OmTech Polar part 8 Acrylic Night Lights Fun Gifts To Make. What Works For Me and What Did Not Work
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- Опубликовано: 18 мар 2023
- This one is about making acrylic night lights with my Polar Co2 laser and they come out beautiful and make great gifts in a couple minutes. This is what worked for me and the settings that worked best along with what did not work at all. This is a fantastic little laser once you get the bugs worked out. I definitely am happy with the results the Cloudray lens I installed in the other video provides.
This is the controller I bought and Cloudray will most likely contact you to be sure you lust want the controller. Ships from China so it does take some time to receive amzn.to/40ETa6H .I have a video about installing it.
Here is a link to the night light bases I have been using. So far no problems other then some of the remote controller batteries need replacing.
amzn.to/3Z1qeDU
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Omtech Polar 350 links
Discount code 5% off URHC5OFF products on the Omtech website.
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It is an affiliate link that helps support my channel.
This is an Amazon affiliate link for those that prefer to buy through Amazon
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You are so modestly brilliant. That combined with incredible patience and determination. There's nothing you can't do! WOW I love the "VOICE OF THE GARDEN." Very special.
Thanks Mary. I am just struggling through learning to use this new machine. Vaccine brain fog makes everything harder along with loosing all my old material settings when the last computer crashed. That is one of my favorite artworks. Time to switch gears and get the plants started. I was given a gift of historic seeds from Monticello to try and Thomas Jeffersons gardening notebook to read. Those will be my new varieties this year. Thanks for watching.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 Oh, Monticello is a wonder and Jefferson was a contradictory, fascinating great man. Bean seeds?
Yes there is a small pack of the Scarlet Runner Beans that Jefferson Planted. Only 12 seeds in the packet so probably wont get many but should give me seeds for next year. We took a motorcycle trip to Monticello years ago on the way to Nashville and it was a wonderful place to visit.
Really nice ! I've been watching demos of other lasers, but none of the other demos had any acrylic work. Thanks for sharing.
The Co2 lasers are great for acrylic. Takes a little extra maintenance with the sticky vaporized byproducts. Thanks for watching.
Your homes oozes massive talent. Very good indeed.
Over here in our country people drive miles, even hours away to see sunflowers.
its like they've never seen them before.
Now the farmers are charging them to go into the field to pick a sunflower and take it home.
I guess it takes all sorts.
I have enjoyed every single video that you have published, even if I have no idea what it is about in the beginning. I end up feeling informed. Thank you urhc.
Thanks. We are just having fun growing old together. So glad you enjoy the videos. I am hoping they help viewers get started trying new things. That's a great way for farmers to earn a little extra income to keep them going. Thanks for watching.
Amazing work.
Thanks. This laser does a wonderful job on clear acrylic. Thanks for watching.
Awesome projects.. Man ur honey been busy those are awesome too.. Never fails with both of you.. Always awesome keep it up both of you..........
Thanks. She just loves her crocheting and spends every spare minute making gifts that make people happy. Thanks for watching.
Was looking into getting an omtech and when I researched it, all of your videos are recommended. Pretty cool 😎
I have been having fun with it. Not perfect and no real manual to learn from but works great once you figure it out. I have an early prototype one that may have caused some of my issues. I think its a great machine to get started with Co2 lasers at a fairly affordable price. I am just trying to show my actual experience with using this machine and Omtech impressed me by allowing me to just be honest with no interface in my videos. Some other companies that I always turn down request control and editing rights to videos. Thanks for watching.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 is there anything on the market that looks like a good alternative? Just comparing stuff there's so many machines out
Way cool :)
fun gifts in a couple minutes. Thanks for watching.
Great info
Glad you think so. There's not much information about these lasere out there yet and hoping this will help someone else get started. Thanks for watching.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 I’ve been thinking about a 50watt co2 and I’m kind of waiting for the xtool P2 to come out next month. I sure would like to see you get one of those and do a review. Your reviews are the most honest and real tHat I have found on you tube
I doubt Xtool will deal with me again. I have turned down all their recent offers because I feel their products have become overpriced compared to other offerings and the diode machines have come to a dead end with their capability. I think they will be over 4 grand for a little larger bed with 3d capability. I am looking at buying a 100 to 130 watt 40 inch bed for about the same as my next upgrade. This size machine is basically a starter that gets you hooked and makes me want a big bed with thicker lumber capability for the next move.
