Lesson Category: Fusion Edge

Setting Up Your Page

We’ll start by creating a new file.

Click on the Get Started option on your Welcome screen, then click the New Document button.

You can also use the shortcut keys, Ctrl + N, to open a new document.

Now enter your page dimensions. Enter 3.5” for the page width and 3.5” for the page height, then click OK.

Adding Guides for Your Engraving Area

The glass coaster you received with your laser system includes four rubber feet on the bottom of the coaster ½” in from each side.

To avoid from engraving on the coaster feet, we’ll set up a few guidelines to represent the bounds of our engraving area within our page to represent the bounds of our engraving area.

Before we get started, we need to confirm that the top left corner of our page is set to the origin for both of our rulers. Look at your Horizontal and Vertical rulers to determine if the top left corner of your page is set to 0 for the Horizontal Ruler and 0 for the Vertical Ruler. If they are, you’re all set. If not, locate the Origin Point tool at the top left corner of your work area.

Then click and drag to the top left corner of your page to set the new Origin point.

To create our guidelines, we’ll start by creating two horizontal guides for the top and bottom boundaries.

Click on the ruler at the top of the page and drag one guide down to -1/2 inch and another to -3 inches.

You may find it easier to click and drag the guides to the approximate location, then type in the specific Y Object Position values for each of the guidelines in the Properties bar located at the top of the screen.

Next, we’ll create two vertical guides for our left and right boundaries.

Click on the ruler at the left side of the page and drag one guideline across to 1/2” and another to 3”.

Again, you may find it easier to drag the guidelines to the approximate locations, then key in the 1/2” value for the first guide and the 3” value for the second guide in the X Object Position box in the Properties bar.

Importing a Graphic

Now we’re going to import a graphic and center it to the page. Here we’ll use a fish graphic (fish.wmf ) for this example, but you can use any graphic you prefer.

Start by clicking File at the top of the screen, then select Import from the drop-down menu.

Navigate to the file you’d like to Import, then select the file and click the Import button.

Now, click anywhere on the page to place the graphic.

Centering

Next, we’ll center the image to the page.

Make sure the object is still selected, then click the Object drop-down menu at the top of the screen, then Align and Distribute, then Center to Page.

You can also use the shortcut option of pressing the letter P on your keyboard to center the image to the page.

Resizing

Now we need to resize the fish image to fit inside our boundary guidelines.

To resize the graphic, we’ll click and drag on the top right resizing handle to resize the image and make it smaller.

By clicking on the top-right sizing handle, then holding the Shift key and dragging toward the center of the image, we can keep the proportions of the image the same as we make it smaller.

Drag the sizing handle until the right or left side of the fish graphic aligns with a vertical guideline.

Mirroring for Backside Engraving

As a final step before printing our graphic to the laser, we want to mirror the graphic for engraving on the bottom side of the glass coaster.

If there is text in your graphics, you want the text to read forward instead of backward once viewed from the top or other side of the piece. Engraving the back of glass will give you the best result when viewed through the other side, and doing so will help protect your engraving from wear and tear.

To mirror the graphic, select the graphic with the Pick Tool, then click on the Mirror Horizontally button in the Properties bar at the top of the screen.

Printing to the Laser

Next, we’ll print the file to the laser.

At the laser, we’ll gently place the coaster face-down onto our work area.

For the best results, place the coasters under one of the overhead IRIS positioning cameras.

At the control panel, select, the Jog icon, then use the Joystick to position the laser head over the coaster.

From the open Jog menu, select “Auto Focus.” The machine will automatically adjust the height of the table by first using the plunger action of the lens assembly tube to detect the material, then moving the table to the correct focal distance.

Select the Reset icon to reset the laser head.

Back in CorelDRAW, select File, then Print from the dropdown menu.

Set Epilog Engraver as your printer, and make sure “Match orientation and size” is selected as the Page setting. Then click the Print button.

The Epilog Dashboard will open with our file and the IRIS camera feed.

Click and drag the colored lines to expand the engraving area to include the glass coaster.

Then click and drag the graphic onto the glass coaster.

You can use your mouse’s scroll wheel to zoom in on the image and refine the graphic’s placement.

Over in the ‘Engrave’ process in the right-hand sidebar, let’s set our engraving parameters. We’ll set our resolution 300 DPI. When engraving glass, we don’t need a high resolution to achieve a quality engraving. We’re using a 60-watt laser, so we’ll set our speed to 60% and our power to 100%. Let’s also set our Dithering type to Stucki and our Engraving Direction to Bottom-Up.

