center of each group would be between tiles, on jig). Spray with alcohol before laser and just after. Ink and wipe until it starts to dry (about 2 minutes), wipe off with dry rag first, then a little alcohol on rag to clean up rest.

ElPuertoDeMahon.jpg
 
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k^M

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thats pretty cool, if you get bored and want to test it I'm curious how that would hold up in a shower. Would be pretty cool if you tiled a shower with something like that
 
Bandwagon

Bandwagon

Kolohe
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k^M said:
thats pretty cool, if you get bored and want to test it I'm curious how that would hold up in a shower. Would be pretty cool if you tiled a shower with something like that
Click to expand...
All I've been using so far is clear coat. I have 2x coasters that I've been using for 2 months that are holding up just fine.

Any other ideas to seal it up? (Don't say epoxy)
 
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k^M

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I have no idea on that level, an epoxy coat would do the job but when it came to 'finish' level work I hardly ever went that far. All my projects prior to laser breaking are just fun rustic concepts.

Wasn't sure if normal seal coating would withstand the steam/water impact of a shower or not, maybe take one of the tiles and toss it in there, see what happens?
 
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k^M

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Negatory, was sitting in my office for 5 months while I tried various things to get it up and running and couldn't ever get the mirrors aligned. I understand in concept what it needs to do but in reality, not sure if I have steady enough hands or what to get it there. Covid really fucked up trying to hire someone local to come align everything and doublecheck the holes were all machined correctly to begin with, so I finally took it apart to start selling it off.
 
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Bandwagon

Bandwagon

Kolohe
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I think I learned my lesson on buying from China with the 3d printer.

The drones i use just happen to be an anomaly.
 
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k^M

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Couple friends have gotten the exact same model and it worked great out of the gate, just wasn't for me. Shit happens, company still seems solid manufacturing wise but their support is equally shitty. "You need to align them" well no shit I do
 
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k^M

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How are you going to cover it, or are you? Epoxy/glass top or just leave it open?

Can imagine the horror id feel if someone came over and re-arranged the tiles
 
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