Great 3D Artwork Supplier

[Derek Kern]

I know Gantry Co. has been brought up before on this forum but I just to throw some more recognition their way.

Lou Saye at the GantryCo.com has again supplied me with a great 3D file and the detail and crispness of the results are astounding. Lou has many pieces for sale and will even custom make a file for you. They are a great value considering their quality, uniqueness and the fact that you can use them as much as you want.

Some common thoughts on 3D engraving is that it takes to long and can not be done economically. I believe that as newer technology arrives, engraving speeds keep increasing and with Lou Sayes artwork that many people will be able to offer this service for a fair price to their customers.

Take a look at the latest file from Lou. I engraved into 1/4" Maple.

[Margaret Turco]

That's beautiful Derek!

[Frank Corker]

I tried the file from them a couple of years ago using acrylic, came out very detailed. Nice job you have done there. Any indication as to the price of the piece you have bought (if you don't mind saying of course)?

[Derek Kern]

I don't mind sharing Frank. I believe the price on that piece was around 200 dollars. I see it as a bargain for unlimited use and its detail.

[Bill Parker]

The only thing I never understood about this company, is why they charge shipping and handling to email you the files. However they do have some nice work.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hi Derek,
Nice work. How long did it take and what is the actual size, what are your settings, wattage, speed, etc...

In order for this to be profitable and encourage others on the Creek to explore it further, you may want to donate this file and put a challenge that everyone who excepts it will have the file emailed to them and in return they must produce one on their laser and or CNC and provide a few pics, all specs, material(s) used and time study so that this can be an informative/educational post instead of just the WOW effect.

Please don't get me wrong, the WOW effect is great to see but knowing what your Kern laser's can do with higher wattage is a big difference from what most of us have. This way we can see what different laser brands with different wattage can do and have real world comparisons.

What do you think?

Thanks you and ...

[Frank Corker]

That was the biggest problem for me. The guy at Gantry said my result wasn't going to be up to much, but it did okay, few runs but the effect was amazing none the less. It's a shame I can't get hold of more 3d stuff, I think it looks really neat.

[George M. Perzel]

Derek;
That's awesome-best example of 3D engraving I have ever seen.
1.I noticed that you have a 400 watt machine-does it take that much power to do this kind of work?
2. What is the object overall size?
3. How many passes at what speeds and power settings?
4. What was total laser time to do thid?
Thanks
Best regards;
George
LaserArts

[Mike Null]

Derek


Thanks for the post. That's beautiful.

[Derek Kern]

Derek;
That's awesome-best example of 3D engraving I have ever seen.
1.I noticed that you have a 400 watt machine-does it take that much power to do this kind of work?
2. What is the object overall size?
3. How many passes at what speeds and power settings?
4. What was total laser time to do thid?
Thanks
Best regards;
George
LaserArts

I have done 3D on as little as 50 watts but it just takes longer. The pieces size was about 4 by 4 inches, I used 600 DPI, 45"/sec engraving speed, 100% power on my 400 watt laser. Took about 12 minutes to do one. When I array them across times get a lot better. Maybe 4 or 5 minutes per piece.

A 150 watt laser would give you similar results at 15"/sec and 100% power.

[Derek Kern]

Hi Derek,
Nice work. How long did it take and what is the actual size, what are your settings, wattage, speed, etc...

In order for this to be profitable and encourage others on the Creek to explore it further, you may want to donate this file and put a challenge that everyone who excepts it will have the file emailed to them and in return they must produce one on their laser and or CNC and provide a few pics, all specs, material(s) used and time study so that this can be an informative/educational post instead of just the WOW effect.

Please don't get me wrong, the WOW effect is great to see but knowing what your Kern laser's can do with higher wattage is a big difference from what most of us have. This way we can see what different laser brands with different wattage can do and have real world comparisons.

What do you think?

Thanks you and ...

Posted settings above.

