Replacement G0709 compound index plate

[wachuko]

That green is on-brand for Griz — they should crib off your notes! ☺

I'd be likely to spill acetone on the green at some point though, probably after dripping dykem on it... I see that you can get anodized aluminum blank sheets in all sorts of sizes and colors. I had been thinking of engraving 1/8" 6061, filling with enamel, and then face milling it to thickness, but I suppose engraving color might look nice too. So many options!

I just bought an rPi 4 to install linuxcnc to bring my CNC mill back to life, so at some point I should be able to actually finally make my own instead of living vicariously through your efforts.

How were you thinking of cutting them out? Rough cut with a fret saw and file/dremel to the line?

The engraving with this laser is not deep enough to then fill with enamel paint... at least I don't think it is... need to try and see what happens.

I have not thought about how to cut it... remember this is all testing. Plan is to use the one I purchased from Grizzly and engrave that one (yeah, still looking for it ).

If I was to cut these, I think that I would use shears, and then try with a router and using the one I cut out of MDF, as a guide, to trim to size/shape...

 

[mcdanlj]

Yeah, for me filling with enamel would start with engraving on my CNC mill. To engrave aluminum deep enough with a laser to fill with enamel, you'd want a fiber laser. I'm having trouble processing that the most powerful diode lasers and the entry-level fiber lasers are now close in price. (And of course, equally lacking in things like eye protection... )

 

[wachuko]

Yeah, for me filling with enamel would start with engraving on my CNC mill. To engrave aluminum deep enough with a laser to fill with enamel, you'd want a fiber laser. I'm having trouble processing that the most powerful diode lasers and the entry-level fiber lasers are now close in price. (And of course, equally lacking in things like eye protection... )

I would not know how to select a fiber laser… I would eventually like to add one to my garage… Pretty sure my wife is going to call out that this was her gift

I bought this one for my wife because it has the cover you lower to avoid issues with the laser… I also got her some safety laser glasses… Software is easy to use. She is extremely happy with it.

Back to the tests… now that I think about it, I have a bottle of stuff used for etching… still new. Another thing that I wanted to try./experiment with. I could cover the aluminum sheet with regular black spray paint… Engrave and use the etching product to get more depth on the lines and numbers??

 

[mcdanlj]

Back to the tests… now that I think about it, I have a bottle of stuff used for etching… still new. Another thing that I wanted to try./experiment with. I could cover the aluminum sheet with regular black spray paint… Engrave and use the etching product to get more depth on the lines and numbers??

Yeah, mask and etch is definitely a thing. That would be an interesting approach!

BTW: Good on you being one of the apparently rare few who take eye safety with lasers seriously. I run a forum that has laser enthusiasts who care about safety, and so many new folks show up thinking that it's no big deal. I've written some pretty graphic posts about lasers and eyes. CO2 lasers will ablate your retina, so maybe you can get that replaced with one from a corpse, but the blue LED lasers painlessly and instantly destroy your retina, and there's no going back. Medical literature is bursting at the seams recently with permanent laser-induced eye damage. It's terrifying. So thanks for keeping eye safety in mind, and not just depending on a pair of glasses that only take forgetting one time to have a lifetime of regret.

 

[wachuko]

I just realized that I never shared the MDF test...

 

[mcdanlj]

I forgot if you said which laser control software you are using, but if it has a "vector raster" mode, you might want to use that for the index marks if you aren't already doing that, in order to give crisper straight edges. I know that at least MeerK40t supports that. I'd use vector engraving/cutting for the perimeter, vector raster for the index marks, and experiment between image raster (probably faster, might also look better?) and vector raster (maybe cleaner edges?) for the numbers.

 

[wachuko]

I forgot if you said which laser control software you are using, but if it has a "vector raster" mode, you might want to use that for the index marks if you aren't already doing that, in order to give crisper straight edges. I know that at least MeerK40t supports that. I'd use vector engraving/cutting for the perimeter, vector raster for the index marks, and experiment between image raster (probably faster, might also look better?) and vector raster (maybe cleaner edges?) for the numbers.

Currently using what the XTool F1 came with... My wife downloaded Lightburn but has not play with it...

 

[wachuko]

I wish I had that MLA-18 die filer already machined, assembled and working. Used regular scissors to cut the aluminum sheet as close to the line as possible. Now to trim to the line...

 

[wachuko]

Look at that... pretty sure that I will now find the one I bought...



I will remove, spray a clear coat and glue in place. Also need to fix the arrow on the side tab.

 

[mcdanlj]

That's really nice.

It's been fun watching you be so far ahead of me on this project. I just bought a new brain for my litle CNC mill, but that means learning linuxcnc for the first time for setting it up, so who knows when I'll get to the point of actually engraving it.