CHARM BRACELET LASERING INSTRUCTIONS By Louie Alvarez

Transcription

1 CHARM BRACELET LASERING INSTRUCTIONS By Louie Alvarez CORELDRAW PREPARATION STEPS 1) Start CorelDRAW 2) Create a new document File New 3a) Your new document page layout size should measure the same as your specific LaserPro Series engraveable area, if not follow step 3b Venus Series = x Jupiter Series = x Mercury Series = 25 x 18 Explorer Series = 32 x 20 without Extend 38 x 20 with Extend activated 3b) Set your document size by one of the following two methods: 1) Enter the size into the page size fields located on the second row of buttons, then hit your ENTER key. 2) Double click on the border or easier yet the shadow area of your page, then in the presented dialog box click on the LaserPro Series laser engraver is set as your default printer) button and click OK (Note this only works if your 4) Click on the Rectangle Tool (the 5 th tool ) on the tool bar located at the left side of the CorelDRAW screen. 5) Create a square in the center of the screen. Now simply click with your left mouse button then drag down to the right and release. 6) Change the color of the square outline to RED To change outline color, first ensure the object is selected (with your Pick Tool ) and click on the color red with your RIGHT Mouse Button. The color palette is located on the right side of the CorelDRAW screen. 7) Resize this Red square to match a single charm from your bracelet. In the case of the Catania brand a single charm measures.370 x.209 8) With NOTHING selected (simply click a blank area to deselect all objects) change the position duplicate settings to match your charm. This is located on the 2 nd row of buttons shown when NOTHING is selected. In the case of the Catania brand the settings would be x=.370 & y=0 Louie Alvarez Page 1

2 9) Now select the single charm that is on your page layout The selected square should look like this: 10) On your keyboard duplicate the selected square as many times as necessary to match the length of the bracelet you are working on, i.e., Catania has 14 charms so for this brand it would be duplicated 13 times. Simply hold down your CTRL key and tap on the letter D. 11) Now select all 14 rectangles in one of two ways: 1) Double click (quickly) on the Pick Tool 2) With the Pick Tool selected click above to the left of the first rectangle with the LEFT Mouse button and slowly drag down to the lower right of the last rectangle. You should see a blue bounding box that surrounds the 14 rectangles 12) With all 14 rectangles selected CorelDRAW s Status bar (located at the bottom of the screen) should confirm this 13) Now group these 14 objects together. While holding your CTRL key tap on the letter G. 14) Now create another rectangle box as you did in steps 4 thru 7 but in step 7 make the size of the rectangle match the entire size of your bracelet The Catania brand bracelet with 14 charms measures x ) Place this new rectangle made in step 14 up to the top, left hand side of your page layout a) First hold down your ALT key and tap in the F7 key to open up the CorelDRAW s Position dialog box. This will display on the right hand side of your CorelDRAW screen b) If the Relative Position is checked then UNCHECK it c) Click on the Upper Left hand box of the 8 squares with the circle in the center d) Enter 0 in the H (horizontal) field, enter into the V (vertical) field e) Click on Apply to move your x.350 rectangle to the topmost, leftmost area of your page f) The screen-captured image on the left of this sentence is how your Position dialog box should look like. If done properly per these instructions your rectangle should look as the image below. Louie Alvarez Page 2

3 16) Now with your Pick Tool select the grouped 14 rectangle objects. You MUST select this group of objects first to ensure the group positions properly. 17) Now while holding your SHIFT key on your keyboard click/select the larger rectangle that is now residing in the topmost, leftmost area of your page. Your screen should look like this with your status bar clearly stating 2 Objects Selected on Layer 1 18) Tap the letter E on your keyboard and note how the group of 14 rectangles shifted. Now tap on the letter L and note how the group of 14 rectangles moved. This is your Catania bracelet simulated in CorelDRAW with 14 individual charms ready for image placement, then laser engraving. 19) Once again click anywhere on the screen so NOTHING is selected and carefully click on the border of one of the charms within the group of 14. We need ONLY that group of objects selected to UNGROUP the string of charms so they are once again individual objects. Once the GROUP of 14 objects is selected hold your CTRL key and tap on the letter U to ungroup. 20) Now place the objects you would like to laser into your charms. a) First create the object(s), import the object(s), or type in the text and adjust as necessary to be at a size that will fit within the confines of a single charm. b) Select an object with your Pick Tool and while holding down your SHIFT key click on the rectangle you would like to place the object within. Once selected tap on the letter E then the letter C to center your object within the rectangle. c) Continue filling all of the other rectangles with your desired objects so you may finally laser engrave your bracelet. THERMARK SPRAY STEPS 1) Clean charms of all oils, dust, debris, etc. to allow the TherMark powder to bond properly to the charm. Use either Acetone (best) or Denatured Alcohol to clean thoroughly with. 2) It is best to spray your bracelets outdoors to minimize overspray on furniture, equipment, work area, etc. Place multiple bracelets on cardboard to allow volume spraying and easy transportation. Louie Alvarez Page 3

