Acrylic coffee caddy

Step-by-step instruction

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

Preparation

Required material:

1/2 sheet TroGlass Duo Night and Day 3mm (or other various TroGlass products 3mm)
1/2 sheet TroGlass Clear 10 mm
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

This sample can be produced with any laser machine of the SP laser cutter series. For high-quality and efficient cutting of 10 mm acrylic you need laser power of 100 watts or more.

Tip:

Use the acrylic cutting table or the cutting table with acrylic lamellas.
Remove the protective foil on the front right before laser procesing to avoid scratches.

Step by Step

Step 1: Import design

Import our design template into your graphic program. Send the job to your laser using the print settings mentioned in the next step.

Step 2: Kerf correction

When cutting, a kerf develops due to the vaporization of the material and the laser beam diameter.

The difference between the inner edge and the outer edge of the cut is called 'kerf'. The drawing must be adapted to this kerf to ensure durable positioning of the inserted parts.

Simply incorporate the calculated kerf by using the "Contour" command in CorelDraw. With this, the cut is actually as large as required, and the inserted material fits in the base material. (We used a kerf of 0.21 mm.) Expand all green cutting lines to the previously calculated kerf.

Print settings

Process mode	Resolution	Cut line
Standard	500 dpi	non

Halftone	Others
Color	enhanced geometries, inner geometries first

Step 3: Laser process

Engrave and cut the various parts of acrylic. For optimal suction, positon the material and cover the rest of the engraving table. Furthermore, remove the protective foil from the front of the material.

Use the 2" lens for the 3 mm acrylic, the 10 mm material is cut with the 2.5" lens. Start the engraving from bottom to top for optimum engraving results.

Laser Parameters

Material	Color	Process	Power (%)	Speed (%)
TroGlass Duo 3 mm	black	engrave CO₂	12	20
TroGlass Duo, Frosted 3 mm	red, green	cut CO₂	40	0.2
TroGlass Clear 3 mm	red, green	cut CO₂	30	0.2
TroGlass Clear 10 mm	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	-3 mm	-

Info:

We used the JobControl^® standard parameters optimized for quality.
You can download the material parameters from www.troteclaser.com

Step 4: Assembly

Finally, glue the individual parts together. Mount the letters and the storage compartments into the base plates, and secure the coffee bar on the wall with screws and dowels.