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Messages - ggallant571

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1
T2 Engraving / Re: Help with DXF, T2 and Inkscape.
« on: April 19, 2018, 08:43:12 PM »
I etch mostly slate and mirrors where the line widths need to be at least 3 pixels wide and there is no cutting operation possible. Have a series of images that I want to etch and outline cut in both wood and leather so I am interested in what methods others are having success/failure with.

2
T2 Engraving / Re: Help with DXF, T2 and Inkscape.
« on: April 19, 2018, 08:32:04 PM »
A single 0.1mm (laser beam width) may not be very visible. Have you tried simple squares? Have you done a 3mm cutting operation?

3
T2 Engraving / Re: Help with DXF, T2 and Inkscape.
« on: April 19, 2018, 07:43:49 PM »
What is the material you want to burn?

4
T2 Engraving / Re: Help with DXF, T2 and Inkscape.
« on: April 19, 2018, 06:48:35 PM »
I have been trying to get comfortable using inkscape for over two years now with zero success. Outlines, raster to vector, resizing, dpi. filers all have eluded me. Others on this group appear to navigate inkscape with ease. Make sure there is room in the "idiot box" for a second inhabitant.

Are you looking for a method to cut the outline and etch the insides?

5
T2 Engraving / Re: How should I set up photoshop to get a proper size?
« on: April 18, 2018, 08:52:29 PM »
For 0.1mm resolution I scale everything to 254 DPI.

Make sure that the steps / mm in the controller firmware match you drive configuration. For the typical ElkesMaker belt drive that is 80.

6
T2 Engraving / Re: Really slow burning
« on: April 18, 2018, 07:12:23 PM »
A 200x100mm image at 0.1mm resolution would be 200,000mm of travel. At 10,000mm/min it would take 20 minutes to completely char the entire board. Given that it to 40 times that long to do the job and that the entire board is not being burnt, I would guess the actual feed rate is more like 250mm/min. Could be the grbl max rate is kicking in!!!

7
Trouble Shooting / Re: Laser stopped working (beam too weak).
« on: April 18, 2018, 05:00:44 PM »
1. Completely out of focus.
2. Lens moved.
3. Diode fried.
4. Driver board fried.
5. Weak laser function enabled.
6. Software stuck on low power.
7. Power supply died.
8. User error.

Lots of users on this forum have experienced similar problems. First step for me would be check the electrical signals and power consumption.

8
Trouble Shooting / Re: MonoPrice Selct Mini printer problem
« on: April 18, 2018, 04:52:43 PM »
There are 2 lead screws on the Z axis.There is a limit switch on the left column. Mine became unplugged once. The limit switch has screws that allow it to be adjusted. The resolution is not great but I move it up one notch when using a glass plate.

9
T2 Engraving / Re: Really slow burning
« on: April 18, 2018, 04:47:32 PM »
GRBL gcode supports 2 feed rates - traverse and cut. The ability to burn depends on the energy density. The faster you go the less time to emit heat at a particular point. You didn't specify the laser power but for wood with a 1.6W I use 900mm/min, 2.5W 1200 mm/min. For 5W I keep the speed at 1200 and reduce the power. I would expect the time to burn your image to be about 60 minutes.

You can significantly increase the burn time if the background is not absolutely clear. Single dots at the edges or low level speckle may not  be visible but do take time. Did the laser head skip over the blank wood areas? Another side effect of speckle is it affects the acceleration. Post the source file if you are not sure about the background.

10
Projects / Re: Faux brass brooch
« on: April 17, 2018, 10:33:43 PM »
Just in case there are any Dr. Who fans who also like to etch in slate or mirrors. Here is a 254dpi that fit the Michaels slate coaster. There are a lot of very close lines that tend to blur together when etching the slate. Mirror is mush sharper.

11
T2 Engraving / Re: Text Burns with a Wave
« on: April 16, 2018, 03:14:18 PM »
Post the file.

12
T2 Engraving / Re: Can't engrave on this type of slate?
« on: April 16, 2018, 03:12:37 PM »
I'v etched about 200 coasters from Michaels and never had any odor or brownish color. You must have the odor generating laser module from www.stinky.com.

13
Projects / Re: Autumn is here... Engraved curly wisteria seedpods
« on: April 16, 2018, 07:28:44 AM »
The typical x/y motion is 80 steps/mm. I typically engrave at 0.1 mm which is 8 steps. Without changing the drive I suspect we could go to a single step. I have home-brew firmware the rounds to 8 so I really don't know what standard grbl is capable of.  Dummy me, I didn't know rice comes in large sizes!!!

14
Laser Parts / Re: Needing rollers for a3 frame
« on: April 15, 2018, 08:33:15 PM »
openbuilds.com carries a "Mini V Wheel" that looks like yours. Time to measure. From their store:

OD: 15.23
ID: 9.974 +/- 0.026
Thick: 8.8
Delrin
Color: Black

15
Laser Parts / Re: Needing rollers for a3 frame
« on: April 14, 2018, 02:07:35 PM »
I'm assuming you mean the plastic wheel with bearing. There are at least two different but similar wheels commonly used on laser etchers. Please post a picture and if possible the diameter in mm.

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