Great Idea! BUT..... it says plain as day on Gantry Co. website that this is not allowed. Which makes perfect sense. Its the same as ripping off copies of any software and giving them out for free.

Any other ideas? Does anyone own a good 3D file that we could compare systems with? I have four but are all property of Gantry Co....

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Posted settings above.

Great Idea! BUT..... it says plain as day on Gantry Co. website that this is not allowed. Which makes perfect sense. Its the same as ripping off copies of any software and giving them out for free.

Any other ideas? Does anyone own a good 3D file that we could compare systems with? I have four but are all property of Gantry Co....

Here's a thought, maybe the people at Gantry can approve this because it is in their best interest to help promote their stuff. Just like Tom "Buzz" writes in his newsletter, "You have to give to get". So if they give a little they may get a lot more in return. Technically it won't cost them much, if anything, because they will reach Laser user's that probably wouldn't bother because of the concern of how long it takes to laser. But by trying a usable/marketable 3D product, they may be able to justify it.

If I remember correctly it is your software that they use to create these 3D grayscale images and your Lasers that can make them faster than we probably can (as you mentioned above). By everyone using the same file that becomes the benchmark for this study and the variables are the assorted lasers represented on this forum, for the amount of marketing information that can be pulled from this venture is invaluable. Having something that at the least can be given away with out a watermark on the face will make it more attractive for greater participation. If they are unwilling to participate in this, they are missing a great opportunity in my opinion.

[Kerry Smith II]

They will send you a graphic for trial if you email them, it is on the front page of their website.

http://www.gantryco.com/

Also I found this sample graphic from Artcam in this old thread.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.p...zie#post622499

[Michael Kowalczyk]

They will send you a graphic for trial if you email them, it is on the front page of there website.

http://www.gantryco.com/

Also I found this sample graphic from Artcam in this old thread.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.p...zie#post622499

Hey Kerry,
Thanks for the post but the sample has a watermark across the face of it therefore rendering it useless for anyone to actually market. The concept is to see if a real world product can be marketed at a fair price by standard laser users on this forum. By having many different laser owners that have many different type of lasers with different wattage and engraving speeds, we could see at what level it may make sense. Could you or would you even waste the time of producing something that can not be sold or at the least given away with out someone else's logo watermarked across it? That would be like having a great photo with "PROOF" stamped on it and trying to sell it to anyone. Typical comment might be "Awesome photo but come back when you have something that is actually for sale and then I'll let you know". It is very hard to test the market with out having something that they can actually buy. Most people will say "Wow" but until they actual buy one that's all it is, a "WOW" factor.

Just trying to help Gantry, Kern Laser and Creek members with some good real world info and PR.

Here's another one for you. It is a proven fact that when you offer free food at a volunteer work event you will get a larger crowd, unless of course it is for a cause. Like I mentioned earlier, a real world study of a saleable product will generate great feed back and possible sales for Gantry that might not otherwise be obtained. Laser owners will also see if it could be a viable, cost effective and profitable product line to carry.

I have tested many FREE router bits from manufacturer's because I give them feedback. RPM, Feed Rate(IPM), material cut, how many sheets it yielded. Either they get the bit back with my info because it performed less than what I am already using or if it performed better than what I was currently using and cost was fair, they gained a new customer. In both scenarios it was a WIN-WIN situation.

I am willing to invest my time, talents and machinery, if they are willing to invest in their product.

Derek, If Gantry would like to benefit from this then they should put something into it. Ask them the worst they could say is no and the right thing to say is Yes

[Wil Lambert]

Here are a couple of simple ones to try if you want. While I don't sell premade designs like these. Custom ones are no problem. 90% of all the design work I do is for the embossing and engraving industry.

They are 600dpi TIF files. Too big for the forum and wrong file format.

http://formedbydesign.com/Sawmill/Button.tif ~ Approx 1.5mb
http://formedbydesign.com/Sawmill/Sun_burst.tif ~ Approx 5.6mb

Good luck I am curios how they engrave.


Wil