Fun with acrylic

[tugrik]

Sometimes it's nice to have friends in the construction industry. Through one of them I've come into possession of a sizeable pile of acrylic blanks. They're all right around 4.25" x 7.25" x .25" in size and there's now a towering stack of them on my stock shelves. While they were considered throw-away leftovers to the builder, they're a goldmine for laserfolk like myself. Score!

As a result, if you have any projects that you'd like cut or engraved within those dimensions, now's the time to ask; the raw materials price couldn't possibly be lower. I can even do photorealistic shading on them nowadays.

For example, I was more than happy to enable my roomie cooner to sell his art as acrylic badges for Anthrocon. Being able to turn construction junk into these pretty things is a total blast.



Want to make and sell badges of your own? Cut out small 1/4" thick parts for a robotics project? Make holiday or desktop ornaments? Just want to see what a favorite photo would look like engraved into an acrylic block? Give me a holler while this stock lasts!

Comments

[rah-bop.livejournal.com]

Wow!! That is so cool!! How much would something like this cost?

Also, how durable are these? Do they bend, or are they brittle? Could they survive as a keychain or something?

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Since Cooner is my roomie (and can handle the laser gruntwork part on his own) he gets a pretty special-low rate. :) Projects are priced/quoted on an individual basis for now until I get a feel for how well things work out. The 'industry standard' for laser time is crazy, IMHO, so I'm having to develop my pricing without much to go on.

As far as durability, that all depends on what type of acrylic you use and how thick. These 1/4" plates I have a freak-ton of? Solid. Short of really working at it to shatter them with a hammer, they'll last for a very, very long time. However, they will scratch. So while they'd survive as a keychain they'd get scuffed up over time.

I can do anodized aluminum, too, which has better keychain survivability.

Cool Beans

[maurinestarkey.livejournal.com]

I've been looking to have something special for SiliCon made. Could you talk to me off lj? colmahouse at yahoo.com. Thanks loads
Maurine

Re: Cool Beans

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

sorry for not getting back to you earlier! I'm just now replying to this posts' comments as many of them didn't end up in my email box for some reason. I'm at tugrik@gmail.com. What do you have in mind? :)

[nemetfox.livejournal.com]

I'm curious as to what this might look like: http://strype.deviantart.com/art/Birth-of-an-Evil-Genius-24190383

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

That one has promise. You'd have to do it as a negative image but you could get a really detailed result. I'd stick with the clear acrylics, though; it'd not do well with any opacity or color, IMHO.

[jdarkwulf.livejournal.com]

Those are so epicly shiny and want-able. :)

[wingywoof.livejournal.com]

cooner and tugrik: great collaborators or greatest collaborators?

:D

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

That is an awesome idea for con badges! Very very cool.

[tombfyre.livejournal.com]

Damn, that is indeed pretty damn fancy right there. ^^ Looks great on those blocks, what with the transparency and all. Hooray for free swag turned art project!

[silverjames.livejournal.com]

Tug, could you do something like a book cover? *points to icon*

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Actually laser-engrave upon a book, you mean? Or make an acrylic version of existing book art?

The former: yes, but the results are mixed, and it depends on what the cover is made of. The latter: again, yes, but it depends on the artwork :)

[silverjames.livejournal.com]

I meant take the art from the cover and laser it on the acrylic. The art may be too complicated. I do need to talk to you about printing some cover flats of the book for me. Since my release isn't until April 2010, there's some time for me to get organized. I'll email you with the .jpg so you can see it and we'll talk $$. :D

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Include your business email or URL sometime! I always have need for custom this or that, but don't have a contact with you save for LJ.

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

for now I just have email as a point-of-contact: tugrik@gmail.com . I don't really have an advertised 'business contact' yet, as I'm getting about the right amount of work via word-of-mouth while still keeping the career intact. I do need to make a site sometime, though, and when I do i'll gladly pass it along!

[rainbow-roo.livejournal.com]

So pretty! My guy and I would love to sign up for that acrylic badge thingy thing if you're ever up to it. :o)

[http://users.livejournal.com/krin_o_o_/]

I saw the 'card edge' on those and wondered if your rig can laser etch printed circuit boards?

It would seem to be a lot cleaner and allow for engraving art on them. Then surface mount on the back side a watch battery and a few surface mounted LED's maybe a timer and an acoustic for sparkly fun.


edit: fixed moon speak.

[likeshine.livejournal.com]

oooh...

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

I still want to try backlit glowy designs for your art sometime. :) So many ideas! Give me a holler if you have projects you want to try, now that the Anthrocon Crazies are finally over...

[synchra.livejournal.com]

Oh man! I totally want to make some of those! I don't have much time to draw nowadays though but It'd be cool to make myself one and one for you or something. (I have never drawn anything for you! wtf. >.<)

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

*tries to stand real still and look all cute in case you get draw-time!*

I've got about 800 of those planks left... just point me at the art you'd want and I'd be glad to carve you a few, no worries!

[synchra.livejournal.com]

Haha! you wanna make something for FC 2010?

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Sure! If you're up for it, I am. :)

[synchra.livejournal.com]

Cool!! I need to think of some ideas! :3 If you have something tell me! This theme is a real brain-racker. Haha.

[synchra.livejournal.com]

I just noticed this had been hiding in my filter for months and I just saw it!! I was wondering why you responded so late. XD

[ace-bearpaws.livejournal.com]

If the stuff you make were any cooler than it is, the universe would freeze solid around you while you were making it.

You sir, break the laws of physics with your awesomeness.

[hgryphon.livejournal.com]

Those look TOTALLY AWESOME! Do want...

[graysoul.livejournal.com]

I've been working on what I wanted to make: acrylic case top for a Nixie clock that has the tube sockets etched into it.

I think I have the pin circle designed right but I need to print it out and test with the actual tube. These things are tiny and four of them would easily fit on your "stock" with room for the clock electronics. I have a factory case of them... ;)

Can you give us a image file with the outline of your stock laid out?
-GraySoul

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

They're just rectangular, 7.25" by 4.25". There is some slight variance so those are minimum sizes; some pieces are slightly bigger, but none are smaller.

When you provide your design use a thin red line to show where to cut. If you're using a vector program, use 'true red' [255,0,0] and 'hairline' width or the smallest width your program allows.

Use black for any details you want engraved into the surface instead of cut. If in vector, send it in .eps, .pdf or .ai formats. If in bitmap, send anything you want; I've got CS4 Photoshop and it should read just about anything.

[loranskunky.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna need some GOH badges :)

That a greyscale screen printing on clear acrylic? SWEET! :)

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Nope, no printing; those are done completely with the laser. The designs are engraved about .02" into the acrylic itself so they're extremely permanent.

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Now that the AC crazies are over... got GOH things on mind to discuss? :)

[caerdwyn.livejournal.com]

If only I had something that would be suitable to go onto a badge.

[dook.livejournal.com]

I might be wanting to talk with you about doing up something from my logo designs or potentially project like this too at some point in the future. :)

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I think I'd like to commission a camel desktop-sitter... and I think wordslinger is teaching a robotics class and was talking about kits with missing parts and how much fun she had making it work regardless.

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

Do you have the art for a camel-sitter? I'd be more than glad to carve one out for you if you did!

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

I could commission it. What kind of art are you looking for?

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

I thought you were the one looking for it? :) Unless I misunderstood?

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

I don't know how little I know, so please bear with me. I think this desk top sitter is a cool idea. I don't know what one looks like: if it's a doll with legs that hang over the desk, or if it's a place card holder, or something else. So I'd like to make sure that I commission the right kind of art, with the right kind of proportions, to make sure that you get something that's easy to work with.