Refer to your system manual for the recommended settings for your laser’s wattage.

Now that our settings are good to go, we can click “Print” to send the job to the laser.

At the laser, select the Job menu icon to see the list of available jobs, then select the job you sent to the machine. Press the Go/Stop button to start the glass engraving job. The Fusion Edge will get to work and within a couple of minutes your coaster will be complete!

Remove Side Panel

Before we begin, make sure you turn off & unplug the machine.

Using a 5/32” Allen wrench, remove the 8 Allen screws that secure the right-hand side panel, and set the panel off to one side.

Move to the front of the machine and pull the X-axis assembly to the center of the machine.

Now move back to the right-hand side of the machine and locate the silver box that covers the X Motor Driver board. This is the motor drive cover.

Locate the two #1 Phillips screws that secure the front of the cover to the X-axis assembly and loosen these two screws.

Move to the rear of the rail and loosen the two screws at the rear of the X axis motor driver board cover. These screws do not need to be removed.

Remove the motor drive cover and set it to the side.

At the motor driver board there are three motor leads that need to be disconnected. Each connector is unique and can only be installed in one location on the driver board. All three connectors have locks that must be depressed for the connectors to come apart. Do not pull on the wires, instead pull on the connectors themselves to avoid dislodging the wires from the connectors.

Using an 7/64” Allen wrench, remove the two screws on the front of the motor mount.

Using the same 7/64” Allen wrench, move to the rear of the rail and remove the two remaining Allen screws that secure the motor. Note: there is one Allen screw obscured by a cable tie, move the cable tie enough to use the Allen wrench to remove the screw. If the cable tie is still in the way, it can be cut, but should be replaced once the motor replacement is complete to keep the wires out of harm’s way.

Now with the 7/64” Allen wrench, loosen the reducer drive belt adjustment screw located in the back of the motor mounting bracket. Note: Some earlier production machines do not have this additional screw, if yours does not you may skip this step.

Now tilt the motor toward the engraver, slipping the Reducer drive belt from the X motor and remove the X motor from the machine.

Install the New Motor

While tilting the motor at about a 45-degree angle, loop the Reducer drive belt over the motor drive pulley.

Install one screw to the front side to hold the motor in place while the other three screws are installed. Do not tighten the screws fully.

Using the 7/64” Allen wrench to tension the reducer drive belt, tighten the reducer drive belt adjustment screw until the belt is no longer loose around the motor drive pulley. Again, if your machine does not have this additional screw, you may skip this step.

Tighten the remaining motor mounting screws using the 7/64” Allen wrench.

Replace the cable tie if it was cut previously.

Reconnect the 3 harnesses that were disconnected from the motor driver board.

With a #1 Phillips Screwdriver, replace the motor drive cover and tighten the four screws that secure it.

Using a 5/32” Allen wrench, install the 8 Allen screws that secure the right-hand side panel.

Plug in and power on the machine.

Once complete, run an engraving test to ensure the results look correct. If you notice any issues, check that everything is plugged in and positioned properly, and that the tension on the reducer driver belt is adequate.

This completes replacing the X motor on the Fusion Edge.

Remove Panels

Turn off and unplug the machine.

Each Fusion Edge is fitted with two Y motors. Determine which Y Motor, left or right-hand side, you will be replacing and remove that side panel from the machine. Using a 5/32″ Allen wrench, remove the 8 screws that secure the left or right-side access panel and set them to the side.

Remove Old Motor

Locate the Y-Motor toward the rear of the machine. Note: There is no need to loosen the Y belts before removing the motor.

There are 4 screws that secure the motor to the machine, 1 in each corner of the motor.

Using the #1 Phillips Screwdriver, remove the 4 screws securing the motor to the machine.

Once the motor has been removed, disconnect the harness from the motor by pulling on the tabs on the outer edge of the connector. Be careful not to unplug it by pulling on the wires, as you could pull the wires from the connector entirely.

Install New Motor

Once the harness is disconnected, it’s time to install the new Y motor.

Reconnect the wiring harness to the motor. Note the small guides on the connector, and make sure they fit in to the socket on the motor.

Position the motor in the machines chassis and loop the Y belt over the pulley.

When fitting the motor in to the chassis, it is important that the ring around the top of the motor fits into the opening in the chassis

Loop the Y belt back around the Y motor while placing it in the opening.

Install the 4 screws that secure the motor to the machine. Since the motor’s inner mounting screws are more difficult to access, it is easiest if the outer screws are installed first.

