I am having a lot of problems with engraving ceramic tiles. They are painted wth 3 coats (white, gold and black - bottom to top). The gold seems to give the white a warm tone.
I initially engraved in lasergrbl and had no problems. I then started to get banding issues and decided to try lightburn. After making a minor adjustment lightburn works OK.
Below is a screen print of what I am trying to print as set up in lightburn and the basic settings:
The picture on the left is the result from lasergrbl and is OK.
The one on the left is the result from lightburn and is horrid!
The left picture (from lasergrbl) has very little depth to the engraving (it’s hard to feel it) but the one on the right has deep engraving for the tigers head It’s not that visible in the pic but it gives an idea.
The engraving on the right seems to have not gone through the black paint on the lower part of the picture. The top is deep engraving.
I am aware that there are two ways of getting around this: decrease the speed or increase the strength.
I’m worried that any change will increase the depth of the engraving and negate the purpose of the paint. Is there anyway of changing the settings so that they don’t engrave so deep and work evenly on both the top and bottom of the print?
I don’t know if this helps but what I am wanting to achieve is just an engraving through to the white paint.
I’ve tried NWT method. I can’t get it to work. It might be that I left the tile to dry too long, about 2 weeks! I intend to come back to this during the autumn.
Major lightbulb moment here! I knew this but wasn’t putting it into context.
Your image setting is for a dither pattern…thats an optical illusion to create variable shading.
The pattern is being applied without variable power…hence the Greyed out Min power setting.
That works for two colours eg black and white (material and one paint layer).
You want three colours…white, gold, black.
A different power/speed setting for each layer!
The laserGRBL must (possibly) be relating power to brightness.
I think you need to use Greyscale image setting for variable power…or use seperate layers for seperate image areas, each with its own speed and power…to selectively burn through to each color.
I have been working at this myself, in relation to varying the depth of shading in one area without changing the shading throughout an entire image…using only lightburn that is!
The banding, I’m not sure about, Could it be a paint application issue…is it repeatable, if you rotate image 90deg.
That’s not the right approach Banding is a mechanical issue that you can’t solve using a different software. LaserGRBL and LightBurn will produce EXACTLY the same results when using the same settings. Both create the same gcode.
This is another mechanical issue then. If the top and bottom have different power levels, the tile was not lying flat.
So you already know the answer. Fix your mechanical setup and adjust the settings and try again.
With regards to the banding issues. I’m ony acting on the advice that I received from the lasergrbl forum:
List item I was advised that banding could be a lasergrbl processing module problem
Not to have the engraver and PC running from the same USB or mains electric socket (extension lead etc)
To change the PC to engraver module USB cable
To clean the laser lense and module
To reconfigure the engraver frame and gantry. In a nutshell, with the use of the 45 degree test, I have made sure that the gantry ends touch the screw holding the corner legs into the frame at the same time and are level (right angles to the main frame).
I’ve also cleaned the belts and lubricated (WD40) the wheels and cogs.
I don’t know what else to do. I’ll look at sculpfuns website and see if they have advice and/or a forum.
I have done all of the above, except replace the cable which I will do on Monday.
I was thinking of Switching to lightburn as it has more functions than lasergrbl. Lightburn is also easier for setting up and cutting layers.
With regards to the tile not being flat. Thanks for that. I am using my honeycomb border for setting up as it is right angled.
After reading that the engraving may be caused by the tile not being flat I went and played with a tile and my machine. I noticed that thehoneycomb edge could slide under the tile. Hopefully, I’ve fixed this by taping (double sided) tiles above the honeycomb. I’ll try later.
I’ve also had a lightbulb moment: I used to use matt paint and then spray the tile with varnish. I noticed that the varish was leaving marks on the tile so I decided to use gloss paint. I am now thinking that that it causing some of the problems that I am experiencing.
On Monday, I will go back to square 1 and create a test grid with lightburn and use my lasergrbl settings as a mid point (1400 @ 10%). I will look tomorrow but I think that I can create a test grid by using a smaller image and layers.
Sods Law… Last weekend (21/06) I added 6 engraved tiles to my stall as a new test product. I sold three of them. I decided to concentrate on engraving tiles this week. I didn’t sell any at this weeks craft fair!
Here is an extensive guide on what things to check:
Basically, the principle of wheel-driven mechanics at the S9 is prone to banding issues. Wheels will wear out over time and those issues will increase. That’s why they changed all models to linear rails after the S9 series.
Definitely true.
That could be another reason, yes. I don’t have much experience with tiles. But there are so many techniques, and no “perfect” one, so you have to test, test, test
I’ve never been happy with my Sculpfun. A stop switch fell to pieces whilst configuring the laser and I can’t tighten the module up so that it doesn’t slip. It’s not a serious issue as I check it regularly as part of setting up but first impressions count. Anyway, I might be able to fix it by buying/making a rubber washer. I’ve only used the engraver for 4 months and engraved less than 300 items
I’m thinking of buying another laser that I can use and take to craft fairs as I keep getting asked if I can engrave ob site. I’ll will now only select a “wheelless” version.
The S9 is a very old model, it is outdated since 2021, so there have been many new models that ruled out issues with earlier versions.
Alle lasers now have that linear rails, but usually only for the x-axis, but in my experience, that is enough anyway.
If you want to take a laser to craft fairs, I’d choose a model like the G9, which is so much faster and even much more secure than the common open frame types. Still, all models are class 4 lasers that are forbidden to be used in public. You will always need a separate location to use it.
I need a slapping! My laser is an S30 20w. It appears that it was released in 2022. It’s also old by today’s standards
I have been looking at getting a diode/infrared set up as I thought that it would release a whole new range of materials.
I was thinking of starting to engrave crystal/glass but I understand that I would still need to Use a wet towel or something to protect glass/crystal and laser marking solution for metal. To me, it defeats the object of IR.
When you purchase something, it’s likely already being replaced in the engineering end. Today it’s a combination of planed obsolescent and technology changes as Dr. Moore postulated back in the mid 1970’s.
When they were talking about 5G communications, there was already a large group working on 6G. Such is life with technology. Most things don’t work perfectly when they are first built, takes a while to iron out the various bugs.
At college I had to study the Toyota production methods " just in time". A part of that was the product lifecycle which was an eyeopener. Back then Toyota had a system for updating models every 5 years. When one was released the next was already in the mass production development stage.
Even clothes irons were remodelled every 3 years.
I guess that I’m like most consumers in as much I want it now and forget that it could be outdated in a few weeks/months
Banding is a mechanical issue that you can’t solve using a different software. LaserGRBL and LightBurn will produce EXACTLY the same results when using the same settings. Both create the same gcode.