Acrylic coffee caddy

Produce this stylish coffee caddy using several layers of TroGlass. This is a project for advanced laser users.

Preparation

You Will Need

1/2 sheet TroGlass Duo Night and Day 3mm (or other various TroGlass products 3mm)
1/2 sheet TroGlass Clear 10mm
Rest TroGlass Clear 3mm
Rest TroGlass frosted Light Yellow
(Materials available from Trotec)
Material to cover the working table
Adhesive Tape
Acrylic Glue
Coffee Beans

Machine Used

Speedy 400 with 120 Watts
2" and 2.5" lens

You can create this sample with any machine from the Trotec SP series. To be able to cut 10mm of acrylic neatly and professionally, you'll need 100 Watts of laser power or more.

Tip

We recommend using the acrylic cutting table, or even a cutting table with acrylic lamellas. Always be sure to remove the protective foil from the front of the material before you begin laser processing it to avoid damage.

csm_coffee-caddy_362471eca4.png

PDF

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PDF

Download now

Step by step

Step 1

Step 1: Import Design

Import our design into your chosen graphics program. Feel free to make any adjustments you wish. Then, send the job to your laser machine using the print settings in the following step.

Step 2

Step 2: Kerf Correction

While your machine is cutting, a kerf develops due to the vaporisation of the material as well as the laser beam diameter.

The 'kerf' is the differences between the inner edge and the outer edge. So, your designs must be adapted to this kerf to ensure durable positioning of the inserted parts.

It's very simple - you'll just need to incorporate the calculated kerf by using the 'contour' command in CorelDraw. This way, the cut will be as large as required, and the inserted material will fit in its base (we used a kerf of .21mm).

Print Settings

Process Mode	Resolution	Cut Line
Standard	500dpi	None

Halftone	Others
Colour	Enhanced Geometries, Inner Geometries First

Step 3

Step 3: Laser Process

Now, engrave and cut each of the acrylic parts. For the best suction, position the material neatly in the laser machine and then cover the rest of the engraving table with scrap paper. Furthermore, ensure that you always remove the protective foil from the front of the material to ensure it doesn't get damaged!

Use the 2" lens for the 3mm acrylic, but the 10mm material is cut with the 2.5" lens. Start engraving at the bottom of the material and work your way up for the best engraving results.

Laser Parameters

Material	Colour	Process	Power (%)	Speed (%)
TroGlass Duo 3mm	Black	Engrave CO₂	12	20
TroGlass Duo 3mm	Red, Green	Cut CO₂	40	0.2
TroGlass Clear 3mm	Red, Green	Cut CO₂	30	0.2
TroGlass Clear 10mm	Red, Green	Cut CO₂	90	0.1

ppi/Hz	Passes	Air Assist	Z-Offset	Advanced
500	1	On	-	Engraving Direction from Bottom
5 000	1	On	-	-
20 000	1	On	-	-
20 000	1	On	-3mm	-

Info:

We used the JobControl^® standard parameters, optimised for quality.
You can download all material parameters here.
The only difference between the parameters of TroGlass Duo and TroGlass Clear is the cutting frequency. You can cut both materials with 5000 Hz if you wish.

Step 4

Step 4: Assembly

Finally, you just need to glue all the individual parts together! Mount the letters and the storage compartments into the base plates. Secure the coffee bar on the wall with screws and dowels. You now have a nifty, handmade coffee caddy!

Tip:

Want some special effects? Place a few coffee beans into the hollow space behind the storage compartments.

Speedy series
The ideal laser engraver and cutter for personalisation.

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Questions about applications or settings?
We're happy to advise you from A for Air assist to Z for z-offset.