RDWorks Learning Lab 115 The Russ Formula for Photo Engraving
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- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
- If you own a Chinese laser cutter this little series of videos about me learning how to use the free software provided, may solve the problem of trying to learn from a virtually unreadable manual.
I am nothing to do with RD Works, I am not an instructor and I am no expert. This series will document the essential bits of many hours of trial and error - Věda a technologie
I salute Sir for your great effort and patience to make such tutorials without expecting a penny. I don't know how to appreciate you for your unselfish service. The world need teachers like you for popularizing technologies to the common people.
Hats off to you Sir...
Hi, I am Randy Mckinney I was going to buy a CNC machine until now. I have viewed about 6 of your laser class. Now I want a laser machine and I enjoy the way you teach in-depth yet very easy to understand. It is the way you present issues and then you tell how things work and most of all why it works. Thanks, Randy Mckinney
Hi Randy
You sound a bit like my wife when I go shopping with her. I honestly tell her that I don't like that dress/coat/handbag etc., so she finishes up buying something at twice the price and I get the blame!!!
I had many years CO2 laser experience with my own metal cutting laser profiling business, however, these little Chinese dragons are NOTHING like any industrial machine.If I was able to use 5% of my previous experience, that may be an exaggeration. I say this because my sessions are not meant to be lessons or tutorials. I am still learning about this technology and it's many intricacies and every session I enter is not planned, is mostly live (but bad language edited out) with no guarantee of a conclusive outcome. You are joining me on my learning journey and listening to the logical steps that my brain is going through to try and reach that goal. Sometimes I fail but that is no bad thing because every failure is a step closer to success and you can learn from my mistakes also.
I have a lot more to discover yet but the secrets of this machine are gradually being teased out and beginning to link together like a jigsaw puzzle
All best wishes for your new venture
Russ
This is a great explanation of how you choose resolution, detailed enough that I can do this myself and derive the formula from it. Great job. Thank you
Really good video. Nice humor. It's really easy to sit back and follow along. THANK YOU RUSS!
Your labs are the reason my laser cutter works so well. Great stuff.
This is just so helpful and well presented! We have a 2” and a 1 1/2” lens and it explains so much of our different results. Thank you!
Russ, I too thought your video, Learning Lab 115, was very helpful and would love to have a copy of the documents/files. Thank you again and keep up your great work.
talk.lansingmakersnetwork.org/uploads/default/original/1X/8a115b56dca2d2d7aa8cadd7a36d321b87f1160c.pdf
Excellent, just took my skills up a notch. Thanks! This works a treat on my machine.
I am very thankful for your time and work you have spent here sharing your experiences here Many thanks.
Thank you so much for this! I got my Chinese laser last year and have figured out the basics. This gives me much more confidence as I attempt to engrave photos for the first time. Thank you!!
Hi Deb
Although this is an early session when I first discovered how the principles of photo engraving workd on a laser machine, there are many more sessions that expand and improve the ideas. You may find it beneficial to drop across to another series I produced which tries to summerize all my experience ias a series of short videos, basically an A to Z of Chinese lasers. In particular I point you to sessions 22 to 25 to help you with photo engraving.
laseruser.com/the-concise-rdworks-learning-lab-menu/
Best wishes
Russ
Excellent Tutorial as always...Thank Russ for putting this together.
Amazing work and presentation as usual Russ!
Wow, you have blown my mind with how well you explain the laser machine in your videos. Thank You SO MUCH for all of the information. With out going into too much detail *you* specifically made me confident enough to buy a laser of my own (100W) and go to work with it.
I have, for the past 3 months been attempting to get really nice images burned into wood and all of my attempts have failed, some quite miserably.
I would absolutely love a copy of your documents/files for the correct way to create dots to produce nice images like the ones you have created.
Again, Thank YOU SO MUCH for these videos, the are not only the best videos at explaining how to use a laser machine, I think they are the best videos I have seen any one make ever on how to work with and utilize a set of complicated tools.
You're simply the best!
Hi Jesse
Add your disguised email address (jessedot77atgmaildotcom) to another comment and I will send you the data and also delete your comment from public view
Best wishes
Russ
By god what an amazing video. I tried to get a good picture for a couple of hours today and got nowhere. Then I watched this and am now invigorated with motivation to try again tomorrow
Fantastic! Also, thank you for the materials!
Thank you I have been working on this picture for 3weeks watched your video and the quality of the photo was outstanding. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for all your work on this and the files you sent me. You made this so much easier for me to get great quality engravings using your method.
Hi Tim
It is a method that forces you to understand the elements of the process. The numbers will be flexible as you change materials as you will have seen is you have watched the anodized aluminium engraving sessions.
Mineral materials next.
All best wishes
Russ
SarbarMultimedia, yes Sir I have already done some testing with different Wood species and getting great results. When I purchased my large machine 1300x900mm dual laser machine a couple years ago I had it shipped with a spare nozzle and three different focal length lenses and mirrors. After your instructions I was going to try the 1,1/2” lens. I found out they did not supply the short nozzle for it. I ordered an entire laser head assembly for it with 1,1/2” lens and mirror installed so I know it will work. Look forward to getting it in a few days. I have used 1,1/2” lens on my small 50w machine and your results reminded me of how much the quality improves with it over the 2”.
Another gem, thanks for the suggestion Russ!
Another GREAT video Russ. Thanks.
Absolutely awesome results!
I've followed your whole "dotty" series and the insights you provide are invaluable! I really enjoy the way you take the time to explain the engineering principles on how you developed your formulas and why. I'm also amazed at how effective your simple test prints are at deriving the information you need about the laser - like dot size or how to determine if the laser could do grey scale. They are well thought out and simple patterns that provide fairly precise information.
I believe all the files I need to give this a go are on the RDworks website, correct? At least they all seemed to be posted there.
Thanks again for all the hours of frustration you continue to save me on this lasering adventure. I have no idea where I'd be or how much material I would have wasted up to this point without your videos.