Note: There is no need to tighten the Y motor belt during this procedure.

Replace the side panel using the 8 screws that were removed earlier.

This completes the Y-Motor installation process.

Setting Up Your Page

We’ll start by creating a new file. On the Welcome screen select the New Document button. You can also press Ctrl + N to create a new document.

Now enter your page dimensions. Enter 4” for the page width and 4” for the page height, then click OK.

Creating a Keychain Jig

To create our jig we need to create a hole the same size as the keychain so we can accurately secure the keychain in place. Start by measuring the width of the keychain you received in your Training Suite packet. Use a set of calipers or a ruler to measure the keychain. The keychain should measure 1.6”. We’ll use this later to set the diameter for the jig circle.

Now we’re going to draw a circle in CorelDRAW. Select the Ellipse tool in the toolbox on the left. While holding down the Ctrl key, click and drag across the page to create a circle. The size is not important as we are going to manually key in the diameter.

Once you’ve drawn the circle, click on the Lock Ratio button in the Properties bar at the top of the screen. Turning on the Lock Ratio option will ensure the width and height of the circle remain equal when we change only one of the values.

Now enter the Width of the keychain you measured earlier into the Object Size box at the top of the screen. We’ll enter 1.6”, then press the Enter key.

Make sure the circle is still selected, then press the letter P on your keyboard to center it to the page.

Next we need a spot in the jig for the eyelet and ring to rest. This notch will ensure the keychain remains in the same orientation when we flip it over later. Select the rectangle tool in the toolbox. We’ll need the rectangle to start about 0.25” above the circle and be about 0.25” wide.

Click and drag from above the circle down into the circle to create the cutout for the eyelet and ring.

If you need to, adjust the size of your rectangle by manually entering a width into the object size box at the top of the screen.

Confirm that the rectangle is aligned to the center of the page horizontally by selecting ‘Object’ > ‘Align and Distribute’ > ‘Center to Page Horizontally’.

Printing to the Laser (Jig Cutting)

Now that we’ve completed the outline for our jig, we want to print this file to the laser.

Click and drag around the circle and rectangle to select your jig design. Select File, then Print from the dropdown menu.

Be sure that your print range is set to Selection, and set Epilog Engraver as your printer, and make sure “Match orientation and size” is selected as the Page setting. Then click the Print button.

The Epilog Dashboard will open with our file.

Since we’ll be positioning everything using our jig, we won’t need IRIS assistance. So over in the left-hand sidebar, we can select the video box to turn off the IRIS camera feed.

If we want the camera to remain OFF with future jobs, we can head up to the gear icon in the top right corner of the dashboard to open the Settings menu.

If we then select the Asterisk icon, we can open the Advanced Options menu.

Then we can toggle to Video Feed On switch to OFF and close out of the Settings menu.

Now let’s set the name of the job to “keychain-jig”.

Over in the ‘Vector’ process in the right-hand sidebar, let’s set our vector cutting parameters. We’re using a 60-watt laser, so we’ll set our speed to 50%, our power to 80%, and our frequency to 10%. To determine the right settings for your wattage of laser, test settings with some extra scrap cardboard. It doesn’t take much to cut through cardboard, so be sure to start with high speed and low power, then gradually decrease your speed or increase your power until you achieve a clean cut through the material.

Once your settings are good to go, click “Print” to send the job to the laser.

Cutting the Jig at the Laser

At the laser, place your cardboard in the top left corner of the machine. Keeping your jig in this corner will guarantee the hole we are about to cut is always in the same position and orientation.

At the control panel, select the Jog icon, then use the Joystick to move the laser head out slightly over the cardboard.

From the open Jog menu, select “Auto Focus.” The machine will automatically adjust the height of the table by first using the plunger action of the lens assembly tube to detect the material, then moving the table to the correct focal distance.

Select the Reset icon to reset the laser head.

Turn on your Air Assist pump for improved cutting performance and safety.

Select the Job menu icon to see the list of available jobs, then select the job you sent to the machine. Press the Go button to start the cutting job.

Importing Graphics

With the jig for the keychain cut, it’s now time to set up our graphic for the keychain itself. Keep your jig design open in CorelDRAW. We’ll use it as a template to help us properly size our graphic.

Let’s import a graphic, center it to the jig circle, then resize it for engraving on the wooden keychain. We’ll use a sea turtle graphic (sea-turtle.eps ) for this example, but you can use any graphic you prefer.

To import the file, select “File”, then “Import”.

