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Thread: Perfect inlays

  1. #1

    Perfect inlays

    Can anyone here explain how they make perfect inlays with the laser.

    I have done a few of them but they always have small gaps in areas when I raster out the area that will be replaced with the inlay I draw a .005 white line around all of it which helps a lot but it still isn't perfect, I have tried making the line thicker.006 and .007 and then the inlays don't fit.

    The way I am doing them now is ok and customers love them but I know by looking at others work here that the joints can be made better.
    Universal M-300 (35 Watt CO2)
    Universal X-660 (50 Watt CO2)

    Hans (35 watt YAG)
    Electrox Cobra (40 watt YAG)


    Glass With Class, Cameron, Wisconsin

  2. #2
    Make a positive and negative using the same file. Raster the pieces into the work, then on the inlay material, reverse the image, engrave all around it, leaving a thin web holding it together. Glue it in, once the glue dries, sand it smooth, sanding the web off and the two materials on the same level. It'll be dead perfect with no gaps. You can do very very detailed work like that.
    Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
    Printers : Mimaki UJF-6042 UV Flatbed Printer , HP Designjet L26500 61" Wide Format Latex Printer, Summa S140-T 48" Vinyl Plotter
    Router : ShopBot 48" x 96" CNC Router Rotary Engravers : (2) Xenetech XOT 16 x 25 Rotary Engravers

    Real name Steve but that name was taken on the forum. Used Middle name. Call me Steve or Scott, doesn't matter.

  3. #3
    That is how I am doing it now but I end up with half the thickness of the kerf of the laser or about .002 gap all the way around. I tried adding and extra outline to get make up for the gap but it isn't working.
    Universal M-300 (35 Watt CO2)
    Universal X-660 (50 Watt CO2)

    Hans (35 watt YAG)
    Electrox Cobra (40 watt YAG)


    Glass With Class, Cameron, Wisconsin

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Anaheim, Ca
    Posts
    908
    What you are dealing with is the gap the laser leaves when cutting. What I did was cut a 1" square measure the square and the hole find the difference lets say .04 so cut in half .02. so .02 is the true width of the cut from the laser. Now take the art create the two sheets the inlay and the main sheet. Now the difference is .02 gap for the beam cut the .02 in half to .01 so on the inlay do a contour to all the inlay parts increasing them by .01, now on the main sheet that the inlay goes into decrese each opening by .01 using the contour tool. This will give you a nice tight fit no gap light sand and finish. good luck
    Craig Matheny
    Anaheim, Ca
    45 watt Epilog Laser, 60 watt Epilog Laser,
    Plasma Cutter, MiG Welder
    Rikon 70-100 Lathe
    Shop Smith V510, To many hand Tools and
    Universal Repair Kit (1- Hammer and 1- Roll of Duck Tape)

  5. #5
    How deep are you cutting it? Normally the pieces are angled opposite each other from the beam , so you get a really great, tapered fit, that fits better as you go deeper.

    Somewhere on here there's a post with photos I did years ago of some very detailed, small stuff. I think it had sharks on it, with a dime in the photo to show how small it really was.
    Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
    Printers : Mimaki UJF-6042 UV Flatbed Printer , HP Designjet L26500 61" Wide Format Latex Printer, Summa S140-T 48" Vinyl Plotter
    Router : ShopBot 48" x 96" CNC Router Rotary Engravers : (2) Xenetech XOT 16 x 25 Rotary Engravers

    Real name Steve but that name was taken on the forum. Used Middle name. Call me Steve or Scott, doesn't matter.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Anaheim, Ca
    Posts
    908
    I overlay the item with the main veneer that is cut save tons of time from engraving and hoping it is deep enough
    Craig Matheny
    Anaheim, Ca
    45 watt Epilog Laser, 60 watt Epilog Laser,
    Plasma Cutter, MiG Welder
    Rikon 70-100 Lathe
    Shop Smith V510, To many hand Tools and
    Universal Repair Kit (1- Hammer and 1- Roll of Duck Tape)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Suwanee, GA
    Posts
    3,686
    The only way you'll get a "perfect" inlay is if the pocket and inlay are slightly angled \\___// - that way they don't have to be exactly the right size. It's very easy to do with my cnc router and a 45 degree bit, not so easy with a laser. One way that will help though is to laser the inlay upside down, the natural angle produced by the beam can give you a slight angle that will simulate the router bit. It's also helpful to vector the pocket, that will create the same angle. It won't be perfect but it should be better.

    Gary

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Savusavu, Fiji
    Posts
    1,167
    We do quite a few of these and I have found that I often do have to 'contour' the inlay just a bit to get a no-gap-at-all fit. On real small parts, I use .01mm and increase that for bigger parts. When you have both fine detail and larger chunks, it can take a bit of adjusting (aka "a lot of work") to set the contours appropriately.
    Longtai 460 with 100 watt EFR, mostly for fun. More power is good!! And a shop with enough wood working tools to make a lot of sawdust. Ex-owner of Shenhui 460-80 and engraving business with 45 watt Epilog Mini18.

  9. #9
    Hi Joe,

    CAD/CAMs such a Vectric allow a vector profile to be cut on the inside or the outside of the line (for the purpose of cutter radius compensation). By creating a tool with the diameter of your anticipated kerf then creating two images or toolpaths – the outer parts of the pattern cut on the inside of the line and the inner or inlay parts of the pattern cut on the outside of the line the parts will then fit without gap.

    Paul.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  10. #10
    I have done some inlays that I'd call perfect by rastering the pattern then vectoring the inlay from the back side. The thicker the inlay the more difficult a perfect fit will be.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Mike Null; 01-06-2012 at 6:56 AM.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
    Gravograph IS400
    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
    Dye Sublimation
    CorelDraw X5, X7

  11. #11
    Here's the thread from some time ago showing some samples. See if this is the type of fit you're looking for....

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...(needed)/page2

    Look at the sharks at the bottom of the page.
    Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
    Printers : Mimaki UJF-6042 UV Flatbed Printer , HP Designjet L26500 61" Wide Format Latex Printer, Summa S140-T 48" Vinyl Plotter
    Router : ShopBot 48" x 96" CNC Router Rotary Engravers : (2) Xenetech XOT 16 x 25 Rotary Engravers

    Real name Steve but that name was taken on the forum. Used Middle name. Call me Steve or Scott, doesn't matter.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Null View Post
    I have done some inlays that I'd call perfect by rastering the pattern then vectoring the inlay from the back side. The thicker the inlay the more difficult a perfect fit will be.
    +1 on this...easiest way to do it that I have found. It ends up doing the whole \_/ thing as the beam is not perfectly straight anyhow.

  13. #13
    Scott,

    I can't get the link to work.

    Ric

    Epilog 60 watt Helix



  14. #14
    That's odd, it's a link to another page on this forum. Search for "Marquetry 101" and look for page 2 on that thread. The photos are near the bottom of page 2.
    Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
    Printers : Mimaki UJF-6042 UV Flatbed Printer , HP Designjet L26500 61" Wide Format Latex Printer, Summa S140-T 48" Vinyl Plotter
    Router : ShopBot 48" x 96" CNC Router Rotary Engravers : (2) Xenetech XOT 16 x 25 Rotary Engravers

    Real name Steve but that name was taken on the forum. Used Middle name. Call me Steve or Scott, doesn't matter.

  15. #15
    It doesn't like the Page2 part... Deleting that gets you to the 1st page of the thread.

    -Glen

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