Ok so this is what i’m encountering when engraving these tumblers. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
I’m fairly new to laser engraving, i’ve practiced a lot on all different types of materials, this tumbler is giving me troubles though.
SPECS:
XTool D1 Pro 40w
100% power and 60mm/sec (i think, i will verify shortly when i get home)
Slow down your white space fast travel. You may also need to slow down the engrave speed by 10%.
On the tumbler you have there, you can hit the residue spot with Brake Cleaner spray - then wipe off. It may clean up the left over. On blue tumblers, that is my final step.
I don’t have white space fast travel on. The brake cleaner won’t affect the powdercoating??
Could be slipping. Try slowing down a bit or weighting mug down. Or adding rubberbands where you arent gonna burn for better grip.
Yeah I thought it might be slipping and was causing it to skew on the test grid. the rubberband idea sounds pretty good to give consistent results. i’ll give that a go!!
I use LA’s Totally Awesome cleaner in a spray bottle, and after spritzing the tumbler with it, I give it a good scrub with a Mr. Clean Magic eraser. Works wonders.
so you’re saying that LA’s Totally Awesome cleaner would remove the areas where the laser didn’t 100% remove the painted areas??
Unfortunately, no, it just does a really good job of cleaning off the dark haze left over from the engraving process, without affecting the surface of the Powdercoat. From your picture it appeared that’s what was on the tumbler, that’s the only reason I mentioned it. I, personally, don’t like using solvents, but I might give brake cleaner a try on a tumbler that would otherwise end up in the “for testing purposes” bin. As you are probably already aware, there is such a fine line between not enough power, and too much.
Break cleaner is used for many things other then the obvious cleaning breaks. However keep in mind that it’s highly flammable and very poisonous.
If the brake cleaner you’re using has a sweetish smell, check the label to see if it lists tetrachloraethylene, perchloroethylene or PCE (aka dry cleaning solvent), which is a carcinogen and has been linked to birth defects, schizophrenia etc. etc.
Since a tumbler is used around food and drinking I personally would not use the break cleaner to clean the engrave from my tumblers.
Here is a material safety data sheet for a common break cleaner. It’s worth a quick glimpse. It’s cataloged as a hazardous material:
Break Cleaner -Brakleen MSDS- Material Safety Data Sheet
Cheers
Sas
I second this unbeatable match up for cleaning tumblers post engraving to get that shiny stainless steel to pop
Cheers
Sas
I spray it down the barrels of “the old men” (WWII long guns) after a trip to the range. A lot of the surplus ammo have corrosive primers, I flush them out with BC and then go through my normal clean/lube routine. Outside and well ventilated.
I used to work with a guy named “La”. Good guy. Smart and hard working. Never struck me as an inventor or chemist. Good for him!
Hi, sorry Im also new in laser engraving. Im having the same problem. How do you solve it?
