Trotec Laser International
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Acrylic Money Box
This acrylic cash box with all-round photo engraving is a hit with car fans and others.
To browse our full materials range, please visit www.trotec-materials.com
Preparation
Required material:
- 1/4 sheet of 3 mm TroGlass Color Gloss black (available at Trotec)
- Material to cover the engraving table (e.g. paper)
Machine used:
- Speedy 400 flexx
- 120 Watt CO2/50 Watt fiber laser with 2.85" flexx lens
For this sample, you should use a laser machine from the Speedy flexx Series.
Important:
- Use the acrylic cutting grid table
- Leave the protection foil on the material during cutting. It protects the acrylic from scratches. Remove the foil right before marking.
Tip:
- You can produce neutral cash boxes for stock and individualize them for your customers upon request.
Step by Step
Step 1: Import /create design template
Import our design template into your graphic program. We optimized the design so that you can produce two cash boxes out of one quarter sheet of TroGlass without material waste. But you can also visit www.makeabox.io, enter the required dimensions, material thickness, kerf, etc. and download the finished file. If you define the kerf correctly, you can simply put together the parts without glue. (we used a kerf of 0.2 mm)
Print settings
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 500 dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| Black & White | enhanced geometries inner geometries first |
Step 2: Laser process
For best results, we recommend using the acrylic cutting grid table because it avoids back reflections on the material. Position the acrylic sheet into your laser and cover the rest of the table to maximize the exhaust power. Cut the design out of TroGlass.
Laser Parameters:
| Color | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) | ppi/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| red | Cut CO2 | 30 | 0.2 | 5000 |
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | on | - | - |
Info:
- We used the standard laser parameters from JobControl optimized for quality because we want to mark on the cutting edges as well.
- The material parameters from JobControl can be downloaded from www.troteclaser.com
- You can produce neutral cash boxes for stock and individualize them for your customers upon request.
Step 3: Preparation all-round photo marking
Open the template for laser marking. It shows the four pages of the money box. Import the desired image and position it into the center of the page. Please make sure that the image is big enough to cover all four sides of the box. Make 3 duplicates of the image and position them all into the center of the page. Now position each of the images into one of the four power clip containers (with transparent outline - see video). The image appears as one, but has been split into four. Now send all four designs to the laser. Make sure that you use the exact dimensions and the graphic is positioned in the middle.
Print settings:
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Photo | 500dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| Stucki | Invert |
Important:
All black parts of the image are marked and appear white afterwards. This is why the image needs to be inverted.
Step 4: Laser marking fiber laser
Position the assembled money box into your laser. Start marking with the right (narrow) side (no. 1), followed by the left (narrow) side (no. 3). Next mark the front (no. 2) and finally the back (no. 4). Please don't forget to focus before marking the front (no. 2). You could mark the pieces from 1-4 one after the other, but then you will have to focus again after each part.
Laser Parameters:
| Color | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) | ppi/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| black | engrave FLP | 40 | 55 | 75000 |
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | on | - | High Quality |
Step 5: Post-processing
Clean the glass holder with some water and dish-soap.
Inspirations
- On dark acrylic you can achieve particularly good results with the fiber laser source of the Speedy flexx series.
- If you want to mark four individual images instead of the all-round graphic, you can mark the image directly on the material before cutting.
- You can also UV-print the material. Our JobControl Vision will help you cut out the printed sheets with highest precision. Don't forget that the cutting edges will appear black (resp. in the color of the acrylic used)