Couple (likely newbie) questions

Community Laser Talk
1

hoping someone could share their experience/advice on a couple issues I am having.

The first is how do i hide or remove the portions of the diamond shape so only the text is seen?

IMG_1143
IMG_1143480×640 159 KB

also when trying to engrave on 1/8" acrylic i am getting some ghosting/ flareup on a couple of the edges (also the side that my fan is sucking fumes from). Not sure how to eliminate this so the acrylic is clear without this shading.. open to any ideas. I am not using any air blowing through the laser while running

IMG_1144
IMG_11441054×1405 179 KB

Thanks for any help

2

Likely the vaporized acrylic condensing, as it’s downwind from the cut.

You need some sort of air pressure to keep your lens clean, but a lot of pressure is not needed or wanted with acrylic.

Do you have good air flow in/out of the machine?

This is 3mm acrylic being used as a tool for verical alignment of my optics. It’s clean, at least the cuts. The poor gluing is the most distracting.

image
image1920×2229 256 KB

Maybe @ednisley can suggest something that may help, he’s done a lot with acrylic and his co2 machine… hang in there.

:smiley_cat:

3

I generally leave the paper masking on the acrylic for engraving. It prevents most of this issue.

If the acrylic has the plastic masking it must be removed and I will add my own paper masking then make a note not to purchase that acrylic again.

1 Like
4

Basically, exposed acrylic greedily attracts all the smog blowing off the cut / engraving, so as @thelmuth suggests, masking is your BFF.

Blue painters tape seems the least-awful alternative to the plastic masking film on some sheets. I have a 6 inch wide roll that’s wide enough for most projects; laying down a foot-wide roll flat enough for laser work seems challenging.

1 Like
5

Thanks guys! I will try all of the recommendations. Actually thought about the blue tape at one point but hadnt tried it. I will now. This plexi was given to me by a friend so I was using it to experiment with. Thanks again for all the replies!