Laser engraver/cutter ideas and experiences - it's here and i'm cutting things!

WezV · April 2023

Well it went halfway through the ply on that top 100% test, and cut the outline easily. Should do well once dialled in for what i want

WezV · April 2023

I set up outside today for a few cutting tests. workshop isn't quite ready for the machine.

First thing, like with all maker machines, is to make something to help use the machine. I made some holding pins out of 3mm ply

Then i used those to hold a bigger sheet to make a wedding lantern

Now onto the first guitar task - headplates. I picked out some wood first. The maple is actually 4.5mm thick, walnut is rough sawn and varies from 2 to 3.5mm

it worked really well. It would obviously look better if i had thicknessed them first, but as proof of concept this is great

an edge shot of the maple, this is a good cut, no burning to speak of

For reference, the maple was cut at 300mm/m, 80% power, 2 passes. That took about 5 minutes. The thinner walnut only needed one pass, so half the time.

The ply cut in one pass up to 500mm/m. It didn't quite make it all the way through at 600mm/m. The lantern took about 35mins in total, but has a lot of detail to cut

WezV · April 2023

cleaned up a little

downbytheriver · April 2023

You are starting to tempt me…

Sporky · April 2023

Is the laser exposed?

WezV · April 2023

it has the red guard round 3 sides, exposed from the back... but it also comes with some fetching green safety goggles

FelineGuitars · April 2023

It is certainly more "open-plan" than lasers I've seen in the past which all look like the one Ash has there

m_c · April 2023

The diode lasers typically have minimal guarding, unlike the CO2 ones which are usually fully enclosed.

Diode laser's aren't that powerful in comparison, but can still do a lot of damage. However the beam should only ever point directly at the workpiece, and the biggest risk is it being reflected off something.
CO2's on the other hand bounce the beam of a few mirrors, so there is a greater risk of the beam pointing somewhere it shouldn't.

You can use whatever colour safety glasses you like. The shade just kills the brightness, it's the plastic that is enough to diffuse the beam and prevent permanent damage. Just like welding masks, it's the glass that stops the damaging rays burning your eyeball, the shade just makes it so you don't get blinded by the brightness and can see what is actually going on.

WezV · April 2023

Yeah, you can buy enclosures for them, but diodes do seem to often just be the frame.... i suppose it helps keep costs down and makes them more portable for smaller or hobby workshops

I've just spent the evening laying out a true 24 3/4" scale length, calculated with a straight rule of 18.

Took about 30 mins in excel and inkscape to lay out something bespoke like this. It says it will be 12 minutes cutting time to give me a board with marked/engraved fretslots and the inlays and board cut out.

Sporky · April 2023

Sounds like you'd like Rhino3D and Grasshopper. Grasshopper I'd the inbuilt parametric system. I have files set up that generate all the fretboard data from the scale length, number of frets, nut and heel width, and nut and heel radius.

WezV · April 2023

Baby steps

I've only just stepped away from pencil and paper for guitar design

Sporky · April 2023

To be fair you do have a smidge more experience than me too.

TTony · April 2023

Looking good so far

Great tools to play with!

WezV · April 2023

6mm ply templates.

This was a bit trickier. it did cut through the ply at the recommended settings, but I found it gave a cleaner cut going a bit faster and doing 2 or 3 passes... So it's not fast, but it does work.

The speed was not helped by my design. The outlines of each template overlap so it follows that path twice

Anyway. I got a batch of pickup templates out of the test

WezV · April 2023

also note the slight alignment issue. I designed these to fit 8 templates on an A3 sheet... but I didn't quite get it placed right and chopped the edge off the top 4 templates

WezV · April 2023

I made a box to hold a pickup winder.

It's more of the 6mm ply. The laser does do it in one pass, but at reasonable speeds it's better to plan for 2. It cuts better on the Y axis, due to the shape of the laser beam I think. Also that was following the grain so less variation in density

And parts fit as planned... just waiting on the rest of it

WezV · April 2023

I also had a quick play with fretboard.

Maple at 8mm and Granadillo at 7mm

Engraving fretslots deep enough to finish with a saw was a success.

