Full Version: OK, wish me luck-Epilog arrives tomorrow
From: precisionlaser [#8]
20 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#4] 21 Mar 2007
Larry,
Cody's comment about his jig reminds me of a trick we like to use when we have something that needs to be propped up and supported for lasering. We use Legos...yes, Legos. We have one of those gray Lego tables about 15" square and we build a little jig with the Legos on to the table, and then slide the whole thing into the laser up into the corner. Since our machine is only capable of 12" x 24", we had to cut the Lego table to fit, but once that's done, you're ready to rock. Just another tip...
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#9]
20 Mar 2007
To: precisionlaser [#8] 20 Mar 2007
Mark,
Legos? That is a funny but great tip. Mix in a little Silly Puddy when you need some extra grip and you have all the tools you need to jig up any oddly shaped piece.
By the way, are your kids running around the house looking for their lost toys? :D
EDITED: 20 Mar 2007 by DATAKES
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#10]
20 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#1] 21 Mar 2007
Look at you!!
Acting like a kid waiting for Santa Claus to come down the chimney. :-)
Very exciting!!
From: precisionlaser [#11]
20 Mar 2007
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#9] 20 Mar 2007
Dave,
My "kids" are 24 and 19 now, so no worries there! We started using Legos for this because on our sub-surface lasers, we use them to position crystal. On one of our lasers, we have 30 of the gray flats laid out on the table. Toys R Us ran out of the flats and I had to buy them directly from the Lego online store. When people tour our operations, they are always amused to see Legos, but they do a superb job, they are accurate and of course easy to work with.
From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#12]
21 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#1] 21 Mar 2007
When I first got the laser I followed some advice I saw here, which was to set the default page size in Corel to match the maximum sixe of the laser. Set it as a permanent default in X3 and then never have to worry about the work sheet size matching the table. They will always match.
Of course that means that you then place your art on the sheet based on where the actual material might be on the table. For example my table is a 12"x24", and so is my Corel sheet size. If I am working on a 6"x18" piece of wood I have to keep in mind that all my art must be within that upper left portion of the 12"x24" sheet in Corel. But that's really not hard to do, and prevents the size mismatch problem.
I always use auto-focus. It works well and that way I can't forget to focus, which will really screw up the results.
As probably most people have done, I did do a foolish thing once and forgot to lower the table after sticking in an object that was much thicker than the previous object. The result was my air assist tube getting jammed into the top of the object I was engraving. I now am much more careful to lower the table when sticking in anything other than thin sheets of material.
From: Carl (CSEWELL) [#13]
21 Mar 2007
To: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#12] 21 Mar 2007
From: bluepaw [#14]
21 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#1] 21 Mar 2007
Congratulations on your new machine. You are beginning a journey that will bring you a lot of satisfaction and maybe only a bit of frustration. If I never made a dime with my laser it is so much fun to try new things it would still be missed if I didn't have it. (I must admit that on more than one occasion I have gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to try something that I thought of or maybe dreamed up.
I have one piece of advise that is so important I am surprised that no one has mentioned it.
Be ever aware that this devise that can do such amazing work can also set things on fire.
Others on here can tell you their horror stories in words and pictures. My incident caused only minor damage and I was back in business shortly but it could have been much worse.
Don't be afraid of your machine but always be aware of what it is doing.
No matter how tempting, never leave the room when it is engraving and especially when cutting.
"In an instant" is now emblasened on a sign above my laser.
Now that I have brought a moment of doom and gloom to your day let me say that I am jealous. Have fun. The laser will bring you many hours of enjoyment and I am sure lots of extra cash.
Bill
From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#15]
21 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#1] 21 Mar 2007
From: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#16]
21 Mar 2007
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#10] 21 Mar 2007
Dave, as far as my experience goes, when I was a kid, their was no cost associated with Santa Clause. T'ain't true in the case! I told my guy that was unloading today that he could buy a new car for the cost of what was in that box. Needless to say, he was more careful than normal.
Anyway, it arrived about two this afternoon. We spent the afternoon getting it in the building, unpacking it, and getting it connected to the exhaust system. I have not put it under power yet. Tomorrow, we will complete our exhaust install. (We relocated it a bit in the space and we need a little bit longer flexible pipe).
But is sure is PURTY! (southern for pretty). Roy Hatley will be here Friday and we're gonna crank her up then. I'm going to install the software as a network printer. I have a combination hardwired Ethernet network and wireless. (This allows me to create on my laptop at one location and print to the other location if I want to.) Don't worry, someone is watching over the machine at all times. When I bring my laptop into that building, I can connect wirelessly to the internet and our network.
Sooo..the adventure begins. I can't thank you guys and girls enough for all the things I have learned here over the last two or so weeks. It's definitely a trip. Thanks again! :-)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#17]
21 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#16] 21 Mar 2007
When I was a kid there was no cost associated with anything.
