Plexi 3D

[Xray]

and some 2D, a very detailed Mayan calendar using a diamond drag bit.
10x10" .25 plexi, took almost 3 hours but incredibly detailed.

[Xray]

Have been getting more into lithos lately, these 2 fem lithos are about 8x10" and done in .25 corian.
Haven't made light boxes for them yet, just holding them up to a shop light and snapping a pic with cell phone.

[Davo]

how long did those lithos take?

any tips on feeds/speed/bits?

[Xray]

These took around 2.5/3 hrs, not bad for detailed 8x10's.
I use a tapered 1/16 ballnose, nothing special on feeds/speeds. Like with 3D with all the Z movement it will only go so fast no matter what speed you use, best to use max. RPM probably 12,000.

Most important detail for lithos is accurate setting of Z zero. You want as thin a skin as possible in the lightest areas. Don't go deep enough and the whole thing will look too dark, go too deep you punch through the other side and ruin the project. These were .3 thick so I set max cutting depth to .25, so very little margin for error. I set a piece of paper on the corain and lower the bit until it touches and the paper won't slide. I then bump it up a hair to be on the safe side, so long as your table is level you will get the max depth possible with this method.
If you find you have not cut down far enough, all is not lost. You can sand them from the back to get the level down ,,, But if you go to far it is scrap, no cure that I know of.

[mdebruce]

IMG 0467 really impresses me. It does not seem possible to achieve that level of accurate detail! The only thing slightly "off" is her eyes. Of course the "Mayan" thing is super crisp and Jesus on the cross!!!
Ok everything looks great. I am buying a SB Desktop to do this kind of work but did not think it would do this...Great job and thanks for the inspiration.

[pwbell]

Where did you get the led lights and how did you hook them up?
Thanks for answering and the examples look really great!

[Xray]

Hi bruce,and thanks.
To be accurate I don't own a shopbot I am a "friend of the forum" who owns another brand, here to share and gain knowledge. But there is no reason why a deskbot could not create identical works, it could and does. Success doing lithos & plexi edge lit can be tricky no matter what machine you have but there is alot of helpful info here and at the vectric forum to get you on your way.

and PW, speaking of vectric forum check this thread for all sorts of sources, examples and tips
http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php?t=17065

[Xray]

I have posted these guns before I think, what sets this one apart is its done in 3/8 plexi.
I have tried it before and ended up ruining more than I created successfully, not much margin for error using 3/8 for 3D work and had only done 1 with success and ruined about 3 others ... So I started using thicker plexi, 1/2 and up to 1.25. Apparently I have gotten better at zeroing Z, made 3 of these in a row and all came out fine. Came very close to popping out the other side but thats just what I wanted, very close.
Is about 12x9, done under 2 hrs using a 1/16 tapered ball nose. There is 1 machining error, a line which runs from the top of the trigger across the grip ,,, Line was there on all 3, even tried running a 2nd pass on one of them, reduced it but still visible. Not sure what is causing it but I can live with it. I have watched it machining and it goes about 3/4 up the grip and for no apparent reason, jumps over and starts up higher.
It comes back after a while and starts where it left off, this line is the point where those separate cuts meet.

I do like the option doing these in 3/8, I usually have that onhand whereas 1/2 is scarce around my shop.

[Xray]

Not plexi obviously, this SOA rendering came out pretty nice in walnut.

Am thinking about getting some clear epoxy to flood fill it, just for the heck of it.

[scottp55]

Not my taste, BUT it came out REALLY nice Doug