HiMike
I think there is another whole layer to dot size and resolution that I have uncovered the tip of that needs a more in depth exploration. It does promise higher resolution pictures on some materials. The fundamental principles that I have discovered are perfectly valid for all materials but with certain materials there may be other phenomena that can be exploited. It's amazing that there are so many subjects still to explore and understand, at the moment I can see no end in sight.
All best wishes
Russ
Amazing! I am definitely going to try this on my 60W. Thank you from here in South Carolina!
Hi Donny, May you tell me which machine do you have? Which one to buy to learn to engrave laser pictures to wood.
@@svsv9 Hi Ed. I have the 60W 500mm x 300mm Chinese laser.
Thank you so much for the material
I really appreciate it
I wish you all the best you and your family
Thanks Russ for all the information. Would love to receive the document "The Russ Formula for Succesfull Photo Engraving". You do an amazing work teaching us all this stuff!
Hi Dimitri
Add another comment with your email in it. I will delete your public comment because it also gets autocopied to my gmail. I will then send the information.
Best wishes
Russ
Aloha Russ, I know this video was made about 2 years ago, but I was wondering if you still had the document/files? Great video and thank you for your videos. I have only seen a couple but looking forward to learning more. Mahalo!
Good day Russ. i absolutely love your videos and am currently jumping around them as i need to do projects for clients as and when they need them. i would love to get a copy of your document/instructions on how to go about doing photos.
Hello! I just discover your videos, they are amazing.
If you need help or information just add your disguised email address to another comment and I will reply. I will also delete the comment/email address from public view.
Best wishes
Russ
This is an accumulation of a lot of hard work on your part. I look forward to my tests as well. Thank you so much.
Excellent video as always. I might buy such a machine someday. You said, "I am
nothing to do with RD Works, I am not an instructor and I am no expert. "
Well you may NOT have some institutional certificate, but please
understand we are all learning from your years of experience. It has
been said, "What is knowledge ? Knowledge is nothing but experience.
What is experience? Experience is nothing but totally involving
yourself."
So my friend I am very thankful for your time and work you have spent here sharing your experiences here. Many thanks.
Hi
Thanks for the appreciation. As I acquire knowledge, without any intention, I find myself climbing the ladder towards becoming an "expert".But, it is a fact that you only become an expert by making mistakes and learning from them (I wonder how brain surgeons become experts?) You generally only see experts as an end product and know nothing of the trail of devastation they have left behind. In my instance there is a complete record of my learning journey with all my mistakes and successes. This last video is a case in point. It has taken me ages to identify what the real problems are and then reconstruct them into an understandable form that will allow you to be come an expert with out the collateral damage.
Hopefully, by sharing my knowledge, you are all on that upward climb with me.
All best wishes
Russ
As a youth I was drawing things on my C-64 and printing them out with an 8pin dot matrix printer. I was describing the process to a newspaper publisher, he ran his own printing presses for the small newspaper. I kept saying halftone. He explained to me what halftone was and the 'proper' term.
Before computers. Newspapers would transmit black and white photographs with a halftone machine. The transmitting machine would scan the image, measuring the light level of the picture in a grid type pattern. Like graph paper. As it scanned the picture it would, over phone lines, send a sound. The lower pitch the sound would correspond to light areas, a high pitch sound would correspond to dark areas. I may have this backwards. It could have been a high tone told the machine to jump to the next position and the length of the low tone meant drop the head, the length of the tone determining the depth of the melt. The receiving machine moved the same, in an x,y axis just like the transmitting machine or the head on our laser cutter. The head had an up and down lever. The bed of the receiving machine had a bee's wax filled tray. The receiving machine would let a heated cone shaped needle sit on the wax. light areas less time, small circles. Dark areas deeper and larger circles. So halftone really is a element size change. (I am going from a 40 year old memory. I know I am close, but not precise. We could probably google it and see one working. Comic books used the halftone machines to transmit from coast to coast the pictures.)
What the dot matrix printer and our lasers have is a uniform dot size. What we do is "Dither". That is where a pattern of dots are used to generate the illusion of larger dots, or darker areas. Using a 6 sided dice(die?) you have a classic 3x3 dither pattern. pattern 7,8,9 are missing, vertical center row missing from the pattern.
A CNC mill with a conical head could easily do the halftone pattern.
Your videos are really nice, I learned quite a lot. I have some machining training. I have an AA degree in Electronics. Your explanations were spot on. I would gander that the reason for the acceleration/deceleration caused by the teeth of the drive belt on the pulleys. If you have an extra toothed pulley, you might try widening the gap between teeth or depth of the groves on the pulley. My guess is the teeth on the belt are not sliding into the pulley evenly or not recessing fully, this causing the belt to jump up and down, depending upon if it is riding on the peak or valley of the pulley. I had the same kind of thing happen on my wood lathe, someone suggested I get a link-belt to drive it. That is the kind of belt made from small leather links. You could change the length of the belt by adding or removing links. The result was huge amounts of chatter on my work pieces.
Sorry about the length of my text.
Hi
The problem with toothed belts is that they were never designed for oscillatory precision drives. Their function was for non-slip uni directional POWER driving. It has become accepted that they are perfect for lightweight positional drives such as inkjet printers but start adding any sort of mass to the system and the design weaknesses such as tooth clearance, tooth flex and the polygon nature of all drive pulleys, start to manifest themselves. You can mitigate some of these weaknesses with innovative design but that's why they use lead-screws or anti-backlash rack and pinion drives for larger machine tools.
Thanks for the comment
Best wishes
Russ
you sir are a boss, thank you so much . Much love and respect for ur expertese
Hi Russ
I found a discrepancy in what defines "dot size" in my drawing program. If I design a 1 pixel dot then the size is 0.002. If I then change my drawing units to inches instead of pixels, the same dot becomes 0.003339. I have another newer computer and monitor and with that set up it stays the same size of 0.002 or 1 pixel regardless of the setting being pixels or inches.
Should this be a consideration?
My Trotec 30 watt laser can make a 0.002 dot with a 1.5 inch lens however our machine allows not only DPI settings but also Pulse Per Inch settings. Plus 1 to 100 for speed and 1 (or less) to 100 for power. I've been told the Pulse Per Inch should be a multiple of the Dots per inch.
