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      02-19-2020, 05:07 PM   #4
msej449
msej449
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Drives: M235i Convertible +LSD 2016
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: South Coast UK & Swiss Alps

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The laser is a Cubiio - small 3" cube unit that moves the beam internally before projecting - hence the relatively small 4"x4" projection area. In stand-alone mode it attaches to a standard tripod mount, so you can easily take the unit to the piece (as opposed to the more usual type, where the laser is fixed on a n X-Y motion rig).

You need to be fairly IT literate to get it all configured, and to do the necessary transformations needed to start with a raster image like the ///M badge, and end up with a vector G-code file you download to the laser unit (about 4 transforms, plus installing special plug-ins).

So far, I've got an acceptable vector laser file version of the ///M logo:



which I've burned OK onto paper. However, the vectorisation process has made the far right vertical line thinner than the rest when burned, so I may have to re-work the original so it ends up the right thickness.

Next step is to try it on some leather. Only trouble I can see is that my upholstery is oyster. The darker the substrate, the better the engraving seems to be. The plan is to engrave the ///M on the back of the rear headrest (mines a convertible, so it'd be visible from behind with the top down). It's currently about 3" wide - I want it to be discreet, not too big or over-engraved, so testing would be sensible: perhaps there's enough fabric on the underside for me to test out various settings of power/speed. The laser has a vertical focus tolerance of ±5mm (3/16"), so it can handle a bit of curvature in the fabric.

Although the laser is portable, one virtue of doing the headrest is that it's removable (well, mine is) - I won't be doing the work with it in place (a Class 1 laser near the fuel flap doesn't sound a safe combination!) but the portability means I can work on the headrest in my workshop without having to try and fit it inside an X-Y rig.

I will keep you posted.
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2016 M235i Convertible Estoril Blue & Oyster
2023 Peugeot e-208 GT (electric)

Last edited by msej449; 02-19-2020 at 05:39 PM..
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