Rutherford-Robotics.com
Educational Robotics - Laser Engraving - Web Design - Prototype Design
142 Camelia Parkway, Kyle, Texas 78640 - 512-262-7899
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We are very excited with the latest addition to our services... laser engraving and machining. The powerful 35 Watt laser can cleanly cut through many materials such as acrylic (Up to 1/4 inch 6mm), wood, leather, paper, hardboard, polycarbonate (Lexan up to 1/8 inch 3mm), and more. With our rotary attachment we are also to engrave around the convex surface of glassware. This means we can do special glassware for your celebrations and special events too!
The laser has two methods of work, it can use a raster mode to burn an image or text into a surface, or it can power up and cut through a material using vector technology. The laser is also capable of a combination mode where it will perform the raster printing, then cut the part out.

The maximum size of our machine is 24 by 12 inches up to 5 inches thick, if you want an electronics panel or robotic parts cut from plastic, we can supply the material. or we can point you to vendors who we use so that you can have the material shipped here directly.

This is a pattern for a wooden music box to be cut from 1/4 inch (6mm) wood.
Here you can see the powerful 35 Watt LASER cutting the pattern into the surface of the wood. For this delicate operation the power is turned down to 30% and the path of the laser is set to full speed.

The laser whisks back and forth drawing one line of the graphic at a time to build up the image. This sample was done at 300 DPI which is good for most pieces. We do have the ability to select even finer detail up to 1200 DPI for the most precise items.
Once the raster graphics have been embedded into the surface of the material, the laser is brought up to full power to cut all the way through in a single pass. 

Deeper cuts in thicker materials can sometimes be done with multiple passes to make a cleaner cut. The 35 Watt laser can cut through 3/8 inch Plexiglas or 1/4 inch wood with a single pass.
Here you can see that we are almost completed with the vector cutting of the wood... all this took only 6 minutes to produce!
 
Want to see the video?
All the pieces have now been cut and are ready for assembly into the finished music box.
The really great thing about laser cut parts is that they edges are so clean sanding is not needed. The width of the beam is 0.004 inches (0.1 mm) so the parts fit together very well. 

All we need to do is wipe the black edges to loosen any carbon, apply stain, and glue together into a finished music box.

Plastics generally do not get any carbon on the edges, they remain clear and very cleanly cut. The only exception to this is polycarbonate which tends to get a blackened edge. We can cut up to 3/8 inch (10mm) acrylic, 1/4 inch wood (6mm), and 1/8 inch (3mm) polycarbonate.

Plastic faceplates for enclosures are generally 1/16 inch (2mm) with precision cutting. 

We cannot cut aluminum, that is a different type of laser, but if you have anodized aluminum, we can engrave it by vaporizing the anodized surface leaving a bright white pattern that looks really nice.
Web Design by Jerry Rutherford