alangdance Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 The shipment company deal with the taxes and bill you for it - about £350. Hi Giles Do you have any tips for using the Emblaster 2 as I am new to the laser cutting world. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 I am looking to get a Blaster 2 but would like to know what tax would I need to pay? Is there anything I need to do before I buy or will the shipment company deal with all taxes? Any help would be most grateful. Regards Alan Shipment company do it all and send you the bill. Just had my bill today £252 VAT, £33 Import duty and £11 Disbursement. Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alangdance Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Giles/Martin Can you recommend a good supplier of laser materials. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Giles/Martin Can you recommend a good supplier of laser materials. Alan Hobarts for ply and MDF, then Trotec for their ADA plastic sheet after being recomended these by Giles. Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alangdance Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Does the emblaster 2 come with the cutting mats. Regards Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Does the emblaster 2 come with the cutting mats. Regards Alan Yes. Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Just seen this post on the Darkly site about the new software. 'The new software is not Open-Source. It is developed by a dedicated team who are committed to the software's continual development, support and motivated to create a commercial product with our customers in mind. The software will be offered as a paid upgrade for existing Emblaser 2 customers. We will be offering it at very reduced price. We are currently working that out.' Must admit I was a little surprised we will have to pay for the software, especially us early adopters paid for the macines over 16 months a go. Will reserve final judgement once the offer is known and software seen. Martin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alangdance Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Martin do have the link as I can not find it on the site Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Agreed - although I wouldn't mind betting that they haven't made an absolute fortune on the E2, as the development has gone on for so long.... ultimately the major weakness of the E2 would appear to be the current software (one of the many strengths of the E1) and and very glad that has been recognised. I'll be one of the first to pay up the the New software, if it's remotely like Cut2Dlaser.... and doesn't cost a bomb.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Martin do have the link as I can not find it on the site Alan Alan, The link to what, the ply and MDF sites or the software notification? Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alangdance Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 software notification Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 software notification Here you go. It is this thread, scroll down through the posts and one by Domenic reveals the information. Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alangdance Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Emblaster ordered today. Cant wait to have a play with it Alan 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 Agreed - although I wouldn't mind betting that they haven't made an absolute fortune on the E2, as the development has gone on for so long.... ultimately the major weakness of the E2 would appear to be the current software (one of the many strengths of the E1) and and very glad that has been recognised. I'll be one of the first to pay up the the New software, if it's remotely like Cut2Dlaser.... and doesn't cost a bomb.... , Laserweb has really hobbled the Emblaser 2,. The Vecttric software on the Emblaser 1 in comparison is brilliant, in fact it made the Emblaser 1 easy to use and easy to produce good results right from the get go, compared t\o the Emblaser 2 where you want to just use the thing but the software hampers you . If I hadn't already had the Emblaser 1 and had got the Emblaser 2 as my first foray into laser cutters I would be very unimpressed. So I don't have an issue paying some extra cost for the software if it is an improvement. Having both machines, Id say that as things are now, for hobby use I'd pick the less powerful Emblaser1 with its great software over the more powerful Emblaser 2 with Laserweb, which is a shame because the Emblaser 2 is an amazing machine but its like having a Ferrari with a 2 litre deisel motor or something so I am really looking forwrd to checking out the new software. IF you don't want an extra outlay then free Laserweb will still be there. Also for those with an Emblaser 1 you have even more options since can still use the Vectric software but save the gcode for import into Laserweb, which basically relegates Laserweb to being just a gcode sender - which it can at least do! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 Emblaster ordered today. Cant wait to have a play with it Alan 1 or 2? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alangdance Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flubrush Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 I now have the Emblaser1 working fine again - mostly down to me having a fight with the update to Cut2Dlaser. I've now resolved all that and I've been cutting MDF again. :-) This is a low relief industrial building to go on the back of my US switching layout and here the progress has been set up in its position on the layout. It's based on a building in Portland, Maine with a picture extracted from Google Street View I've taken the general design features of the doors and windows and done a bit of messing around match my requirements. I've added buttresses to the ground floor to get a bit more relief on the building... ...but I've changed the door from a hinged variety to a sliding door. There will be a loading platform between the building and the siding and a hinged door would have been impractical on a prototype with such a restricted area on the platform. The other thing I tried to copy was the brick bond and I've gone some way towards that but gave in gracefully to achieving full compliance when the prototype was examined closely - maybe called something like American Bucolic. :-) It has all been done using 1.5mm MDF since that is pretty well spot on for the depth of a brick in S scale. The door was cut from 2mm MDF and I will add a card or thin plywood overlay to the framing to get a bit more relief on the door. I also got my second G7 lens during the week and I tried it out and got a definite improvement - i.e. dropping from eight passes at 16mm/sec to six passes for cutting through 1.5mm. The difference for 2mm was even better dropping from ten passes at 16mm/sec down to the same six passes. I haven't worked that out yet. :-) I find that the number of passes for cutting through varies with the size of the object being cut out. I can only assume that with small objects the MDF retains heat from the previous pass and this means less cuts to get through whereas with large items the MDF has cooled down by the time the laser gets round again Jim.. