Brushs Laser Cutting and 3d Printing workbench

[BrushType4]

Not my scale but interesting to see how it goes. Is it still all MDF construction or are you using a mixture of MDF and card/mountboard?

I've just got some oiled manilla card to experiment with. It cuts very cleanly with little scorching.

Its a mix of 1 and 2mm MDF, 290gsm card and 1mm acrylic glazing. All cuts very clean and sharp. I tried using 1mm mountboard instead of the MDF, but I wasn't happy with it.

I need to do a 2mm next, not quite sure how I'll do this.

 

[iak63]

Hmmmm.... Now that might be a temptation...

 

[BrushType4]

Lasercut glazing for 7mm Lima coaches. Just a press fit at the moment, but needs to be glued with your favourite glazing glue.

 

[simond]

I reckon that’s a winner!

Best
Simon

 

[BrushType4]

I’ve also been asked to make my LNER Hut into a 2mm version.

The prototype is looking promising..


The glazing bar is just 0.3mm!

 

[adrian]

I’ve also been asked to make my LNER Hut into a 2mm version.

The prototype is looking promising..

That's a shame I'm looking for LNWR stuff in 2mm.

Still it does look good. Is that just (mounting) card? The glazing bar does look impressive in that my similar attempts has a lot of burn marks on it. Once you get down to the small scales I'm not that convinced about the tab and slot construction, it just seems a little more intrusive in the smaller scales.

 

[BrushType4]

That's a shame I'm looking for LNWR stuff in 2mm.

Still it does look good. Is that just (mounting) card? The glazing bar does look impressive in that my similar attempts has a lot of burn marks on it. Once you get down to the small scales I'm not that convinced about the tab and slot construction, it just seems a little more intrusive in the smaller scales.

Adrian, It’s 0.5mm plastic/rowmark which is a bit expensive but cuts very well.

You may be right about the tabs though, I like to help keep all the parts together like a jigsaw but that little prototype isn’t glued up so reserve judgement until I can glue together tomorrow.

The construction is as the attached 4mm drawing. I’ve simply halved the scale and used materials half as thick. It should make for easier future 2mm conversions of my 4mm kits. As I start my kits in 7mm usually, it’s a bit harder to scale to 4mm as it’s not a simple resize due to the lack of comparable materials thicknesses. Perhaps I should start in 4mm and scale up?

 

[adrian]

Adrian, It’s 0.5mm plastic/rowmark which is a bit expensive but cuts very well.

Cheers - I've got some trotec/rowmark which I've used for my insulating brakeblocks etc, but it's in black as I've got an LED laser cutter rather than a CO2 unit. I've always found that cutting it seems to bring out the oils in the plastic - do you see the same with a CO2 cutter?

 

[Overseer]

Cheers - I've got some trotec/rowmark which I've used for my insulating brakeblocks etc, but it's in black as I've got an LED laser cutter rather than a CO2 unit. I've always found that cutting it seems to bring out the oils in the plastic - do you see the same with a CO2 cutter?

Adrian, what's the theory with black trotec? I have black, white and grey trolase and they all seem to cut the same using the Emblaser.

 

[BrushType4]

Adrian, what's the theory with black trotec? I have black, white and grey trolase and they all seem to cut the same using the Emblaser.

Same here.

 

[adrian]

Adrian, what's the theory with black trotec? I have black, white and grey trolase and they all seem to cut the same using the Emblaser.

I just seem to remember reading on one of the forums that someone was having trouble cutting plastic (acrylic/trotec I can't remember which) of a lighter colour something about it being more translucent with the LED laser cutters. Besides which I couldn't afford more than one sheet so to minimise the risk I went for the black. Irrespective of colour my question still stands white, grey or black do you get an oily residue after cutting Trotec material?

 

[BrushType4]

Adrian, I’ve been cutting rowmark and trolase today and I’ve not got any residue that is noticeable.

 

[Overseer]

Irrespective of colour my question still stands white, grey or black do you get an oily residue after cutting Trotec material?

I know what you mean. I get a shinier border near cuts, more noticeable on the black. I don't think it rubs off so wouldn't have described it as oily but will have to look at it more closely next time. I assumed it was just the heat modifying the surface slightly.

 

[BrushType4]

Been cutting signage from twin layered Trotec.

I engraved the white layer away, leaving the raised letters on a black background.



They do need a bit of a wash though as this amount of engraving does make the residue an issue. Hot water and a nail brush is all that’s needed.

 

[geoff_nicholls]

How does that method compare with etching, costwise?
The photo shows an LNW wagon number plate in etched brass. I haven't managed to paint the lettering white properly yet. You can see the size from the ruler. I can imagine several advantages with your method: it's pre-painted, several jobs can be batched together. the rest of the material can be taken out of the machine and put aside for further artwork. But I guess it takes time. And is there a limit on the detail?
Can this method be both profitable and affordable?

 

[BrushType4]

Geoff, not sure how much an etched method costs, but I can do these pretty quickly if I have artwork. Email me your artwork and I'll have a go.

 

[BrushType4]

How does that method compare with etching, costwise?
The photo shows an LNW wagon number plate in etched brass. I haven't managed to paint the lettering white properly yet. You can see the size from the ruler. I can imagine several advantages with your method: it's pre-painted, several jobs can be batched together. the rest of the material can be taken out of the machine and put aside for further artwork. But I guess it takes time. And is there a limit on the detail?
Can this method be both profitable and affordable?
View attachment 90803

I scanned a wagon plate and have made this. It’s scale at 10mm/foot. I'll try and tweak the settings to see if I can get it a bit better.

 

[adrian]

Been cutting signage from twin layered Trotec.

I engraved the white layer away, leaving the raised letters on a black background.

Very nice - I presume this is 7mm scale? It's worked well to get the definition on the lettering.

I tried something similar for a couple of tender plates to show water capacity but the letter was too fine and the detail was lost when trying to cut it. I've switched to using Lightburn for the laser cutting now which seems to give a marked improvement on the detailing so I think I might try a few more experiments.

 

[simond]

Another vote for LightBurn. Bought a licence about a month ago, after a couple of weeks trial.

Only criticism I have is that they have not provided an ip link to a Smoothieboard controller, which I would prefer over the usb link, but disabling Windows’ updates seems to avoid most irritating crashes. The ip link would be “icing on the cake” but it works very well - I’m using a K40 laser with Smoothie controller.

Best
Simon

 

[BrushType4]

A few more signs added.

They can be enhanced with careful dry brushing.