laser engraving news and technology

Windsor Middle School sixth grade students will get real life experience running a small business this year.

The sixth grade shop (industrial arts/technology), computer and art classes will be working together to start a business using the school’s newly-purchased laser engraver from york laser, middle school officials say.

Alicia Gradisar, a shop teacher at the middle school for 19 years, said she has been talking to Windsor Middle School Principal Doug Englert about the idea for a money making/learning experience for students a couple years.
“This year, it finally all worked out,” Gradisar said.
Gradisar purchased the engraver this summer with a loan from the school which will be paid back in monthly payments with proceeds from the engraving projects. She also took all the necessary training to use the engraver.
“I am excited about this new opportunity for the kids,” Gradisar said. “I have always done this kind of learning project but the laser engraver adds the professional quality to the look of the products we will produce and sell.”
She said WMS students have been enthusiastic about sample items that have been engraved, such as flashlights and iPods. She thinks this will be a very productive project and great experience for the students.
Sixth graders Colton Vickers, Max McClelland and Dylan Sparks said they enjoy using the engraver.
“It’s a really fun activity and it’s a good way to help raise money for our school,” Sparks said.
Gradisar said everyone is just getting started with the new equipment, but that the students are really enjoying doing something new and different.
“I believe the skills learned on this project such as collaboration, problem solving, team work and communication will fit very well into the districts 21st Century Skills Curriculum,” Gradisar said.
“And, I think it will give students invaluable hands on training and experience in running a business, from planning to production that will help them in anything they choose to do in their lives.”
Lisa Leuthauser’s art class will be working on the design and marketing of the products. Lela Winfrey’s computer class will be using spreadsheets to do the bookkeeping. Gradisar’s industrial arts class will be doing the actual production of the products.

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“All the classes will be involved in most of the process and will have the chance to pitch design ideas for products they think might sell to fellow students and parents and other Windsor residents,” Gradisar said.
To get the program kicked off, Bank of Colorado President Tom Prenger spoke to the sixth graders on Wednesday about all the components that go into planning and starting a new business, including information about paying back debt and making a profit.
“I hope to impart to the students the many important aspects to be considered before starting any new business,” Prenger said. “It is good for them to have something like the engraver to help them understand the concepts of assets and debts.”
Englert prepared students to listen carefully to Prenger by telling them they might some day need Prenger’s help with a loan.
“If you go in to Mr. Prenger’s bank and sit down in front of him to ask him for a loan, he will give you his full attention, and hopefully the money you need,” Englert said. “So you might want to give him your full attention today.”
Students were attentive and involved as Prenger talked to them about their financial undertaking. He prompted them to discuss issues most of them have never dealt with, such as, making monthly payments, business plans, net worth and income interest on loans.
“I tell folks I am a money renter,” Prenger said to the students. “I take a person’s money and keep it safe in my bank, and then loan it out to other people that might need money.”
He explained that is the reason the bank charges interest, so they can pay people for using their money.
“That is what Mr. Englert is going to expect you to do,” Prenger said. “He is letting you use his money for your business because he believes in you, and believes you have a quality product to sell.”
Englert said the items the students are making are already becoming very popular with the rest of the school population and staff.
“I’m sure the students and staff will be very busy and learn a lot from the project,” Englert said.

“All the classes will be involved in most of the process and will have the chance to pitch design ideas for products they think might sell to fellow students and parents and other Windsor residents,” Gradisar said.
To get the program kicked off, Bank of Colorado President Tom Prenger spoke to the sixth graders on Wednesday about all the components that go into planning and starting a new business, including information about paying back debt and making a profit.
“I hope to impart to the students the many important aspects to be considered before starting any new business,” Prenger said. “It is good for them to have something like the engraver to help them understand the concepts of assets and debts.”
Englert prepared students to listen carefully to Prenger by telling them they might some day need Prenger’s help with a loan.
“If you go in to Mr. Prenger’s bank and sit down in front of him to ask him for a loan, he will give you his full attention, and hopefully the money you need,” Englert said. “So you might want to give him your full attention today.”
Students were attentive and involved as Prenger talked to them about their financial undertaking. He prompted them to discuss issues most of them have never dealt with, such as, making monthly payments, business plans, net worth and income interest on loans.
“I tell folks I am a money renter,” Prenger said to the students. “I take a person’s money and keep it safe in my bank, and then loan it out to other people that might need money.”
He explained that is the reason the bank charges interest, so they can pay people for using their money.
“That is what Mr. Englert is going to expect you to do,” Prenger said. “He is letting you use his money for your business because he believes in you, and believes you have a quality product to sell.”
Englert said the items the students are making are already becoming very popular with the rest of the school population and staff.