I don't know what happens (if anything) if a photo is 300 DPI and the PPI is set at 1200 or vice versa. It's confusing me. I've done over 150 tests varying power and speed however they were done mistakenly using a dot size of 0.001 (putting 1000 of them in a line 1 inch long) and none of the dots were distinct - they all merged as one line. Also tried 500 of the same size dot per inch with the same result.
Then I realized a pixel is not necessarily 0.001 - no idea why I assumed that but I thought if the laser can make 1000 Pulses Per Inch, that must mean it's capable of 1000 DPI ? I guess not.
Would it be possible to get your formula document? This way I could try and make adjustments to the Trotec software and put an end to the rampant destruction of watercolor paper. I've been using 140 pound paper that's pretty nice although slightly textured. I'll be looking for the beer coaster material at the local hobby and framing shop.
Regards,
Mayo@designcutters.com
Fantastic videos, very informative
I’ve enjoyed your videos immensely and regularly share them. As RDworks is what it is, a less-than-stellar design package but essential control package, I wanted to share a markedly improved alternative. LightBurnSoftware.com has a late beta “upgrade” to RDworks which adds many enhancements: MacOS support, node editing, welding, image processing, rotary controls, bitmap tracing, offsetting, and much more. It works with RuiDa controllers like in your (and my identical) laser. While not free (it costs $80 for two seats) it can be tried free for 30 days. I and my laser students are very excited at having this option and for those who want more design control or run Macs, it’s a valuable alternative to have.
Hi Travis
Yes I run and keep up to date with Lightburn It is already a fantastic piece of work and I nearly always use the photo engraving element at present. I love the great intuitive way that Oz has organized his windows. SAdly at present I have to run RDWorks as well because none of the user settings or Vendor settings are yet designed for Lightburn It may take another year to complete but I agree it is a great package and I regularly feed back test results to Oz.
Thanks for the thought. As you progress further with my videos youwil find how happy I am with Lightburn and I use it in my hunt for the 1000dpi myth.
Best wishes
Russ
As usual, great work and presentation.
I would love to have a copy of your files.
Thank you
I was very lost, and this has been very helpful! Thanks so much for taking the time to share. Would love to get a copy of the documents/files
Yea , hes to lazy to answer you . Also easy to stop at @07:01 You have files here
talk.lansingmakersnetwork.org/uploads/default/original/1X/8a115b56dca2d2d7aa8cadd7a36d321b87f1160c.pdf.
Hi
I am impressed.
Can you share the document for my project.
I want to see if I could get some help from your written instructions.
Please
I got it from the link. Thanks a lot. Let me try
First of all, thank you for making such informative lessons. They have proven to be invaluable to us.
We've been trying for about a year to engrave photos with varying success. This session put all the pieces of the puzzle in place in a easy-to-follow order.
In this lesson, you mentioned you modified your nozzle to accept a 1.5 inch focal point lens instead of the 2 inch. Could you elaborate on how you did this?
We're looking forward to using your process with confidence.
Thank you again.
Chris and Melissa from Minnesota, USA.
Hi Chris and Melissa
This a start to my adventure with photos. In a way I think this may have been jumping in at the deep end to choose organic materials such as wood /card/leather because the dot that you produce is not just the hot centre of the beam but also the cooler part around it as well that still has enough power to scorch a halo around the dot. Thus the dot is always bigger than theoretical. I shall soon be moving on to inorganic materials such as slate/granite/glass and also anodized aluminium where the beam reacts differently upon the surface. There is great promise for significantly ramping up the resolution.
In answer to your question about the way I adapted my Lightblade lens tube to take an 18mm 1.5" lens....see this video
czcams.com/video/M9L13-efN8I/video.html
All best wishes
Russ
Hello Mr. Russ. That 1.5 lens created a magnificent picture. When using the 1.5 lens, does it need to be set up like the universal compound lens where there are 2 lens or can this be used individually? By the way great video. Is it possible to share the dot file to use when setting up for these types of engravings?
Hi Derrick
Add your disguised email address to another comment and I will send you a data pack on the whole subject of photo engraving that include the test pattern
I will also delete your comment/email from public view
Best wishes
Russ
Hi Russ, 12 year CO2 veteran here, I'm engraving baltic birch exclusively, I'm using 150 dpi at the finished size needed, floyd-steinberg 93% 1 bit conversion, 150W tube going at 600mm/sec 75% power, .15mm stepover and they all come out fantastic. If I need any more contrast, after engraving I blow it clean with compressed air, lightly spray it with rustoleum 2x ultra flat black spray paint and once it is dry I sand with a new 120 grit at low rpm using a dewalt DWE6401DS sander. I've experimented with just about every combination of paints, sanders and laser settings and this make amazing photos. Hope this helps somebody
Hi Robert
Many thanks for sharing your method. I can understand every single step, and why it works. Since I defined the method in this video I have , on and off, returned to the problem and refined it. I now understand so much more about how materials, laser beams and lenses interact. We have hijacked a print industry process for converting grayscale images to black dots on a white background. In reality it is impossiblle to get black dots on organic materials, we always finish up with a sepia effect because of apparent brown dots. I say apparent because in reality what we produce is a small needle point pit with a brown halo around the top edge where the outer (low intensity) part of the beam is scorching rather than piercing. The central needle point may appear black but close examination shows it to be natural wood colour inside and the black is an illusion because of light occlusion. The brown halo around the holes is modifying the ratio of black and white so essential for this dithering method to work by fooling your brain.. That is why I have spent much effort perfecting a compond lens design that almost irradicates the halo. Your method is first filling those needle point pits with REAL blackness and then you are removing all those brown scorch halos and restoring a clean light background. You are now getting as close as possible to the black ink on white paper print industry ideal. Congratulations. Your lower resolution also greatly helps because you can afford to create much bigger (0.2mm) dots without overburning. I have recently been trying to decode how the borax method works and was amazed at the great contrast I was able to achieve on Baltic birch. See this video from 21 minutes. czcams.com/video/7pFuW1zPkkg/video.html I am using a 254 ppi image. There is a method of putting a black image onto a white ceramic tile, discovered by Nicky Norton, that allows me to push the resolution to 508 ppi. See this short unpublished video
czcams.com/video/TVgmoN1wljs/video.html This is going full circle and achieveing an authentic copy of the print indusrty process.