Navigate to the file you’d like to Import, then select the file and click the Import button.

When the Import EPS options pop up, you can leave the defaults as they are. Press the OK button to continue.

Now, click anywhere on the page to place the graphic in the work area.

Aligning and Resizing the Graphic

We need to align our turtle to the center of the circle and resize it to fit within the bounds.

Make sure the object is still selected, then click Object at the top of the screen, then Align and Distribute, then Center to Page. You can also press the letter ‘P’ on your keyboard to center the image to your page.

Now we’ll resize the turtle to fit within the bounds of our jig circle and to account for the bevel on the edge of the wooden keychain. To resize the graphic, we’ll click and drag on the top right resizing handle. With the bevel on the wooden keychain, we have about 1” of space to engrave within.

By clicking on the top-right sizing handle, then holding the Shift key and dragging toward the center of the image, we can keep the proportions of the image the same as we make it smaller.

Click and drag the sizing handle, while holding the Shift key, until the turtle is small enough to fit inside of the circle.

You’ll notice we have a little extra space to the bottom right of the turtle, so we’re going to click and drag the turtle down to the right a bit to visually center the turtle to the circle.

Printing to the Laser (Front Engraving)

With the graphic ready to go and still selected, we’re ready to print to the laser.

Select File, then Print from the dropdown menu.

Set Epilog Engraver as your printer, and make sure “Match orientation and size” is selected as the Page setting. Also make sure your Print Range is set to “Selection”. Then click the Print button.

The Epilog Dashboard will open with our file.

As you can see, in the left-hand sidebar, the video box has defaulted to OFF since we changed that setting in the Advanced Settings menu.

Let’s set the name of our job to “turtle”.

Over in the ‘Engrave’ process in the right-hand sidebar, let’s set our engraving parameters. We’re using a 60 watt laser, so we’ll set our DPI to 500, our speed to 60%, and our power to 100%. Let’s also set our Dithering type to Stucki and our Engraving Direction to Bottom-Up.

Refer to your system manual for the recommended settings for your laser’s wattage.

Now that our settings are good to go, we can click “Print” to send the job to the laser.

At the Laser (Front Engraving)

At the laser, place the keychain into the jig. Make sure the jig remains in the top left corner of the work area.

At the control panel, select the Focus Menu icon, then use the joystick to lower the table slightly, ensuring you have vertical clearance to move the laser head out over the keychain.

Then select the Jog icon and use the Joystick to move the auto focus plunger on the laser head assembly above the wood keychain.

From the open Jog menu, select “Auto Focus.”

The machine will automatically adjust the height of the table by first using the plunger action of the lens assembly tube to detect the material, then moving the table to the correct focal distance.

Select the Reset icon to reset the laser head.

Select the Job menu icon to see the list of available jobs, then select the job you sent to the machine. Press the Go button to start the engraving job.

Engraving the Backside with a Name

There are great time-saving advantages to using jigs when you need to engrave multiple items, or you need to engrave on the back side of an item.

Let’s go ahead and personalize our keychain by engraving the back side with someone’s name.

Start by flipping the keychain over in the jig.

Back in CorelDRAW, we’re going to use the Text tool to add a name to our keychain. Select the text tool from the Toolbox options on the left side of the screen, and click anywhere on the page. Type out the name you would like to add to the keychain and select the typeface you’d like to use.

We’re going to use the name Charlotte in Birch Std (Standard) for our example.

Once you’re finished typing out the name and selecting the typeface, click and drag the turtle outside of the page bounds to get it out of our way.

Then select the name and press the ‘P’ shortcut key on your keyboard to center the name to the page and the jig bounds.

If you need to, resize the name to better fit it to the keychain’s engravable area. Remember to hold down the Shift key while resizing to keep the proportions of the text the same as you resize it.

Printing to the Laser (Back Engraving)

Once the text looks the way you’d like, select the text, then select File, then Print from the dropdown menu.

Set Epilog Engraver as your printer, and make sure “Match orientation and size” is still selected as the Page setting. Also make sure that your print range is still set to “Selection”. Then click the Print button.

The Epilog Dashboard will open with our file.

We’ll set the name of our job to “name”.

We’ll use the same engraving settings as last time, so make sure you set DPI to 500, speed to 60%, and power to 100%. Also set the Dithering type to Stucki and the Engraving Direction to Bottom-Up.

Then click “Print” to send the job to the laser.

At the Laser (Back Engraving)

Since we’re just engraving the other side of the keychain, our material thickness hasn’t changed and our laser should still be at the correct focal distance. So all we need to do is select the job that we sent over, then press the Go button to start the engraving job.