You can make a stencil on a circut and frost the acrylic with an airbrush blaster running about 180 grit. Gives better quality on the frosting effect.
that will work if you don't have a Co2 laser. It doesn't give the depth and same refraction though. Works best for glassware,. Thanks for watching.
Hi 👋, URHC , I am very impressed with your tutorial, explaining the best way to achieve a very good job, I have been thinking about buying a laser cutter in Graver router machine, hopefully later in the year, I am retired in my 70s living by myself in the French countryside. I need something to do, Thank you for your upload for the information , Phil from the dark side of the moulin France.
Thanks. These little lasers work great once you figure out the settings. Not sure what's available where you live but both the Co2 and blue diodes have become affordable lately. A good way to keep your mind busy. Thanks for watching.
great video mate! i bought a 80watt last year 😅
Thanks. These make great gifts and are easy to make. Some day I hope to upgrade to about 80 watta and a bigger bed. Thanks for watching.
Ed........ another educational vid. Ya dun good agin!!
Thanks. Hopefully it will help others get started with projects like this. Thanks for watching.
5 psi max for engraving anything if I use it all with my 100w. Nice video and work!
I have no idea what the little pump in this puts out. Going to try about .5 psi in a second line to keep the lense purged for actylic. Thanks for watching.
When "weeding" your acrylic engravings, you might try sticking a piece of masking taper over a portion and then hanking it up to see if it will grab and hold that protective paper enough to remove whole areas at a time. The deal with the tweazers would drive me crazy.
I haven't had success with that. I am used to weeding htv and vinyl decals that are very intricate so this doesn't bother me. I tried some without paper and they came out a hazy mess so it's worth a couple extra minutes. Thanks for watching.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 - over 20 years ago my Boy Scout troop bought a trailer and needed it lettered, but it was expensive. I found an old vinyl printer/cutter where the printer no longer worked on Ebay and drove it with CorelDraw. The trailer was the first thing I evern attempted. I created a decal of our town's logo to go on the trailer - a Fort and a Mill. Being new to the process it wasn't until I was weeding it that I realized that it had over 5000 individual pieces to it. It was a lot of work, but was beautiful. It still looks faded, but good on that trailer.
You did very clean engraving and cutting. Can you write the power and speed of engraving and cutting?
I used the numbers in the manual as a starting point. Each acrylic sheet from different vendors needs adjustments for best results so it takes some small test cuts and engraving on each one to figure out the settings for it. There are no generic settings that will work for good results on everything. I only use paper backed acrylic to keep the faces free of vapor spatter. Thanks for watching.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 I have the same machine. and I use paper backed acrylic. But the engraving I made is a little deep and it becomes obvious when you look closely at the engraving on it. I need some more information for 3mm acrylic.
Then reduce power or speed up the travel. I turn off the air assist for engraving and on for cutting. I get poor results if it is on for engraving to keep the lense clean. Really need a 2 stage air assist for acrylic or clean the lense after each sheet. Changing the number of passes per inch can improve quality. You don't want much overlap on passes, you want them your kerf width. Each acrylic brand is different and I do little quarter size test pieces to figure out the best setting. Cast acrylic can be hard to fine tune the best settings. Do test cuts and you will soon learn what setting change the results.
Another great video, could you do that on your diode laser since you leave the paper on while engraving?
No, a diode laser goes right through clear acrylic. Just burns the paper. I have seen some lay it on a black piece of steel and use the heat from that to melt it. Thanks for watching.
Very nice! Do you have anything that can do work like that on metal? Would look nice hanging in a garden.
Yes I have a cnc plasma table for metal. Thanks for watching.
Super helpful video! I used your settings with my polar and it worked near perfect but I get build up on my lens. Do you have any recommendations on how to prevent that and what offset are you running?