Looking forward to hearing your success stories, after the install; not that we have no interest in your success stories prior to the install. :-)
From: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#18]
21 Mar 2007
To: bluepaw [#14] 21 Mar 2007
Bill:
Thanks for the good advice. I put a new fire extinguisher on the wall this afternoon. When we do our training on Friday, I intend to stress safety and the very thing you advise. Thanks! :-)
EDITED: 21 Mar 2007 by PALMETTO
From: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#19]
23 Mar 2007
To: ALL
We ran the EXT for the first time today. It is an awesome machine. Had the whole gang ohhhh and ahhhhh ing all over the place. We engraved wood, acrylic, anodized aluminum and some coated brass. Vectored some of the wood. Did some glass on the rotary attachment.
We ran into a problem with Photograv though. When I tried to install it yesterday, the CD drive in my Toshiba laptop would not read the files. Called Photograv and they advised to try it on another computer, I did and it opened. I copied the files on the CD and transferred them to my hard drive. Finally got the setup file to run. Anyway, the saved engraved files we created, came into Corel with black backgrounds and were not what they were supposed to be. Our distributor called them and they said something was definitely amiss. They are sending a new copy.
So, we didn't do the photo we intended. But all in all, I am very pleased so far. See yall later..I HAVE TO GO CREATE!!! :P
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#20]
23 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#19] 24 Mar 2007
Sounds like you're not wasting any time, getting your feet wet.
Congratulations! Very exciting. :-)
From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#21]
24 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#19] 24 Mar 2007
By inverting the image after conversion, if the original had a white background, it now has a black one.
When creating images that will be engraved on those materials, before sending to Photograv, you usually want to make the backgrounds black so that after conversion and inversion they end up with white backgrounds.
For example, if engraving on black marble when you imagine the image you are creating, if the original has a black background then once inverted and engraved that black background is now unengraved black marble. The same is true for clear materials like clear acrylic or glass. The black background on the original means unengraved clear glass/acrylic in the background while the white parts of the original are now white engravings.
Here is a mockup image I created for another discussion about engraving on black marble. But the same holds true for any of the materials that engrave white.
From: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#22]
24 Mar 2007
To: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#21] 24 Mar 2007
THANK YOU, DAVE!!!
Being a total newbie with that program I simply didn't know. Apparently others at the session didn't either. I copied your reply and e-mailed to them.
This forum becomes more and more valuable to me every day! :-)
From: Awardsguy [#23]
26 Mar 2007
To: ALL
And the longer you're here, the more valuable it becomes!
You should join us in Vegas next year. You'll learn some things and have a good time, too.
From: deLazer [#24]
26 Mar 2007
To: ALL
From: Mikey (MIKE2449) [#25]
27 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#19] 27 Mar 2007
Larry:
Short note from another newbie. I received my machine about two weeks ago. With help from the crowd in here and a lot long hours and hard work, I am very pleased with the results. I am focusing primarily in the stone market, but I will take the other stuff as it comes. Here's the advice I found most helpful starting up--keep volumes of notes, look for repetative work, become the best in the marketplace of your chosing. Here's an example of what I found recently. Most in here don't seem to like the one up photo imaging on stone--because it is one up. I approached the local hospital CEO. They have 300 births per year. Now wouldn't this be a way kewl gift that the hospital can give to mom's? Email me the file, they can have the birth announcement before they leave the hospital. I set up a template and although this is a one up deal, it becomes much easier to replace a pic, and two lines of text. Hospital seems very enthused and I should hear soon. Another person told me about the wedding thing. It's nice to do the bride groom thing, but at the local flower shop they told me the bride was always looking for gifts for the bridesmaids. I made a sample of the group pic (bridesmaid and bride) "special moments, special friends forever cast in stone" and put the wedding date. Now I duplicate the image 5 or 6 times for the bride to give as gifts. Leave a sample, brochure and gift certificate at you local florist.
In closing I can only say, I'm glad my machine is in a location other than my home--it's an addictive little device. Best of luck.
Michael
From: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#26]
27 Mar 2007
To: ALL
Well, I'm smittin! I am totally into this. We started it up last Friday and I am doing things daily. Signs etc.
I had a special project I wanted to complete and I finished it today. It is a memorial plaque for my cousin that passed away 2 weeks ago. It's on black marble with his photo and some information about about his family etc. I processed the photo using Photopaint and Photograv. It turned out pretty nice. I'll post a pic of it when I get the photo made. It's a gift to his wife from me and my wife.
I am also about to make a gift for a bluegrass band (friends of ours) that travels on a private coach. I am making them a set of wood TV trays (Sear's 39.95) to use when traveling. Each of the 4 trays are individually labeled for each band member and as part of the graphics, the musical instrument that person plays is in the center. I'll post a pic of these when I get them done.
I have a new idea for sales of the output, but if I tell about it right now I'll have to shoot all of y'all!!
Anyway, I'm having a ball with it. Thanks to everyone for all of the great comments. :>
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#27]
27 Mar 2007
To: Larry B (PALMETTO) [#26] 28 Mar 2007
Look at you! You're out of control and already devising secret projects. :-)
Lovin' it!