4 3) When spraying TherMark use multiple light strokes. I personally spray heavier than most so 2 even sprays works for me. You may find that 2-4 strokes work best for you. Ensure that your spray strokes are even across the entire bracelet and of substantial thickness to allow the powder to crystallize and bond to the charms properly. 4) Allow the TherMark spray to dry thoroughly. To speed up the process use a common hair dryer. Watch the drying process and note how wet that the TherMark solution looks when first applied and the dark grey color it appears to be. As the denatured alcohol that the TherMark powder is mixed with evaporates the color changes to a light shade of gray, which is what we want before we can laser. 5) Once dry simply walk over to your LaserPro laser engraver and slide the charms off the cardboard onto the laser engraver table area. Ensure you DO NOT touch the areas that are to be lasered, as the powder will wipe off VERY easily. 6) Place a TherMark sprayed and dried bracelet against the intersection of the rulers on your LaserPro engraving table. You might use a toothpick or similar tool to ensure that your bracelet is flat on your table. 7) Using a piece of marble, granite, Corian or similar tile material brace the bracelet against the rulers. This is done to ensure the bracelet is flush against the rulers and flat on the table. 8) Auto-focus your laser assembly onto an extra (non-sprayed) bracelet. This is the best way to focus on TherMark sprayed items. This allows you to move the bracelet without worry of wiping off the TherMark powder and ensures your laser engraver is in proper focus. DRIVER SETTING STEPS 1) Print via the CorelDRAW menu: File Print or click on the Printer icon on the 1 st toolbar. 2) In the CorelDRAW print dialog box, click on the button. 3) Within the LaserPro Print Driver Dialog box enter the following settings for the Bracelet OPTION TAB Mode: Black & White DPI: 1000 PPI: Auto PEN TAB Pen No 1 (Black): Power = 100% Speed = 20%-100% Raster: YES Vector: NO Pen No 2 (Red): Power = 0% Speed = 0% Raster: NO Vector: NO NOTE: Speed is dependent on your LaserPro Series laser model and laser tube power ADVANCE TAB Scaling: Leave default Position Mode: Home Image Output Direction: Up to Bottom Border: Leave default Vector Function: Leave default Louie Alvarez Page 4

5 Cluster: Leave default PAPER TAB Paper Size Match your LaserPro Series engraveable area: Venus Series x= y=8.268 Jupiter Series x= y=8.268 Mercury Series x=25 y=18 Explorer Series x=32 y=20 (without Extend) x=38 y=20 (with Extend activated) Unit: Inch RASTER TAB Contrast: 0 Halftone: Error Diffusion Dithering: Leave default 4) Once these settings have been entered click on the Option Tab, then click on the button. Give the name of this new profile Bracelet for future reference and use. 5) Click on then ENSURE your laser engraver has been turned on and has completed the initializing process prior to clicking on the button. NOTE: As long as objects are not located on your page then it will not print so place all additional objects off your CorelDRAW page area if you don t want them to print. LASERING STEPS 1) Your bracelet should already have been: a) Sprayed with the TherMark solution b) The TherMark spray should have been allowed to dry thoroughly c) The bracelet should have been placed on the LaserPro engraving table d) The bracelet should be flushed against the ruler s intersection e) The bracelet should be braced against the rulers with a piece of tile, corian or similar object 2) On the control panel of your LaserPro laser engraver your file should be the LAST file ready for engraving. Ensure this by pushing the NEXT FILE button. If you have multiple files already in the LaserPro laser engraver s queue you may go past the last file and end up at the beginning of the queue list. Simply continue pressing the NEXT FILE button until the proper file is displayed. 3) While the door is open press Start/Stop to begin the job. This is simply to ensure everything should begin where it is expected to. Once job is confirmed press the Start/Stop once again to stop the current test run. 4) Now that everything has been prepped and ready for lasering, close the LaserPro door and press Start/Stop once again to begin the actual lasering process. 5) Once the lasering process is completed you may open the door and remove the charm. Louie Alvarez Page 5

6 6) Wash off the excess spray whichever method works best for you, i.e., a) Swish around in a bowl of water and dry off with towel b) Soak a rag and wipe off the charm, then dry off with dry towel 7) DONE! $ELL, $ELL, $ELL Louie Alvarez began acquiring his experience in the awards and engraving industry in Central California over 15 years ago, first as an employee of the largest and oldest trophy shop and then as owner of one of the first laser engraving businesses. Louie has been a featured workshop instructor and seminar speaker throughout the industry in addition to being a contributing writer to numerous industry publications. Louie is based in Las Vegas, NV and can be reached at alvarezwriting@gmail.com. Louie Alvarez Page 6