Thanks again for sharing your method. I can see it being successful on woods that are impossible to photo engrave ......like bamboo.
Best wishes
Russ
Great video and explanation. Might set your resolution on your screen down when you do videos. It ends up using a lot of extra space on the video. Trying to read what you have for selections is near impossible. Even expanded to full screen it's hard to read.
Hello Russ,
i have a Question about the Software which you used to improve the brigthness of the Picture. Which one was it? Maybe Photoshop or another one? Thank you.
Hi Claudio
There are some basic brightness and contrast iadjustment s you can perform with in the RDWorks bitmao handle tool. However I find Photoshop has many more tools including a valuable filter called Unsharp Mask.
Best wishes
Russ
Hi When u were setting the dpi to 141 you then hit ok. it seemed to cut off on the video a bit.. what dither setting did you also pic? was it gray scale? thx
Hi Sean
I apologize for my edit mistake. A few seconds more and it would have told you to dither with dot graphics.
All best wishes
Russ
Hi. Very clear explanation of the procedure. Just one question... When we set the power to 15% to find the perfect focal distance, this 15% is out of how many watts. Should we adjust the percentage based on the max power of the machine? Thank you.
If you have a laser that is 100 watts or more you may find it difficult to make good dot engravings. The problem is that %power not an indication of watts output directly. If you have a 100 watt tube then 100% may well be 120 or 130 watts (bad news.... never use 100% unless you are sure it does not exceed the safe current for your tube) and 50% will definitely not be 50 watts. No, the power output from your tube is controlled by the milliamps flowing through the tube.Typical maximum allowable values are 50 watts=20mA, 60 watts=22mA and 80 watts=24mA and 100 watts= 25mA. Your HV power supply will be approximately rated for your tube . A 100watt power supply will deliver 30mA. 100% power =30mA and 0% power -0mA. That CURRENT relationship is linear but the watts output is VERY non-linear. If you have a 100 watt tube then it may produce zero watts output up to 15% and ten by the time you get to 20% you may have 50 watts !!!!!! So, 15% was a working number for my tube but you need to see how low you can go with your tube. All I can say is that you will need LOW power to get reasonably small dots. The focal distance will be the same for all powers it's just that the dot will get bigger as you increase the power.
Hope this answers your question
Best wishes
Russ
Thank you.
HI I am new to all of this but learning a lot from your insightful videos, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Do you have any doohickeys left as I would like to buy one?
Hi
Yes they are still available but perhaps you can send me a You Tube message (that will be private) with your email and I'll send you a data pack
Best wishes
Russ
Really loving these series, even the old 3 year old ones. How do we go about getting the files for the instructions now?
Hi
Just add your disguised email address (tom dot smith at g e e e e mail dot com) to confuse the bots and I will send you a data pack. I will also delete your comment
Best wishes
Russ
I too thought your video, Learning Lab 115, was very helpful and would love to have a copy of the documents/files. Thank you again and keep up your great work.
1
Reply
Pip
1 month ago (edited)
Hi Jimmy
Add your email to another comment. I get auto copied all comments to my email. After 10 minutes please delete your comment by which time I should have an email copy and be able to send you the data pack.
Best wishes
Russ
Hi Russ,
Thank you for this video. Very informative and helpful. I gave a laser cutter coming from China, quite similar to yours. Could I please get a copy of Russ' tips for engraving? Would love a read. What's the best way to grab it off you? Thanks. Stephen.
Hi Stephen
Just attach your email to another comment. It will be auto copied to my gmail and I will send the data. I will also delete your comment from public view.
Best wishes
Russ
Russ, I can't believe that you read all of these posts, but you obviously do. I received my laser clone from my brother when it didn't do what he hoped it would do - etch easily on granite stones. It has been slow going getting a room ready for it and getting it calibrated. Your methods gave me the confidence that I needed. It wasn't all smooth sailing as I have blew out the contacts when I had all the peripherals plugged into the back. I have had to make a contact switch to allow everything to come on when needed. I have watched 50-60% of your videos and have learned quite a bit (I have been sick for the last 3 years so CZcams has been used a lot to pass the time away.)
It would save me hours and hours (as you have shown) to get dialed in on my own. Would you please send me as many of your formulas, worksheets, and files that you would be willing to send me.
Your long time follower, John
Hi John
Attach your email to a comment. I get auto copied to my gmail so I will delete your comment to remove your email from public view.
Best wishes
Ryss
I have been troubleshooting my set up for pictures on cedar planks and pine. Most of the time it's trying to get the resolution right. Any chance on getting a copy of your formula? You seem very knowledgeable and I wouldn't mind trying out your method. Thanks.
Hi Michael
Send me your email address via the You Tube private message system and I'll get a copy to you
Best wishes
Russ
great as always..
what program do you use to get those dots to see the resolution. and how do you set more dots/inch .is that where you squeeze the picture larger and smaller.
I used Photoshop and set a very small area with a resolution of 254ppi. I then used a 1 pixel pencil to create the pattern. 254ppi is a pixel size of 0.1mm.
Pixel resolution is fixed regardless of the picture size if you shrink the picture you can choose to keep the pixel resolution the same or if you halve the picture size, some programs will re sample and quadruple the number of pixels to create a resolution of 508ppi. The problem with this is the laser machine cannot create 0.05mm dots so you cannot print a 508ppi image
Best wishes
Russ
Your channel is the best I've ever seen on laser engravers: thank you for helping me out as I booted up my own!
Please excuse this if you've answered this question before, but I've run into a print speed issue and wondered if you'ed ever had a similar problem. In order to melt glass instead of just microcracking it I need to run my Chinese laser at around 5mm/sec, but anytime I run it below 41mm/sec something bizarre happens: Instead of printing the picture in the corel program, it prints a series of dotted lines bearing no relation to the original picture. 41mm and faster? Prints great. 40mm/sec and slower? Grid of dots.
