Category: Laser Technology

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New Ways to Laser Engrave!

 

The laser engraver in the ARC Design Hub can be a learning process to new interns. During the first couple weeks at the design hub we train and teach our interns how to use and/ or the purposes the laser can do for us. We are still new to laser but we always will find new tactics on how we should operate the laser. Either finding the right settings or experimenting on pieces of scrap materials to see how it will turn out. 

What does the laser engraver used for in the ARC Design Hub? What can we make with the laser we have?

Here in the Design Hub we currently are using two laser engravers in the back of room 311. The laser Engraver is used for ton of projects for our clients and personal uses. Designers here at the Design Hub create wonderful projects to help support the hub with their creativity. Just like the Retopo Map blog we did awhile ago, they used the laser for that project. Interns are able to used the laser for personal projects to create unique types of physical merchandise.

What types of merchandise or products can you use to make stuff here in the Hub?

The types you can make in the laser engraver is the following: Sketch book covers, key chains, ornaments, etc.

Let your creativity wonder around the ideas of creating wonderful types of pieces out of any materials like wood and plastic.

Although, It can also be used for educational purposes like making flash cards out of plastic or making pieces for a game board for and educational game.

How does the laser function and how can you get a decent design without it melting or making the design look weird?

Muhannad Abbas, who is very well experienced and excellent with the laser made these templates out of wood and plastic.

The templates shows how the laser reacts to the type of material it touches depending on the shading of the grey is being used. 

 

Too much power on the laser with a really dark color may burn the wood or melt the plastic. With the used of this template the designers are able to understand how the laser works and how much they need to make their projects a success. 

How can people outside of the Design Hub apply or request stuff to get printed?

On the ARC Design Hub Website we have a work request area. This area your able to request projects that our interns can print out for you. Their are examples and a request form to get started!

 

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Engineering Club SWAG

Jair and three other Design Hub interns worked together on a laser engraving project.

This project was ordered from the Engineering Club and Randy Schuster, who is the advisor for the Engineering Club.

 

Using the Design Hub’s laser engraver they were able to accomplish this project. 

The Keychains were engraved with the logo, also known as SWAG. It was engraved in plywood, and hooked with a metal chains that is attached through the little hole on the side of the keychain.

 

 

These keychains were going to be given away for free for the Engineering Club students.

 

 

 

In the future, bobbleheads will be made to donate.

The interns are working on the bobblehead project at the same time as the keychain project, and it will involve scanning and 3D printing of participants’ heads.  Scanning will take a couple of hours, whereas the 3D printing is estimated to take one to two days.

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The Folsom Lake 3D Wood Carved Map

Map of Sacramento Folsom Lake

This wonderful materialistic piece created by Aygul Akhmadeeva shows off how beautiful her project has came out.

This project might interest Sacramento residents due to a 3D look of the Folsom lake map! Sacramento’s most populated Lake , Folsom Lake is a place worth getting water from Tahoe’s mountain range. Its light blue color ,this map features all main roads leading up to the lake.

The Depth of the lake is shown in the pieces as well. They decided to not stop on working with wood, but add a new material to make the project interesting but also challenging and experimental. They decided to work on a material that they never used before- epoxy! The Materials used in this project was wood, clear casting epoxy, blue epoxy, it is filled that will create a realistic view of the lake water.

It measures  approx. 10 ½ x 8 ½ x 5/8 ; This piece is about 5 layers thick!!!

Aygul Akhmadeeva stated, “ If we do a couple layers of a 2D cut of wood we can create a 3D visual effect.”

 

This project took about a month to complete. Aygul stated, “ It is possible to create this project within 1 day only with all equipment and material available.”

All projects have there side effects or there difficulties within a certain project. One was choosing the settings for the laser. Second, was to get familiar on how to work with epoxy. Due to its ingredient being limited time only to use it. The way Aygul accomplished this process was due to making dozen of experiments with the material.

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Laser Engraving at American River College

The Design Hub of American River College conducted one of the first projects using the Laser Engraver.  Shailza, one of the laser engraver interns working on this project, demonstrated how it produces the gentle, artistic shades of black and white on the sturdy wooden boards.  Plywood is used as the canvas, and the laser carves in its drawings. The Laser Engraver obeys the commands sent by the software on the computer to create whatever artwork the intern orders it to.  For this particular project, the deliverables are name tags made of wood for all the interns who are working for the Design Hub.

This project of engraved name tags gives all the interns a sense of community, since we are always collaborating and working together to contribute each unique skill set to the various projects.  The original idea for this project was right at the beginning of this spring semester because it gives a feeling unity and family to the new incoming interns just now joining the team. The engraved name tags were completed a couple of weeks ago, and can be viewed in the Design Hub lab.  Even though the actual project for the engraved name tags is complete, the Laser Engraver will be frequently used during the full course of this semester. 

The Full Spectrum Laser Retina Engrave 3D software orders the laser to cut out the name tags. The shaded pink section we can see in the photo to the left is the area that the laser already engraved, and the white areas are what is left to be carved until the project is finished.

 Shailza, a hard-working intern trained in the art of laser engraving, showed a one-on-one demonstration of the laser engraver in action!  First, you open up the file in the special software, Full Spectrum Laser Retina Engrave 3D. She showed the computer settings required for the engraver.  

FUN FACTS:

  • Whatever image that the intern wants to print must be in xps format
  • The raster power CANNOT be at 100%- we have found it most effective to be set at 65-70% for the best wooden artwork.
  • The raster speed is set between 45-50%, and the vector layers power is set at 70%. The IP address should show up on the laser screen.
  • And “Slow jog” isn’t just something a student does when they’re late to class on a Monday morning after sleeping through their alarm, it’s also the setting on the control panel to give the intern more control over the laser so it doesn’t go flying off in a frenzy.

Once the settings are properly set, the wood is positioned to be carved into, and watch the time at the bottom of the screen allows the students a time frame for when their project should be completed.  The average time is 7-8 minutes- like for the name tag project- but it depends on the size of the wood/project.

The laser engraver, Photo by photography intern Angelique Doty

The next project also on the Laser Engraver leads us to meet Jacob Olson, who brings ideas to life through the art of 3D printing and laser engraving.  He is trained in laser engraving and is a solid modeler for the Design Hub. He also tutors design technology programs such as Autocad, Revit, Sketchup. 

Jacob takes family photos, and creates images printed onto wood through the scientific world of computers, cyberspace, and LASER TECHNOLOGY (cue the “Twilight Zone” theme song).  

Jacob is providing this project with his own family photos of his great grandparents, inspired by his father’s idea, and giving them as a present to his grandpa. The end product will be a collage of family photos laser engraved in the plywood.  Jacob showed us around the laser engraver to get a feel for it and showed me exactly how the machine works: the water filter from the bucket pumps up water and keeps the laser tube cool while the exhaust fan pulls out smoke and filters out the exhaust to prevent turning the interns’ hard work into a barbecue.  There’s a cycle of water that goes from being pumped from the bucket, to the laser tube and back to the bucket in a little circle of life. 

The artists of the Design Hub have an ongoing task of creating new ideas to contribute to being engraved into wood using the Laser Engraver.  There has been extensive training to prepare the interns on how it’s used, including training sessions they attended, as well as sample tests before running the actual name tag project.