Laser engravers are used to mark objects with a greater degree of control and complexity than manual engraving. Laser engraving also prevents the need for frequent replacement of drill bits--which is a problem with other, more traditional, means of engraving.

There are three aspects to any laser engraver. The first part of the system is the actual laser, which is used to mark the surfaces. It's a beam of light that has sufficient intensity to engrave patterns onto a surface. The second part is the controller, which is typically a computer. The controller is used to control the movement and intensity of the laser and ensure that the engraving is the correct depth and size. The final component is the surface to be marked, which is chosen based on the types of materials that the laser can affect.

Lasers used in laser engraving use light that is collimated. This type of light has beams that are parallel and therefore less diffused. Laser light is very efficient in engraving because the laser beam is able to generate a great deal of heat, which causes a line or pattern to be etched on the surface.

The most common type of laser engraver is the X-Y table. In this type of engraving machine, the surface stays in one place as the laser moves around it. The laser utilizes movable mirrors to engrave the surface in the required patterns, carefully controlled by the computer. The laser engraves the surface using different levels of intensity, depending on the type of material it's engraving. As the laser moves over the surface, the focal point--where material is to be removed--is crossed by the laser. When this happens, the material either flakes off or is vaporized by the laser, depending on what type of material the surface is made of.

Laser engraving affects different materials in different ways. Some materials don't engrave well, including soft woods and paper. Others, however, take laser engraving well--including glass, fiberboard, acrylics and latex rubber compounds

The process of using laser to engrave and incise is very simple, just like printing on the paper by using computer and printer. You can utilize multiform graph treatment software in the Win98/Win2000/WinXP environment. such as use CorelDraw to design. The scaned-graph, vectorgraph and many kinds of CAD files can easily printed to the engraver. The unique difference is that printing make the ink power draw on the paper, while laser engrave is to send out the laser light to the woodwork , (1)plastic board, metal board and stone material and so on, almost all the materials.

According to the different engrave manners,laser engraver can be distinguished to lattice engrave and vector incise:

Lattice engrave
Lattice engrave seems like high clear lattice print. laser head swing around. Every time engrave a line that composed by a series of points, and then the laser head move around to engrave many lines, in the end ,it forms the whole edition of graphs or words. The scanned-graph, word and vector graph can use the lattice engrave freely.

Vector incise
Other than the lattice engrave, the vector incise process on the graph’s outer profile. We usually use this mode to penetrate incise on the material of timber, paper and (1) and can also carry through striking mark on multi- material’s surface.

The performance of engraver is mainly decided by the engrave speed, engrave strength and facula size.

Engrave speed
The engrave speed indicates the laser head moving speed. Usually show it by IPS(inch/second).High speed brings high production efficiency. Speed can also be used to control the incision deepness. As for the specific laser intensity , the slower the speed is, the greater deepness of incising or engraving. You can adjust the speed by using engraver panel, and also can use the print driving procedure of computer. From 1% to 100% scope, the adjust range is 1%.The advanced moving control system of weld horse machine makes you get the super subtle engrave quality when you at the high speed engrave situation.

Engrave intensity
Engrave intensity indicates the laser’s intensity that send out to the surface of material. As for the specific engrave speed, the greater the intensity is ,the greater deepness of cutting or engraving. You can make use of the engraver panel to adjust the intensity, and also can use the print driving procedure of computer. From 1% to 100% scope, the adjust range is 1%.The stronger intensity equals faster speed and deeper cutting deepness.

Facula size
The size of beam of light and facula can be adjusted by using different focus lens. The small facula lens is imposed to engrave of high resolving ratio. The big facula lens is imposed to engrave of lower resolving ratio, but as for the vector cutting ,it is the best choice. The new facilities’ standard configure is 2.0 inch lens. Its facula size is in the middle, applying to all the situations.

The common engraver can engrave these materials as following:woodwork,organic,glass,metal,panel,glass,stone stuff,crystal,grain endurable,paper,double color board,alumina,leather,pitch and spray mold metal.

The laser engravers are not being used only for industrial or marking field but also in customized artwork like lighter, watch, pens, etc.

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1. The perfect size. This size is 300*500mm. And it can meet all the needs for the small accessories.
2. The applicable materials. The Double-Color board, PVC board, leather, wood are the commonly used materials for the accessories.
3. The economical power consumer. The tube for this machine is 40-50W laser tube. And it is economical for the smaller shop or work room.
4. Various shapes. Smart Man machine has rotary jig as optional which means it can work on some special shapes of the materials.

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