45 degree Angle Troubles

[Zukny1]

So yesterday I printed a small piece at 45 degree angles and it came out amazing.  Today I did it and it's coming out like crap.  I have gone back and re-tightened all of the motor teeth up.  I am wondering if anyone thinks it could be something else.

[Zax]

Wow, I'm not really sure what's up with that.... everything 

Is it supposed to have the dark border? You can enable dynamic laser power to eliminate it or increase the acceleration/deceleration value but since you also appear to have lost or skipped steps that would not be a good idea right now.

Does it looks normal with horizontal engraving, wondering if the power supply is failing.

Perhaps run some vector circles to make sure everything is tight and nothing has loosened up.

[Zukny1]

what are the steps to enable dynamic Laser power?  Does that also help w/ gradients?

I typically have a good picture when i do it horizontal, but the 45 degrees tend to look a bit cleaner.   Here is another image after tightening some things up.  Should i be concerned how tight i make them? i feel it did work somewhat.

Update:  I continued tightening somethings and made sure the wires were not hitting this device at all and I believe i am back on track w/ good 45 degree angles again.  I literally went through and tightened everything up across the entire machine.  (Thanks for recommending that).  **Still interested in figuring otu dynamic laser power option

[Zax]

Just enable the option in the Settings / Advanced menu on the Laser Controller screen, that's it.

[Zukny1]

Zax - Thanks.  I will use that option on my future boards.

So the 45 degree angle thing is still causing some issues. I noticed that when the laser is only going about an inch away, it is very much tuned in; However, the further i go away the worse it gets. Like once i hit 2 inches away, the accuracy worsens.

Notice how the word Schmidt looks pretty good prior to the Jack and Mike.  That's cause it finished w/ the 3 at that point and could just concentrate on that small area.

See attached photo

Also: Is there a way to clean this up? maybe by staining it? or should i chance going back over it by hand w/ the laser on a  low level?  I have 100 of these to make so. i'm actually not unhappy w/ this product for now. need to move on to some next ones. just want some ideas to make it a little nicer.

I appreciate all the help

[Zax]

It still looks like you have a mechanical issue, it's much harder to troubleshoot with diagonal but are you sure the gear is tight on the motor shaft (1 set screw should be on the flat).

You can probably clean it up by a light sanding but it's better to prevent it in the first place, air assist is your friend. A small air source like an aquarium pump or air brush compressor will work, you want a fine jet of air directed at the spot.

[ggallant571]

The quality of the etching is quite poor. Missing and faint lines yet significant smearing outside the letters. Are you etching characters that are outlined? Can you post your source?

If you stain prior to etching it can help keep the soot from falling back into the grain of the wood. It may also increase the energy needed to burn the wood.

[Zukny1]

The quality of the etching is quite poor. Missing and faint lines yet significant smearing outside the letters. Are you etching characters that are outlined? Can you post your source?

If you stain prior to etching it can help keep the soot from falling back into the grain of the wood. It may also increase the energy needed to burn the wood.

Thanks Zax - I will try those options on this.

Gallant - I think a lot of the issues you are noticing is all based on how i printed it & not having "Dynamic" mode activated on the laser.  I'm learning as i go.  The burning tends to happen when i have Bold Print & the faintness happens when there is a thin line it seems.  Honestly, those issues don't bother me too much. 

Also - i didn't have the letters outlined. I learned that this happens because that's where the laser 'starts' and 'ends' every time it begins etching.  I believe activating 'dynamic' will reduce this in the future.

Since i have 100 of these i'm going to move to the next one. I assume i'll get better as I go.  & this gives me the option to come back to it somewhere down the line.

Appreciate all the help.

PS:  I added the final picture below.  In future, I will probably cut a hole through the wood to make the card almost flat w/ the wood.  I'm welcome to any suggestions.

[ggallant571]

I don't have "dynamic" mode and do not have any significant start/stop issues. If it was  related to start I would expect the leading edge to be lighter. Assuming you etch bi-directional the effect would probably not be noticeable. Good luck.