I'm using main board M1 under properties, and it works fine apart from this issue. I've selected every other possible main board setting to see if that's the issue: Those main boards that ignore the input speed completely print the picture. Those that respond to input speed print the dot grid.
I've tried switching computers and OSs, but it makes no difference. I get the same grid of dots.
I'm just stumped as to why setting the print speed slower than 41mm/sec should have any effect on the content of the image. This isn't a blurred or damaged copy of the original image - the dot grid is a completely different image with wildly different external dimensions. Do you have any idea what is going on with this K40 laser?
Hi Michael
I started to answer your question and posted my answer but for some reason You Tube decided to post it into another dimension.. Check out your You Tube messages where I have sent my email . Send a couple of pictures of your problem and I'll see if I can help. I know zero about the K40 machine but it's only mechanics, electrics and logic . There will be a solution.
Best wishes
Russ
Russ I don't have a laser yet but love your videos. How about using clear acrylic sprayed black and then engrave the black off. May look great back lit. I have also seen white canvases sprayed black then engraved. What do you think
Yes works well on glass, acrylic and white marble
Best wishes
Russ
Russ, great video and very helpful. I would love to have a copy of the documents and files. Thank you for your great work. I'm using a 2" lens but just may need to get a 1 1/2" lens and nozzle.
Hi Diane
I will be happy to send you the information. Just add your disguised email address to another email in longhand form like this dianeatgooglemaildotcom and I will write back to you and also delete your comment from public view.
Best wishes
Russ
that was a great explanation .
thanks
Hello,
I am a high school photography teacher. We recently bought a laser cutter/engraver. I have made several attempts at photo engraving with unhappy results. I’m excited to try your method, and was hoping for the files you mentioned in the video. How do I go about getting those files you speak of?
Hi Tom
Ideally use the CZcams personal message system to send me your email and I'll get the data pack to you
Best wishes
Russ
Hello Sir! Thnx for all awesome tutorials. I want to ask you and others which maybe tried engraving portraits on granite, can China co2 lasers engrave portraits on granite with good quality? What should I chose or do for that? Many thnx in advance.
Engraving granite or other mineral materials is easy but the problem is the actual mineral composition. Take a look at the following two videos that I did on this subject.
czcams.com/video/1nnDgJ8iY80/video.html
czcams.com/video/qwedMjh2kAU/video.html
Hopefully this will answer all your questions..
At the time of doing this I did not have my compound lens available where i know I can now produce 0.1mm dots. I don't think it will change my conclusions but the clarity of my pictures would definitely improve.
Best wishes
Russ
Watching this a third time- I am firstly awestruck by how an engineer has figured out a type of digital imaging from scratch! I have been in photography and graphic imaging/print for 43 years, and this is great work. Secondly, I am wondering how an image that is imaged with burnt dots will hold up over time? Seems that the carbon dust that makes up the image, if left to the open air, would degrade in blackness in time. So it seems that if you want this image to last a long time (but not archivally) that it should be encapsulated in a matte and glass cover.
Hi Patrick
Thanks for your response You may even be able to answer a question I have NOT been able to find a solid answer to.. I'll ask at the end.
It didn't take a lot of figuring out that the ratio of black to white in a binary dithered image is the magic that fools the eye into seeing a continuous grey scale image. My problem was trying to understand how a black dot INK printing process could be faithfully replicated with a burnt dot laser process. Many people have been sort of doing it for years but I claim that what they are getting is a lucky smudged accident because no one has actually bothered to understand how to accurately replicate the dithering process that was never intended for this technology. This session was just the start of my search where I decoded the basic principles of what we must achieve with our machine and how to try and control the laser technology to achieve that replication.. Once I understood how the mechanics of switching the tube on and off rapidly was the first key to the process success, I quickly realized that the second key was understanding that 1pixel =1 dot. Thus, to improve picture resolution I must find ways and methods to create smaller dots and it was not just a matter of working with a hi res picture.There are many future sessions where you will see me pursuing this goal. I have proved categorically that with the beam and lens technology we are limited to, that Thunderlaser and other "big boys""who claim resolutions of 1000DPI are living in a dream world and hope nobody will ever check and take them to court. Lots of interesting viewing ahead for you.
My simple question for you is....... Why so many dithering techniques? Was each developed to exploit the features of a different printing process ? Was it for colour separation purposes in 4 colour printing? I always find that a simple diffusion dither works best but is there a specific dither that works best for converting greyscale to binary.? Most of the "big boys" have their own photo conversion software that relies on halftone printing. That seems totally illogical to me because that method of dithering can generate different size black dots which the laser cannot replicate.
Your knowledge and experience on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
Best wishes
Russ
Subscribed. This is an incredible breakdown of what is happening when we run our lasers. I have been doing several tests and he been lost up to this point. This may help me get a better handle on things. When someone says it's a 2" lens, is that the distance from the work piece, to the height of the lens? I'm being told that I might need a compound lens setup. My laser manufacture states that I can get up to 500dpi with stock setup, but I am starting to disagree. I brought a fairly high definition picture into lightburn and u burned the image on anodized aluminum and the picture looks "ok", but under a microscope, the lines and dots appear to be blobs with overburn at 300dpi. I have a lot of information from this video to digest and test some more on my setup.
Hi Robert
Your machine manufacturere has no idea what lens you are going to use therefore he cannot say how many DOTS PER INCH you can produce. A dot is something that appearts when you focus the laser beam through a lens and damage the surface of your material. Different materials have different damage thresholds so the size of your dot will depend on A) The material B) The focal length and orientation of the lens. C) How well you have focused the lens. D) The power you are using and E) The speed you are using. All or any one of these factors detrmines the smallest DOT you can burn. Typically with a 2" lens (the distance from the face of the lens to the work) you can get 0.3 to 0.2mm dots. If you put them side by side a 0.2 dot will get you to 127DPI. Note (25.4mm/0.2mm = 127dpi). The Chinese manufacturere either does not understand or is deliberately trying to mislead you with 500DPI. In reality 500 DPI is 25.4/500 = 0.051mm which is the smallest STEP distance that the machine is capable of ie the CNC system RESOLUTION and is nothing to do with photo engraving.
