Epilog Laser Legend 6000 Owner's Manual page 61

Owner's Manual for EPILOG Legend Model 6000
December, 2000
WOOD ENGRAVING TECHNIQUES
To create a quality image on wood, contrast and depth are desired. The higher the power levels, the higher
the contrast and depth will be.
Speed and Power Settings - Wood is a great material to laser engrave because it discolors when engraved and
the depth of engraving is greater than most materials. The downside is that it takes a lot of power to deeply
engrave wood at high speeds. Most wood can be engraved using full power no matter whether you are using
a 25-watt laser or a 100-watt laser. Depending on the wattage of your laser, the best approach is to set the
laser power at 100% and adjust the speed to obtain the desired depth.
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
wood with a 25-watt laser and up to ½ inch wood with a 100-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 using a Vector Table and Air Assist. The
Vector Table 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.
Section 10 – Engraving Techniques 57