Embedded Files
- Rotary Setup
Inform a Staff Member that you'd like to use the rotary attachment. Students are not allowed to switch it themselves.
Turn on the fan, right below the table. This is for safety & keeps down fumes.
Secure your glass in the rotary. Be extra sure that it is snug and won't move. The red latch will secure the sliding half of the axis.
2. Image Prep
2. Image Prep
Vector vs Raster
You'll be engraving either a raster (black and white pixels) or a vector (blue illustrator stroke/fill) image.
As long as the vector design is the correct rgb blue, it should be good to go.
However, if you're using a black and white image, you may need to edit it. It needs to be strictly black and white, as the paint film on most water bottles doesn't handle partial engraving well. --> For most images, just using the Image Trace function in Illustrator works. If it's struggling with your image, open it in Photoshop first and edit the Levels [image > levels] to help with contrast.
2. Size & Orientation
While in the rotary, your bottle/glass/etc will be sideways. Thus, your design must also be set up sideways. What looks left/right in illustrator will be up/down on your glass.
Check the size of your design in the properties tab; it will be engraved at these exact dimensions. (When resizing with the transform box, be sure to hold [shift] to keep proportions)
3. Machine Settings
3. Machine Settings
Once your design is all set up, go to [ File > Print]. This will open the Illustrator Print menu.
Click Setup in the lower left, opening a Second menu, then Preferences, which opens a third menu-- the Materials Database in the Laser Settings.
!! Set Fixture Type to Rotary !!
Input the Diameter of your glass.
Select your material. For a water bottle, this is [Metal > Aluminum > Anodized Aluminum]
Set the Material Depth to 0.100 (unless you have specific dimensions)
Slide your raster (top right) to +50%. This boosts the strength of the cut.
Click APPLY. Not Save. Then OK.
Print from the initial Illustrator menu.
(If your engraving is not completely clear in one pass, you may do another. Don't move the bottle, simply turn the raster back down to 0 and press play again)
4. Starting the Engrave
4. Starting the Engrave
The Icon for the laser's control panel should automatically come up on the taskbar, but if it doesn't use the hidden icons carrot and click on the red exclamation mark for the Universal Laser Systems Control Panel.
Use the pointer tool to check the bounds of your image. You'll only be able to select points along the horizontal line
You can drag your design up and down (in relation to the glass), but you'll have to rotate the glass manually.
Double-check that the fan is ON
Manually set the Z axis with the alignment tool. It's stored in the bed engravers.
Use the up and down arrows on the laser to adjust the bed height, until the first notch on the indicator is snugly nestled between material and laser lens.
You'll want to flip up the front cover of the laser head for ease of access. be sure to close afterwards!
Check that Auto Z in the System Settings of the Control Panel is turned off. Or else it'll undo your hard work.
Close the laser lid and press play!
*4. Left - how to adjust the Z axis.
Babysit your engraving! The machine cannot run unattended.
Babysit your engraving! The machine cannot run unattended.
Mid-process engraving. This design is actually on its second pass-- you can see the difference between the shiny 2-pass steel and the reddish, single pass metal, which still has paint in it.
If your engraving has a tinge to it after the first pass, a second may be in order.
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