Egraving anodized aluminium is a weird yet forgiving process where it appears you can get amaing DPI results. The process of anodizing electolytically creates a thin surface of aluminium oxide on the surface of the metal. This is basically the very hard white material they use to make grinding wheels. It has a melting point of about 1300C. Regard this surface material as ultra fine salt crystalsv where there are micro voids between the crystals. Before they finish the anodzing process and seal the surface, they dip the product in a water based dye to add colour by filling the voids between the crystals. When you heat the surface witha laser beam you are really just evaportating away the dye (at maybe 150C) to leave the white (high temperature reistant ) white surface behind.. You cannot OVERBURN a surface that will not burn, it just removes a tiny bit more dye. Overburning only applies to organic materials that will burn deeper if you reburn an already damaged spot.
I hope this sheds a bit more light on the subject.
Best wishes
Russ
@@SarbarMultimedia it does make sense and thank you for the quick reply. Some find all of this stuff dry, but I got bit by the bug 😁
What program and effects did you prep the photo with?
Hi
Take a look at this later video to see the sort of tools and techniques you can use..
czcams.com/video/wOCy1VMkWeI/video.html
One particularly powerful tool that can enhance your image is in Filter, Sjharpen, Unsharp Mask.. This is all very trial and error because it may come out too dark or too light depending on the power you use or the material you are using.
Best wishes
Russ
I'm a bit confused. Your first test pattern consisted of alternating on/off dots at a pitch of 0.1mm, or 254 DPI. With the best focus, each dot resolved fairly well, with a reasonable space between. The spaces are a bit smaller than the dots, so maybe the dot size is 0.12mm or so. How did you conclude that the dot size is 0.18mm? Thanks, Bill Scarpero
Hi Bill the dots and gaps are on 100 dots per cm so each dot and gap is 0.1mm. So, if my burnt test dots JUST touch it means they are half a gap on one side, then the dot, then half a gap on the other side. That would make my dot 0.2mm diameter. When I examined the bottom row of dots on the 5.5mm focus test pattern with my linen gauge magnifier the pattern was clearer than what you could see under the microscope. The microscope picture/lighting almost gives the impression of a continuous bottom line. Some of the dots were really touching but there were many with distinct but small gaps between them. Maybe I should have estimated the dot size as 0.2, but because there were very small gaps between most. I averaged to 0.18mm. Hope that make things clear
All best wishes
Russ
I see your calculation is .1mm to 254 ppi? So does that means .05 would be 508 ppi? Is there a calculator or formula for getting this calculation? Thanks.
Michael Ervin
There are 25.4mm in 1 inch so if the resolution is PPI then 25.4/PPI calculates the pitch between pixels in mm. Hence you are correct 25.4/508=0.05mm steps between scan lines.
Best wishes
Russ
tremendo!! muchas gracias
Wow! This is awesome. Great video.
Russ. I would love to have the information if you would so kindly pass it over.
Thanks!!
Hi Sam
Attach your email to another comment. I get the comments auto copied to my gmail so I will immediately delete you email from public view..
Best wishes
Russ
I would like to get a copy of the formula for photo engraving. Your tutorials are most informative. Thank you.
Hi Royce
If you contact me privately via the following contact form I will send the information
Best wishes
Russ
forms.zohopublic.eu/ndeavorlimited/form/K40XtreeemLaserCutterContactRussSadler/formperma/k2Cn0QN5ChpazfTMAUw25lZ-FKpjZa96TQWHjv3ntOg
The man is a genius...and my friend...
Hi Richard
You must remember that I don't have your natural artistic talent. I have to bolt bits of technology together to create the impression of god-given gifts . To anyone else reading this, go and check out Richard's work on
richart-design.myshopify.com/
You will see images from the inside of his brain expressed in an interesting medium.
Best wishes
Russ
Thank you so much for this informative video. It was fantastic. I was using a different model for a yr. when I decided to buy my own. I was having so many problems with getting a photo to engrave. But your explanation is so simple and your results flawless. I really appreciate you having takien the time to type up a step by step process. That being said I am having difficulties PM you to get the info. It seems youtube may of done away with it this month. I have seen your explanation to others in the past but it did not help me this time. If you know a way I can private message to get those sheets I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much!
meredith thiergart
Hi Meredith
Sadly CZcams has killed private messaging. Send me your email in short comment. I will immediately delete it after I have copied it so it will not be publically available
Best wishes
Russ
Hi, russ, I know this is quite old now but I only got my k40 in July and am on a steep learning curve. Now I understand why I couldn’t engrave photos . Is there any chance of a copy of the dot pattern so I can try this on my stock machine. Thanx
Hi Mia
Sadly there is no way to send the pattern to you via youtube
Use this contact from to reach me privately and I will send you the file and a lot more infromation
forms.zohopublic.eu/ndeavorlimited/form/K40XtreeemLaserCutterContactRussSadler/formperma/k2Cn0QN5ChpazfTMAUw25lZ-FKpjZa96TQWHjv3ntOg
Best wishes
Russ
Thank you for this great explanation Russ. This has helped me understand what I is needed. Could I please get a copy of your little print out file for the dots again many thxs for you help
Hi Chris
Add your disguised email address to another comment and I will send you data and also delete your comment.
Best wishes
Russ
I am still unsure about the scan interval to use however. Should I use a scan interval that is the same size as my dots?
Your picture resolution will always be expressed as ppi (pixels per inch) The scan interval must always match the ppi so you have to calculate the size of a pixel to input as the interval If you remember this simple calculation you will always set the interval correctly
25.4 / ppi = interval
In my write up you determine the smallest dot you can make and then set your picture resolution to match that dot size. Thus you are correct and in this case the interval is also the dot size (in mm)
Best wishes
Russ
This video is the best yet in my opinion. It has been so so so helpful and I can't thank you enough! People are always throwing around random resolutions and inputs but this clears it all up perfectly. Thank you so much!