Once the job is complete, you’ll have a keychain engraved on both sides!

Setting Up Your Page

Let’s begin by creating a new file in CorelDRAW. Click File in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Then select New from the drop-down list.

Now enter your page size. Enter 4.5” for the page width and 4.5” for the page height. Then click OK.

Importing and Resizing a Graphic

Now we’re going to import a graphic onto the page. For this example we will use trees.wmf, but you can use any graphic you prefer.

Start by clicking File at the top of the screen, then select Import from the dropdown menu.

Navigate to the file you’d like to Import and select the file, then click the Import button.

Now, click anywhere on the page to place your graphic.

To center the image on the page, select Object from the menu bar.

Then select Align and Distribute, then Center to Page.

Now we’ll click and drag on the bottom right sizing handle to resize the image, and make it smaller. By holding down the shift key, then clicking on the handle and dragging, we can keep the proportions of the image the same.

Next we’ll reposition the image by moving it up about 1” on the page by clicking on the graphic and dragging it up.

Importing a Second Graphic

Now let’s import another image. Go to File > Import, and we’ll choose the deer file (deer.wmf). Then Press the Import button.

Click anywhere on the page to place the graphic.

This time we’ll use another way to resize the deer. Click the Lock Ratio button to keep the dimensions the same as we resize the graphic.

Enter 10% as the scale factor and press Enter to resize the image to 10% of its original size.

We’ll position the deer image to the bottom left side of the trees.

Adding Text to the Artwork

Now we’re ready to add text. Click on the text tool in the tool bar on the left.

Create a text box by clicking and dragging a rectangle next to the deer.

We’ll enter our text “The poetry of the earth is never dead.” Then press Enter and type “John Keats”.

Select the pick tool, select the text, and then change the font size to 8 pt.

Next select the right justify option to align the text to the right side of the text box. 8 pts. is a little small so we’ll go ahead and change that to 10 pts.

Before we move on let’s make the text box a little smaller. Select the Pick Tool, then click on the text box. Now click on the bottom middle sizing handle and drag it up to make the text box a little smaller.

Selecting, Grouping, and Resizing

Press Ctrl and A to select everything on the page.

Next we’ll group the items so they all stay together when we make changes. Click Object in the menu bar, then Group, then Group Objects.

Now we’ll center the images. Click Object, Align and Distribute, Center to Page.

Creating a Cut Line

Now let’s create a cut line. Click the rectangle tool, and then click and drag a rectangle around the image.

We’ll center the box we’ve drawn by using the shortcut of pressing the letter P on the keyboard. This will center the box to the page.

At the Laser

Next we’ll print the file to the laser.

At the laser, we’ll place the 4” wood square onto our work area.

For the best results, place the square under one of the overhead IRIS positioning cameras.

At the control panel, select the Jog icon, then use the Joystick to position the laser head over the wood square.

From the open Jog menu, select “Auto Focus.”

The machine will automatically adjust the height of the table by first using the plunger action of the lens assembly tube to detect the material, then moving the table to the correct focal distance.

Select the Reset icon to reset the laser head.

Printing to the Laser

Back in the CorelDRAW, select File, then Print from the dropdown menu.

Set Epilog Engraver as your printer, and make sure “Match orientation and size” is selected as the Page setting. Then click the Print button.

The Epilog Dashboard will open with our file and the IRIS camera feed.

Click and drag the colored lines to expand the engraving area to include the wood square.

Now click and drag to select the entire graphic, and click and drag to position the graphic onto the wood square.

Click the ‘Engrave’ process in the right-hand sidebar and let’s set our engraving parameters. We’re using a 60-watt laser, so we’ll set our resolution to 500 DPI, our speed to 100%, and our Power to 100%. Let’s also set our Dithering type to Stucki and our Engraving Direction to Bottom-Up.

Next open the ‘Vector’ process and set the Speed to 50%, the Power to 100%, and the Frequency to 10%.

Refer to your system manual for the recommended settings for your wattage of laser.

Now that our settings are good to go, we can click ‘Print’ to send the job to the laser.

Running the Job

Turn on your Air Assist pump for improved cutting performance and safety.

At the laser, select the Job menu icon, then select the name of the current job. Press the Go/Stop button to start the Job.

The Fusion Edge will run the engraving process first, then it will run the vector cutting process.

Once the laser is finished, use a damp sponge or towel to remove any leftover residue or debris, and then you’re done!