Cutting the maple worked well. The granadillo started to give off some oils and charred a bit more. I accidently moved both during the tests so gave in for the day.

I think for marking frets, inalys and outlines it will definitely work well... not sure yet if it is worth cutting them out this way bit will play with more settings to see what it can do.

mrkb · April 2023

WezV said:

I made a box to hold a pickup winder.

It's more of the 6mm ply. The laser does do it in one pass, but at reasonable speeds it's better to plan for 2. It cuts better on the Y axis, due to the shape of the laser beam I think. Also that was following the grain so less variation in density

And parts fit as planned... just waiting on the rest of it

Would you be interested in making and selling a pick-up winder housing kit? If so what would be a rough cost?

Danielsguitars · April 2023

Really like this Wez, that would save loads of hassle manually doing templates all the time

WezV · April 2023

I will start a separate thread for the pickup winder at some point... I won't be selling any unless I know it works well, but if so I will also share the files and parts lists here too.

WezV · April 2023

Danielsguitars said:

Really like this Wez, that would save loads of hassle manually doing templates all the time

It isn't necessarily quicker, but definitely more accurate and repeatable.

I will try some other materials soon too

Danielsguitars · April 2023

WezV said:

Danielsguitars said:

Really like this Wez, that would save loads of hassle manually doing templates all the time

It isn't necessarily quicker, but definitely more accurate and repeatable.

I will try some other materials soon too

How easy is it to learn, I'm absolutely rubbish with tech stuff but doing fretboard inlays, templates etc would be great.
They're time consuming too

WezV · April 2023

There is a learning curve, but its not too bad and there are loads of YouTube tutorials to help

The first step is to download something like Inkscape and start drawing something simple.

That's why I did pickup templates first, simple shapes, and I can then re-use them when doing full guitar designs.

First efforts on guitar shapes were pretty poor, but it didn't take long to get them looking better.

The laser software is straightforward.

Danielsguitars · April 2023

WezV said:

There is a learning curve, but its not too bad and there are loads of YouTube tutorials to help

The first step is to download something like Inkscape and start drawing something simple.

That's why I did pickup templates first, simple shapes, and I can then re-use them when doing full guitar designs.

First efforts on guitar shapes were pretty poor, but it didn't take long to get them looking better.

The laser software is straightforward.

Thanks I like the idea of cutting out pickguards backplates just boring stuff that's time consuming by hand

WezV · April 2023

I don't think it will do plastics, but will do templates for that.

Many plastics can release toxic gases when cut with the laser.

It should also do coloured acrylic, but not clear

WezV · April 2023

a day of template making in 6mm material. some Ply, some HDF

lots of learnings here.

This machine claims to do 6mm in one pass, and it can, but it does it much better in 2 or 4... so a body template I taking about 40mins to cut and be sure it has cut cleanly. Basically, if you think its done in 2 or 3, do an extra pass to be sure

The ply worked better than the HDF, it was struggling to get through the last bit on that harder material.

laser focal depth is important. it cuts to about 4mm in one pass at the speeds I was using today, then the second pass gets it to 5mm, 3rd gets it to 6mm, 4th gets it cleanly through at 6mm. clearly the laser is losing focus at that cutting distance. I don;t think this will do much more than 7-8mm however many passes you do, it will just start burning the bottom of the slot it has made. The 20w version should get a body template made in 15-20 mins.

GSPBASSES · April 2023

Where do you get your HDF from? I can't find anywhere at my end of the country to buy it.

WezV · April 2023

I can't remember, just some sheet material I have and for a while. I assume its HDF as it is more stable and noticeably harder than most other MDF I have here, but it could just be a better grade

WezV · April 2023

I discovered a couple of issue in the Z style templates, all to do with my designs, and not the laser

All the holes line up with the body template, but the plate shape itself is offset to the bass side

i did wonder if the laser had lost steps between cutting the holes and outline, but thankfully it was a design error in inkscape on my part.

I also set the nut width on the headstock template to 40mm... ???

both now corrected and will be recut at some point

the biggest shock is that i posted a pic of a corvus template last night without even a lol.;)

Sporky · April 2023

We all felt it better not to mention that.

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Laser engraver/cutter ideas and experiences - it's here and i'm cutting things!

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