Hi Cosmo
As you rightly say, there has been a lot of black magic and many myths about the correct parameters for engraving. I'm sure that even the big companies don't fully understand, they pre-program parameters into their machines based on evolution, trial and error. It's taken many sessions and turns into blind alleys before I managed to distill the essential details into a simple form that can be understood by all. When you understand the absolute basics you can go forth, bend the rules , mix and match the parameters but you will more than likely end up with "an artistic" creation rather than fidelity. Thats part of the fun now that we understand where the bondaries are.
Glad it works for you.
All best wishes
Russ
Russ, Thank you for the excellent video. I have learned a lot from watching. If you still are offering a copy of the documents, I would greatly appreciate a copy. I look forward to viewing more of your videos.
Thanks
Hi Sean
Just attach your email in longhand disguise example , seandotstanatgooglemaildotcom and I will answer you and remove the comment.
Best wishes
Russ
Thank you for your video’s. They really help.
Is it still possible to get the files and settings you where talking about?
Greetings from the netherlands.
Hi Lars
Just attach your email to another commentin disguised form (lars724atgooglemaildotcom) and I will send you a data pack
Best wishes
Russ
SarbarMultimedia , ldfrens77@gmail.com Thank you so much!
This is a great video but I am still struggling. Is there any way I could get a copy of the information packet? Thanks
Hi Jen
Add your disguised email address (jendotfoyatgmaildotcom) to another comment and I will send you a data pack. I will also delete your comment.
Best wishes
Russ
hi there, dear sr, do you had some video talking about LGP tool on rdworks, is used for edge lit panels, and i will like to undestand how to use this tool, thakns for your videos.
I do apologize, but on this subject I know nothing. It is a specialist subject that I have not bothered to investigate because there are so many other main stream mysteries to unravel. However, I do believe that there are guys using this feature over at www.rdworkslab.com so you may wishto check there OR there is a Facebook group at
facebook.com/groups/900528680076062/
Hope this will get you started and I'm sorry I can't help directly
All best wishes
Russ
Everytime i watch your videos ,i learn something , i know its an old video , but can i have those papers ? Need to make this happen on my machine !
One another question ,is it possible to make the process faster?
Hi Osama
Once you have mastered the basics of this subject it depends on the quality of your tube and critically the response time of your HV power supply. You may be able to eventually be able to run at 400mm/s under certain circumstances with hard materials like glass or slate.
Just add your disguised email to another comment and I will send you the data (osamaatgmaildotcom???) I will then delete your comment
Best wishes
Russ
Hi Russ, I love all your videos and would like to have your documentation from Learning Lab 115
Hi Doug
I normally ask people to attach their email address to a comment. That comment usually gets auto copied to my gmail and then I respond and remove your comment to take your email away from public view. I am trying to find a more secure way for you to send your address. Could you try this for me please. Attach your email to a comment and post it. 10 minutes later can YOU remove it from your end. That way you can be sure of minimum time exposure. During that period it should have been captured by my email and I can respond..
I will wait for the email from You Tube telling me you have posted a comment. If this method fails I will write back to you again tomorrow.
Best wishes
Russ
if you have some thick acrylic(10mm), make the gauge out of that. it will stand on its own, therefore both hands are free to manipulate the screws and you can "land" the lens on top
Hi Steven
Thanks for reminding me I rather too lazy to make a thick one. I made these almost 2 years ago and every time I use them I think 6 to 8mm would be stronger and self standing. Perhaps now you have kicked me I may do something about it.
Thanks and best wishes
Russ
Dang, that's a good idea, thanks for sharing! I made 3 or 4 of these handy gauges a few months ago and use them all the time, but a free standing one would definitely be an improvement.
Thank you very much. I'm a beginner and would like to get a copy of the files you have to work on a picture that has been a pain to get right. I would appreciate your help!
Hi Karla
Add your disguised email address (kdotchildsatgooglemaildotcom) to another comment and I will send you a data pack and delete your comment.
Best wishes
Russ
Thanks for all your great videos. They're very helpful and appreciated!
Is there a way I can private message you? I'd love a copy of your written formula. I'd like to turn it into a CorelDraw Macro. I'm thinking of having a drop down to select the material so once you figure out the variables for each material you can just select it when you run the macro and it will convert your image for you.
Hi Chris
There was a time when messaging was easy and obvious but they "improved" things about a year ago and made it nearly impossible to find. If you double click on the reddish Sarbar square it will open up my home page. Now go to the address bar and add /about to the end and Enter. That will open another page where top right you will find a message button.
Best regards
Russ
Very interesting to learn about RDWorks. Does anyone know of a link I can use to download RDworks?
Hi Jason
Here is a pretty recent issue that seems nice and stable.
www.rd-acs.com/Private/Files/de49e1ea0e9d44aab3ed9724053c7035.rar
Best wishes
Russ
Really great instructions; easy to follow. May i please have a copy of the instructions? Thank you.
Hi James. Attach your email to another comment. I get auto copied to my gmail so I will respond and also delete your comment/email from public view
Best wishes
Russ
Hi, I just came across this video, and would like to go over those documents. How can I download them? Thanks
Hi
If you add your disguised email address to another comment I will send you all the data and then delete your comment.
Best wishes
Russ
Hi, I have the dots bitmap but when I put it into lightburn it goes in as an image. I can't burn only the dots. It wants to burn the white background as well. Do you have another file with only the dots and no background. Thank in advance!
Hi
You wili import the pattern into Lightburn as a bitmap because that is exactly what it is. However this is not a normal bitmap picture or photo that can be dithered. No this is already a specially prepared dithered image at 254ppi.. You can prepare any image outside of Lightburn and dither it in that 3rd party software where you will save it as a bitmap. When you have imported it into lightburn , open the parameters window and at the bottom you will see a PASS THROUGH switch which must be set to green, so that Lightburn will just burn the third party dithereing and do nothing to interfere with it.
Best wishes
Russ
@@SarbarMultimedia Ok, that makes sense. Thank you very much!
