Want to create a unique and eye-catching trophy that can easily be tailored to your customer's needs? Then this is the perfect tutorial for you. This trophy is sure to impress your customers and add a tremendous amount of value to your work. All engraving and cutting materials are available from the Trotec webshop.
This trophy can be produced using anything from the Speedy or SP series of laser machines.
Important:
Seeing as glue is not actually needed to hold the pieces together, remember to pay close attention to the kerf. If necessary, you may need to cut a small geometry and measure the dimension. Only then will you be free to adapt the kerf accordingly.
Remember that the laser parameters outlined here may change depending on the machine you are using and its available laser power.
Step by Step
Material 1: Wood
Import the design we have provided into your chosen graphics program and adapt it to suit your requirements. We decided to use seven pillars for this trophy, but you can always use more or less.
1. Print Settings:
To begin cutting the wood, send the job to the laser machine using the following settings:
Process Mode
Resolution
Cut Line
Standard
500dpi
-
Halftone
Others
Colour
Optimised Geometries, Inner Geometries First
2. Laser Process & Parameters - Wood
Place the wood into the laser machine and activate the vacuum to help with unevenness.
Colour
Process
Power (%)
Speed (%)
ppi/Hz
Red
Cut CO2
100
0.8
1000
Passes
Air Assist
Z-Offset
Advanced
1
ON
-
-
Info:
We decided to use the standard laser parameters for Solid Wood - Walnut
Material 2: Acrylic 20mm
Next, you'll need to create the base and the upper connectors. We chose to use 20mm acrylic, but you can use thinner materials if you'd prefer. Ensure that you measure the thickness of the wooden parts before you begin cutting the acrylic pieces. Adapt the notches if necessary.
1. Print Settings:
Send the job to your laser machine using following settings:
Process Mode
Resolution
Cut Line
Standard
500dpi
-
Halftone
Others
Colour
Optimised Geometries, Inner Geometries First
2. Laser Process & Parameters - Acrylic (20mm)
We used the SP1500 (400W) to cut our acrylic. We suggest also using the 5" lens and focus 4mm into the material. The slot in the upper connector will be used to insert the ball chain, so adapt the engraving depth if necessary.
Colour
Process
Power (%)
Spped (%)
ppi/Hz
Red
Cut CO2
35
0.2
2000
Passes
Air Assist
Z-Offset
Advanced
1
ON
4mm
-
Tip:
If you've replaced the 20mm acrylic with something that is only 10mm, you can cut it with your Speedy machine instead. Use the standard parameters in JobControl optimised for quality, and make sure you use a 2.5" lens instead.
Info:
Use the standard laser parameters for TroGlass Clear - 20mm when cutting the pieces.
Material 3: TroGlass Metallic
The middle part of the trophy can be made using any other TroGlass colour that you'd like. You can even add things like graphics and logos.
1. Print Settings:
Send the file to your laser machine using following settings:
Process Mode
Resolution
Cut Line
Standard
500dpi
-
Halftone
Others
Colour
Optimised Geometries, Inner Geometries First
2. Laser Process & Parameters - TroGlass Metallic
Depending on how you'd like to stick the TroGlass Metallic to the 20mm base, you may need some double-sided adhesive foil before the cutting process begins.
Colour
Process
Power (%)
Speed (%)
ppi/Hz
Red
Cut CO2
40
0.2
5000
Passes
Air Assist
Z-Offset
Advanced
1
ON
-
-
Info:
We used the standard laser parameters for TroGlass, optimised for quality.
Material 4: Acrylic 5mm
Measure the thickness of your chosen wood and adapt the kerf if necessary.
1. Print Settings:
Send the job to your laser machine using the following settings.
Process Mode
Resolution
Cut line
Standard
500dpi
-
Halftone
Others
Colour
Optimised Geometries, Inner Geometries First
2. Laser Process & Parameters - Acrylic 5mm
Place the material onto the acrylic cutting grid table.
Colour
Process
Power (%)
Speed (%)
ppi/Hz
Red
Cut CO2
85
0.2
20000
Passes
Air Assist
Z-Offset
Advanced
1
ON
-1.5mm
-
Info:
We decided to use the standard parameters for TroGlass Clear 5mm, optimised for quality.
Material 5: Aluminium Tag
The aluminium tag is the perfect spot to engrave someone's name, logo or graphic. You are free to use different colours and shapes for this part of the project to add an interesting extra detail.
1. Print Settings:
Send the job to your laser machine using the following settings
Process Mode
Resolution
Cut line
Standard
500dpi
-
Halftone
Others
Colour
-
2. Laser Process & Parameters - Aluminium Tag
Place the aluminium tag onto the laser bed. By using the 1.5" lens, you'll be able to show the finer details. Remember though, our laser parameters may differ depending on which machine you are using and its available laser power. For example, we used the SpeedMarker MOPA laser for the black markings.
Tip:
To achieve the exact positioning of the graphic on the work piece, you can use a template or a positioning aid in the JobControl® software.
Colour
Process
Power (%)
Speed (%)
ppi/Hz
Black
Engrave CO2
10
20
500
Passes
Air Assist
Z-Offset
Advanced
1
ON
-
High Quality
Assembly
When it's time to assemble the trophy, begin with the wooden beams. Place them inside the upper connector. Before you attach all of them, thread the ball chain through the aluminium tag, and hang the lock in its little designated slot. Then, place the lower end of the wooden pieces into the 5mm acrylic. Mount the signage by sticking the parts all together with glue dots, naturally following the creases in the TroGlass Metallic. Tighten all the screws and, finally, glue the TroGlass Metallic piece onto the thick acrylic base.
As a special design element, we decided to add a little acrylic globe to the top of one of our trophies. You can learn how to create it below.
Please keep in mind that this is a project for very advanced laser users. It requires a lot of detail, lots of different materials and the ability to mark anodised aluminium. However, if you have all the appropriate equipment, this is a great trophy that can be pre-made and adapted later to suit customer requirements. Happy crafting!