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 2 Nice one! It is a brilliantly made thing, in this age of black plastic its orange steel enameled case with black highlights instantly brings to the mind of every Australian lad of a certain age the memory of the mighty orange LX Torana A9X V8.. I really do hope the new software can bring out the best in the Emblaser 2 because Laserweb is like some mill stone around its neck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 (edited) I now have the Emblaser1 working fine again - mostly down to me having a fight with the update to Cut2Dlaser. I've now resolved all that and I've been cutting MDF again. :-) US-S-SwitchingLayout-X128.jpg It has all been done using 1.5mm MDF since that is pretty well spot on for the depth of a brick in S scale. The door was cut from 2mm MDF and I will add a card or thin plywood overlay to the framing to get a bit more relief on the door. I also got my second G7 lens during the week and I tried it out and got a definite improvement - i.e. dropping from eight passes at 16mm/sec to six passes for cutting through 1.5mm. The difference for 2mm was even better dropping from ten passes at 16mm/sec down to the same six passes. I haven't worked that out yet. :-) I find that the number of passes for cutting through varies with the size of the object being cut out. I can only assume that with small objects the MDF retains heat from the previous pass and this means less cuts to get through whereas with large items the MDF has cooled down by the time the laser gets round again Jim.. Thats some great brick painting! Edited December 8, 2017 by monkeysarefun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flubrush Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Thats some great brick painting! Tell me about it. :-) It took forever, not helped by losing the work on the upper storey when I forgot to save the file and closed down the CAD program cancelling the "Do you want to save" message. :-) I forgot to say in the previous message, but I might even do it all over again to correct one or two small problem areas and write this effort off to experience. I also want to see if I can make better use of the MDF when cutting it. I've been tending to cut parts as individual operations and I'm finishing up with loads of bits of MDF with parts cut out of the bottom left corner. :-) I'm going to look at filling a sheet with parts then cutting parts from that sheet so that the best use is made of the MDF. I get my MDF from Maple Street whose sheet size is 500mm x 250mm and this fits nicely in the A4 Emblaser with part of the sheet poking out of one of the sides. I won't cut a full A4's worth at a time since that would take forever with all the brick etching, etc., but cut parts of the A4 sheet to keep the cutting time down for each operation. For example it was taking just under two hours to do the upper story walls at 16mm/sec (960mm/min). I'm actually tempted to up the brick etching speed to cut down the time. I draw all my bricks as rectangles and etch each brick as a rectangle so I am effectively cutting round each brick twice. I've thought about trying some other way that might use a single cut but I see that increasing the CAD work quite considerably and that's quite lengthy as it is. Jim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Nice brick work Jim. It may be the photo resolution, but some of your brick work courses have what looks like V shape patterns, they may well have been intentional of course. Drawing bricks as rectangles is giving the machine a lot more work than is needed. I started with rectangles but quickly changed to long lines for courses and short lines for the joints. I use Adobe Illustrator so maybe easier to do than in a CAD package. For example I draw one short vertical join line and one long horizontal course line, then copy and paste as many as I need, then use the ‘space from key object’ function, set the value and instantly spaced lines. I set up a full 500mm x 300mm sheet of brick, then copied and pasted this on the walls as needed, deleting what is not required. In hinsight it was a waste of time, I spent more time deleting what was not required because Laserweb does not seem to like Illustrator masks to remove items quickly. Now I just draw each wall using the copy/paste and ‘space from key object’ function. Currently doing some power/speed tests on brick panels to find the optimum quality/time settings, will post my findings later. Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted December 8, 2017 Author Share Posted December 8, 2017 With the Emblaser 1 I was rastering the mortar, which is probably not the correct term but the closest explanation would be if you had a pencil and were shading in the mortar with tiny up and down strokes as you worked along the length of each mortar course, and down between each brick. This took a long time to complete a job, but I liked the result: Trying to get the same result with the Emblaser 2 failed because Laserweb just couldn't handle the processing required in calculating the etching of the mortar courses, it would just hang indefinitely. Hence I am really looking forward to the new software! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Lovely work! Strangely, I DO cut my bricks as rectangles - this is because when I started (Initially) cutting them as horizontal and vertical lines, I found that the E1 would get 3/4s through the job and shift half a mil, thus trashing the whole damn thing..... Dominic sent me a partial fix, which was slowing down the speed at which the carriage moved whilst not burning, but it still happened. I've found rectangles more reliable, although yes- slower. I've known people get slight over-runs into the top of the brick below from the vertical line as well, which is worth avoiding if it starts happening (just stop the line a fraction shorter). I also tend to cut at 100%, at around 6 or 7mm/sec for fewer passes - and seem to get away with it! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengiant Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 I have been experimenting this afternoon with some settings for producing bricks on 2mm MDF, using the 10mm mat. I started off with my base setting which gave what I thought acceptable bricks if a bit clinical in their look. Then copied this artwork and increased the speed in 100mm/min increments. The base one is top left run at 80% power, 1 pass, start height 12mm and at 400mm/min. So from left to right, bottom to top they were 400, 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900mm/min. Close ups taken using an iPhone through a linen tester, so not ideal. 400mm/min 500mm/min 600mm/min 700mm/min 800mm/min 900mm/min You can see, especially on the 900mm/min one the pulsing of the laser is not quick enough for the traveling speed. I quite like 700mm/min because the minimal pulsing has broken the rather too perfect lines of the slower runs and gives a sort of weathered brick feel. Sprayed with some red oxide primer to help see more clearly the cutting. Crudely applied some mortar paint, the deeper cut versions consume more paint obviously so may benefit better from rubbing in some DAS into the courses. Will try this later. Martin 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 I do like those Martin - these are definitely superior to yer average..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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