Section 10: Material Engraving Techniques
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Resolution Settings – Wood is a very easy material to work with and you can
produce very nice detail with as little as 300 DPI engraving. 600 DPI engraving into
wood produces fabulous results.
Grey Scales
– Grey scales look wonderful when engraved into wood. The reason for
this is that the wood will react much differently to each level of gray scale, providing
amazing contrast. Experiment! Take a piece of clipart and ungroup it and change the
colors so that they range from a dark color like red, to a light color like yellow, then
engrave it. This will create a shading effect that is almost 3-D in its appearance.
Wood Vector Cutting Techniques
Legends are ideal for cutting through solid wood material. The thickness of the wood
that you can cut varies with the wattage of the laser and the hardness of the wood, but
in general you can cut approximately ¼ inch ( 3mm) wood with a 25-watt laser and
up to ½ inch ( 6 mm) wood with a 120-watt laser.
As with any application there are techniques that will greatly enhance the success of
your vectoring of any material. When cutting wood of any thickness, Epilog
recommends the use of a Vector Grid and Air Assist options. The Vector Grid raises
the wood off of the solid metal engraving table and supports the wood on an
aluminum grid. The grid greatly reduces backside burning of the wood and also
provides ventilation that allows the fumes and smoke to be exhausted to the rear of
the engraving cabinet.
Air assist greatly reduces flaming that may occur if too much laser power is applied
to the wood piece being cut.
Depending on the type of wood being vector cut, it is sometimes advantageous to
apply a cover of masking or transfer tape to the surface before cutting. The masking
tape will reduce residue buildup on the top surface of the wood surrounding the cut
line.
Warning: Wood is a combustible material. Never leave your Legend unattended
while vector cutting any material.
Wood Cleaning Techniques
When laser engraving or cutting wood, resin in the wood comes to the surface, mixes
with the smoke and is deposited as a residue. If the wood has a coating of
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