Do you ever deliberately run out of focus for wider line?

[JBM3M (Jack Martin)]

`Plain and simple. I am thinking I can get a wider line (using line, not fill) by being unfocused and cut my time per object down, versus using fill. (I am doing cursive text from a photo)

[jkwilborn (Jack Wilborn)]

Sure you can. What’s the question?

[Hank (Hank Morgan)]

Sure, you can run a little out of focus if you want a bigger spot. Or you can use a longer lens, like 4" which gives a somewhat larger spot when focused.

[JBM3M (Jack Martin)]

I tried the out of focus, it got me part way to where I want, will try the 4" lens later, got to go get a tooth pulled.

[jkwilborn (Jack Wilborn)]

Hopefully the tooth fairy will leave you enough to buy a 4" lens

[Stroonzo (Jeff)]

Showing it here:

[HELP] - creasing for a box

If you have a motorized Z, you can out focus Z roughly 10 to 20mm on a vector line increasing its width substantially. With the correct speed and power (cardboard or paper is going to be really fast speed and low power) you can remove a small amount of material without cutting though. All this requires is experimentation, your time, your machine, and your materials. Here is an example of out-focused Z at various distances: [Laser Airbrush] Also, I just so this posted:

Out-focusing Z strategically to thicken line here:

Vector Engraving Instead of Raster

Faster process time, less wear on the machine, more predictable outcome when designing large quantity multi item runs. The flaming on the Out-Focused Z (when the two inner rings are being processed) is expected as I intentionally do not run air assist to prevent flaking. I made many test runs of this to dial in the precise speed and power for this wide line’s depth and preservation of the frosted look. I’m running a modified lens holder with a 101mm lens in the lower mount of the tube to span…

Demonstrating it here as well:

Change line thickness of shapes

Here is a tip / trick. If all you’re after is a thicker line, you can effectively increase the line thickness of a shape by out focusing Z. Lines are a lot faster than fills. Here is an example: [image] And a video example:

And here:

Throwing Knife, Archery, BB Gun, etc Targets

I make mine on Ram Board Heavy Duty (Chip Board). The job is made to take advantage of motorized Z out-focused work on the rings (making very quick time of producing these). You can modify the job for your own machine / preference (but I suggest not changing from line to fill on any of the rings as this will create a very long running job). SportTargets.lbrn (275.2 KB) [First Day with a Bow, it’s Been a Long Time] [Sporting Targets]

One more (although there are more)

So now that I got Z working, it was time to experiment with intentional unfocused work: Speed Shading!

Lowering the laser .75 inches out from focus, I apply only 100 lines per inch resolution. This being only a test, I ran the scanning at 25 inches / sec (635 mm / sec) at 95% power (roughly about 125 watts). The square is 3 inches by 3 inches. This was really interesting. With some further testing I can really perfect this and create cool effects as well as substantially speed up shading with very predictable accuracy.

[Fred (Frederick Heim)]

I’ve been using a 4inch fl lens 12mm for a couple of years, works great.

[JBM3M (Jack Martin)]

Yes lens changes are better. Thanks for all the suggestions

[jkwilborn (Jack Wilborn)]

@Fred

4inch fl lens 12mm

What’s the 12mm? Is that what you are cutting or the amount of defocus?

Are you using one of these 4" configurations?

Thanks…

[Fred (Frederick Heim)]

I am using a 12mm diameter 4 inch focal length lens. I modified the optical path so that the beam from mirror #2 enters the lens first, then roughly an inch later hits the Moly mirror to aim down and finish focusing on the target. The focal point is still fairly small, but the depth of field is large, around 1/4 inch where it is hard to tell where the perfect focus is. With this arrangement, I have cut as thick as 10mm BB Plywood in one pass at around 13-14 Ma and 5 mm/sec travel speed (as I recall, it was a while ago).