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Laser engraved and cut wooden airplane construction set
In this tutorial we'll show you how to use your Trotec laser machine to create a wooden airplane. People of all ages will enjoy this cute toy.
For engraving and cutting materials visit www.engraving-supplies.co.uk
Preparation
Required materials:
- We used two different kinds of wood in our sample:
* 1 sheet Wood Veneer Cherry 3 mm
* 1 sheet Wood Veneer Walnut 3 mm - Material to cover the engraving table (paper is ideal for this)
- Adhesive tape
Laser machine used:
- Speedy 360
- 80 Watts with 1.5" lens
Any laser machine from the Speedy series can be used for this sample.
Tips:
- To create this sample use the aluminium cutting grid table as it keeps the laser beam reflections to a minimum.
- The 1.5" lens produces less kerf than the 2" lens.
- You can find more tips for wood processing here.
Step by Step
Step 1: Import /create design template
Import our design template into your graphic program. You can then adapt it to your requirements.
Important information:
Our template is designed for 3 mm material. Please adapt the size of the connectors according to the thickness of your wood.
Print settings
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 500 dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| colour | enhanced geometries, inner geometries first |
Step 2: Laser processing
Position the wood sheet onto your laser cutting table and cover the rest of the table with your chosen material (such as paper) to maximise the exhaust power. You can now engrave and cut the various parts.
Laser Parameters
| Colour | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) | ppi/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| black | engraving CO2 | 70 | 50 | 500 |
| red | cut CO2 | 100 | 1 | 1000 |
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | on | +6 | High quality |
| 1 | on | - | - |
Tips:
- We used the standard laser parameters from JobControl optimised for speed to create this sample
- The material parameters of JobControl can be downloaded from www.troteclaser.co.uk
- The more z-offset used for laser engraving, the darker the results will be. At the same time the the engraving detail decreases. We recommend z-offset value of +4 to max. +6 mm for a good result.
- Cutting all of the parts for the airplane from two different woods allows you to create two planes at once.
Step 3: Post-processing
Once all parts are laser cut and engraved clean the dust from the surface and edges with a damp lint-free cloth. Assemble your airplane (you can use wood glue if necessary to secure the parts).
Tips:
- The propeller is movable and thanks to the engraved design it is eye catching when spun.
- Clean the material directly in the machine after cutting and engraving.
Inspiration
- If the airplane is a gift, you can engrave the name of the recipient on the fuselage or wings.
- Combining different kinds of wood in one model allows you to create unique designs.
- You can find a wide selection of different woods at www.engraving-supplies.co.uk. Create a complete fleet of different airplanes from different woods.
- More application ideas for laser cutting and engraving wood can be found here.
