My wife started a small business engraving stainless steel cups and she had so much trouble getting the focus right.
We found partial solutions but they didn’t work for every tumbler.
After a snafu with an irreplaceable tumbler, I decided to take another look at the partial solutions we were using. When I did, I had an epiphany.
I sat down and designed the Tumbler Trick. I 3D printed some parts, assembled it, and showed my wife how to use it. It worked and she was so thrilled! She could now level any tumbler in a matter of seconds.
Because it’s been working so well for her I wanted to make it accessible to others. I went back to the drawing board and came up with a way to make the tool with nothing but a piece of cardboard and a hobby knife.
Here’s a picture of the Tumbler Trick DIY. If you’re handy, you can make your own using the picture below as a reference.
If you’d like step-by-step instructions on how to make and use the tool, I’ve created a four page printable plan. Visit the Tumbler Trick website to get a copy of those instructions.
Hey, that’s super cool! I think you’re solving a slightly different problem.
Unless I misunderstand, when you level with your tool the top half of the cup is in perfect focus. Let’s say it’s at 3mm. But, the bottom half is out of focus at around 14mm. Unless your laser has an automatic z-axis, but mine do not.
In contrast, the Tumbler Trick levels the average slope of the cup so that the top is at 8mm, the center slopes toward the laser to around 3mm, then the bottom slopes away until that is also at 8mm. That makes the total focal change around 5mm. This allows you to do full wraps that are within close enough focus for the entire length of the cup. Maybe this image will explain it better than my words.
Understood. I just don’t engrave the bottom of a stepped tumbler… The bottom spends most of its time in a cup holder, getting scratched up anyway. Just sayin’.