Your videos are absolutely incredible sir! I have been cutting and Engraving for almost 7 years and after watching your videos I think it's time I slow down and take in your knowledge.. you said you offer some files to help us with this are you still offering that?
Hi Eric
Yes the files are for free and Ihave learnt a lot more since but the basic principle remains the same.
If you like to contact me privately with this contact form I will send you the data pack
forms.zohopublic.eu/ndeavorlimited/form/K40XtreeemLaserCutterContactRussSadler/formperma/k2Cn0QN5ChpazfTMAUw25lZ-FKpjZa96TQWHjv3ntOg
Best wishes
Russ
ps you may also like to check out my A to Z of lasers (the concise series) here also
laseruser.com/the-concise-rdworks-learning-lab-menu/
Thank you again I filled out the form and sent it to you
I am new to Rd works and your help is invaluable. I would love access to the Russ formula white paper. Please let me know how 5o contact you in regards.
Jeff
Hi Jeff
Unfortunately You Tube decided to can their private message system, but you can attach your email to another comment and I will respond with the information you requested nd immediately delet your comment/email from public view.
Best wishes
Russ
Thanks for another very informative video, even though there is a lot of technical stuff in there you make is easy to understand. is the document/file still available. Thank you
Hi Millie
if you like to add your disguised email address to another comment I will send you the data pack. I will also delete your comment/email address
Best wishes
Russ
@@russsadler3471 Hi Russ, did you send the file?
@@millieashton6981
Hi Millie
I cannot send files via CZcams. As I mentioned in my previous reply, you must add your disguised email address to another comment so that I can send you files. For example millie+atg?mail dot com will confuse the bots that scan for email addresses. I will delete it when I have sent the data pack
Best wishes
Russ
Just getting started with Laser Engraving. I have a Diode Laser. Hope to make enough money off of it to afford a CO2 Laser. Does this method still work today or have you found better methods?
Just viewed you lab 115 on your formula for photo engraving. I would like to get a copy so I can improve my results.
hi
Just add your disguised email address to another comment and I will send you a data pack. I will also delete your comment/email from public view
Best wishes
Russ
Hi Russ, I have watched many of your videos and as i have gained experience, i go back to them and find that each time i do it, i learn a little bit more. I was wondering if you would share your instructions with me? Thanks in adavnce.
Hi James
No problem. Just add your disguised email address (johndotsmithatgmaildotcom) to another comment and I will get a data pack to you and also delete your comment.
Best wishes
Russ
butiful works think you so match
Ok, dumb question: I see you often tick the padlock symbol when working with images, however, I have not discovered what effect that has at all? Whether it is open or closed, I can still make any modifications to the object, resize it, etc. A cursory search of the interwebs and reading various iterations of the RDWORKS manual did not produce any information. So what gives? What in the heck does the padlock do??
Hi Jim
Do this.
1)Choose the rectangle tool.
2)Somewhere on the table press the left mouse button and hold it dow.
3)Move the mouse around and you will be able to make any shape and size of RECTANGLE
4) Keep the mouse button pressed and now hold down the Ctrl key
5)Now you have constrained your shape to a SQUARE as you move your mouse around.
6) Release the mouse button first and then the Ctrl key and you will have locked a square shape on the page.
7)Click on the square to put handles on it.
8) On the toolbar, look at the second set of windows an you will see that the width and height of your rectangle are specified with 100% in the 3rd window.
9) CLOSE the padlock
10 In the top 2nd window (the width) swipe a highlight across the window (left to right) and type in a new dimension of say 100 and press enter.
11)You will note that the height dimension has now changed to 100mm also. The CLOSED padlock has constrained the aspect ratio.
12) Now UNLOCK the padlock and in the top second window highlight and type in 200 enter.
13)Then aspect ratio is no longer constrained.
14)CLOSE the padlock again and this time highlight the third top window and change the 100% to 200% enter
15) Constrained aspect ration but twice the size.
That demonstrates everything you were puzzled about
Best wishes
Russ
Beautiful! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the help! Slowly learning RDWORKS, one painful moment at a time :)
Good Day Russ.
Thank you for the helpful video.
Please let me know how I can get the documentation? I tried to contact you over private message but the function does not work.
Thanking you in advance,
Buks
Hi Buks
Sadly You Tube ceased the private message service about a year ago. The simple way now is to add your email to another comment (use AT instead of@) and post it. I get all comments sent to my email so after 5 minutes you can delete your comment because by then air should have an email copy. I will then send you the data.
Best wishes
Russ
Thank you very much for these educational videos. Helps me a lot. Could you please send me the files?
How do I get your two page document of instructions? We are asked to do photos on wood and are needing all the help we can get.
Hi
Add your disguised email (johndotsmithatyahoodotcom)to another comment and I will send you the information and delete your email/comment
Best wishes
Russ
I've been following the whole series, you know wayyy to much about these machines! I'm trying to follow your path by experimenting with photo engraving, would you mind sending me the documents/files you mentioned in the video? Thank you!
Hi Vittorio
Add yourdisguised email address (vittoriodot386atgmaildotcom) to another comment and I will send you the data pack. I will also delete your comment.
Best wishes
Russ
Thank you very much for files
Great Russ I would be obliged if you would send me the photo setup info
Trevor
Can I engrave that dot test larger to see more details ?
Hi
I have just published an updated version of photyo engraving principles here that may interest ypua and answer your questions.
czcams.com/video/jl6OYf3nJfA/video.html
Best wshes
Russ
Thank you for the detailed reverse engineering of these laser preformance matrix. Would you please send me the magic settings for the best photo rendering in for these lasers? What is the best way to private message you? Thanks again.
Hi
CZcamsr canned PM about 2 years ago. So send another comment with your disguised email address and I will send you the data pack.
Best wishes
Russ
I am new to Chinese laser engraving and I am very interested in the formula for engraving pictures. I clicked on the about tab on your home page but can not find a way to message you. I would like to get a copy of your notes that you are referring to in this video. I hope I am not too late. Thanks for posting by the way.
Hi
just add your disguised email address (johndotsmithatgmaildotcom) to another comment and I will send you a data pack.
Best wishes
Russ
MASTER