Yes my lens needs cleaning and replacement often when engraving. This machine really needs a 2 stage air assist to keep just enough air flow to keep the nozzle clear of vapors when engraving. I showed in another video how I switched to cheap Cloudray lenses.
For the offset I ran a ramp test and made a simple block of wood to set the offset. I do it manually now using the controller. Thanks for watching.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 I watched the cloudray lense video and will be switching to it at some point! You could put and inline flow control if you truly wanted to control the air a little better.
I feel like possibly running the lens purposely defocused a bit for engraving acrylic might help with the build and speed of a run. Gonna run some tests once I get more time.
Thanks for the content!
i think a company called American photonics has a new lense tube available now with easily changed lenses. I find each batch of acrylic I buy needs some tweaking.
I am thinking it needs a second low flow pump to keep the hose primed so we don't get the initial burn marks I am seeing. would be great if someone found a way ti integrate the new xtool software controlled air pump.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 I’ll have to check them out, thank you!
Just to clarify, when you're making these signs do you turn off air assist to get a better cut quality?
I turn it off for engraving but on for cutting. Really needs a 2 stage system so the lens doesn't need to be cleaned as often. If I leave the air on engraving they don't come out as clear. Thanks for watching.
Why didn't you take the papaper off first?
Poor quality when the vapors stick to uncoated acrylic. Thanks for watching.
Very nice work. Where do you get your designs for the acrylic night lights?
Some are old and from free artwork sites but they seem to steal your info. I now buy mine from SoFontsy and usually watch for large licensed bundle sales. My granddaughter gave me the good bad one she wanted. ETSY also has some good ones for sale. Thanks for watching.
@@unemployedredneckhillbilly2023 can you post a few links to get people started?
Does laser and/or LightBurn controls air assist on/off
lightburn allows you to control it. either full on or off. Thanks for watching
Very Nice , what thickness is the acrylic?
3mm that comes withthemachine. It's the most affordable thickness and works great with the bases. Thanks for watching.
Hi again. Why do you leave the paper on?
I get the sharpest engraving with it on. Tried removing it and the vapors leave a haze that I couldn't remove without messing the shiny finish. Needs a 2 stage air assist to avoid that. Thanks for watching
What size acrylic do you use with those 2mm or 3mm
Ihave been using 1/8 inch stock. Right about 3mm but a little loose in the base so get the slot length right to keep it perfectly upright. Thanks for watching.
At 65 percent what is your mA? Having trouble cutting thru at 10mm and 80%
I am18ma @ 65%. I thought this machine is only rated to 8mm acrylic without running at 100% and destroying laser tube life. Be sure the lens is clean and properly aligned along with the focus below the surface. Thanks for watching
Were you Defocused or set at 3mm?
Focused at the numbers in my ramp test. I made a guage and it's almost 6mm on my machine. Acrylic is tough on the lens because I don’t use air assist for engraving so I have to clean the lens often. Thanks for watching.
What lense did you change too?
There is a video about swapping it out. It's a cloudray le s that must be supergluede in place after the original is knocked out or removed with acetone. Thanks for watching
Where do you get your acrylic for this?
I get a lot of the cast acrylic from Amazon. I have been told if you can find a local sign shop that sells it in full sheets you can save a lot. Thanks for watching.
I've wasted a lot of acrylic trying to get the laser to cut cleanly, and the etching results are often inconsistent. For the price, I expected more reliable performance and user-friendly software.
Have you tried different types of acrylic? Cast cuts best for me and extruded engraves best. For engraving I buy paper faced acrylic and remove the paper after engraving for clean edges. Material choice affects the final quality. Lightburn is the best software for all lasers. There are many good videos about using it that will solve your problems if you invest time learning to use it properly. If this is your first laser expect to spend a couple hundred hours learning to use and maintain it. Write everything down in a book as you learn and develop proper settings based on materials and manufacturers as they are different for different brands. Thanks for watching.
All these machines have crap micro switches.
That is the truth. Mine works pretty good since bending the bracket. Thanks for watching.