Lasercut Pinboard Made From Cork

Preparation

Required material

1 sheet of Cork, 3mm
1 sheet of MDF, 600x300mm, 6mm + adhesive tape
Cover material

Machine Used

Speedy 360, 80 watts
2" lens
Aluminum cutting grid table

Of course, you can also produce this pattern with all other machines in the Speedy laser engraver series .

Tip

Try a variety of different designs to suit your client or personal preference.

Cork Pin Board

ZIP

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ZIP

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Step by step

Step 1

Step 1: Design

Import our design template and adapt it to your preferences. With the relief mode and the two gray levels in the graphic, you can engrave two different shades in one go in the cork. To find out which grayscale achieves which color change, first apply the grayscale matrix.

Send the graphic for the corkboard to your Trotec laser engraver with the following settings:

Process mode	Resolution	Cut line
Relief	333dpi	none

Halftone	Others
Color	Enhanced geometries

Tip:

Because the corkboard is mostly viewed from a distance, you can use a coarser resolution of 333dpi. A higher resolution will not be seen by the human eye, so you can save a lot of time in the laser engraving process.

Step 2

Step 2: Laser process the cork

Lay the cork piece in your Trotec laser engraver and cover the rest of the working area completely. The large nozzle gives the best results with this material. The parameters can of course vary depending on the laser machine used and the available laser power.

Laser Parameters: Engraving

Color	Process	Power %	Speed %	ppi/Hz
Black	Engrave CO₂	50	70	500

Passes	Air Assist	Z- offset	Advanced
1	ON	0mm	High Quality

Laser Parameters: Scratching

Color	Process	Power %	Speed %	ppi/Hz
Red	Cut CO₂	12	4	1,000

Passes	Air Assist	Z-offset	Advanced
1	ON	+9 mm	-

Laser Parameters: Cutting

Color	Process	Power %	Speed %	ppi/Hz
Blue	Cut CO₂	60	1	1,000

Passes	Air Assist	Z- offset	Advanced
1	ON	0mm	-

Tip:

Cover the workspace very carefully when working with cork. This will help you achieve the best extraction performance and avoid flaming during cutting.

Step 3

Step 3: Laser-template MDF support plate

For additional stability of the cork and to help it attach better, we placed a slightly smaller sized MDF board on the back. This also allows you easily attach wall hooks. Then send the MDF-template graphics to the laser device with the following settings:

Process mode	Resolution	Cut line
Cut Job	1000dpi	None

Halftone	Others
Color	Enhanced geometries

Step 4

Step 4: Laser process the MDF

Lay the MDF plate in your Trotec laser machine. The parameters can obviously change depending on the laser machine used and the available laser power.

Laser parameters	Color	Process	Power %	Speed %	ppi/Hz
Cutting	Red	cut CO2	90	0.4	1,000

Passes	Air Assist	Z offset	Advanced
1	ON	0mm	-

We used the JobControl® default settings for MDF with 6mm thickness.

Finishing of the laser cut cork pinboard

Step 5

Step 5: Cleaning and assembly

Clean the cut edges of the cork with a damp cloth and attach the MDF plate to the back of the cork.

Your personalized corkboard is now finished!

Preparation

Required material

1 sheet of Cork, 3mm
1 sheet of MDF, 600x300mm, 6mm + adhesive tape
Cover material

Laser materials available in our webshop

Machine Used

Speedy 360, 80 watts
2" lens
Aluminum cutting grid table

You can achieve the same great results using any laser in the Speedy laser engraver series to complete this project.

Tip

You can use your laser to cut the corkboard to any desired shape. Corkboards are great for family noticeboards, wall planners, corporate office pinboards and more. Customise with your choice of image or even a logo.

Cork Pin Board

ZIP

Download now

ZIP

Download now

Step by step

Step 1

Step 1: Design

You can import your own design, or edit the attached template to suit your preferences. Using relief mode, the two gray levels in the image can be engraved in two different tones in one go in the cork. Use the grayscale matrix to find the right shades of grey for your application.

We suggest the following JobControl settings:

Process mode	Resolution	Cut line
Relief	333dpi	none

Halftone	Others
Color	Enhanced geometries

Tip:

You can reduce laser engraving time by setting the DPI to 333. The corkboard is most likely going to viewed from a distance, and any increase in resolution quality may be lost in this application. The lower resolution will greatly speed up the process, while not greatly affecting engraving quality.

Step 2

Step 2: Laser process the cork

Place the cork sheet flat on the laser table. Cover the rest of the table to increase vacuum. Select the large nose cone for this application. Adjust the settings below to suit your machine and power:

Laser Parameters: Engraving

Color	Process	Power %	Speed %	ppi/Hz
Black	Engrave CO2	50	70	500

Passes	Air Assist	Z- offset	Advanced
1	ON	0mm	High Quality

Laser Parameters: Scratching

Color	Process	Power %	Speed %	ppi/Hz
Red	Cut CO2	12	4	1,000

Passes	Air Assist	Z-offset	Advanced
1	ON	+9 mm	-

Laser Parameters: Cutting

Color	Process	Power %	Speed %	ppi/Hz
Blue	Cut CO2	60	1	1,000

Passes	Air Assist	Z- offset	Advanced
1	ON	0mm	-

Tip:

Covering the table when laser processing cork will help improve extraction and reduce the risk of fire.

Step 3

Step 3: Laser-template MDF support plate

Laser cut a backing board made from MDF to help improve the rigidity of the cork sheet, and make it easy to attach to a wall. We suggest the following settings to laser cut a MDF backing board: