Mother’s Day Laser Cut Bouquet
Thanks again to Trotec Laser Australia for this fantastic idea for Mother’s Day!
Follow our tutorial to create a custom bouquet gift using Trotec engraving materials. All materials used in this tutorial are available from our engraving supplies webshop.
Preparation
Material required
- 1 sheet solid wood walnut
- 1 sheet wood veneer maple
- 1/4 sheet TroGlass Colour Gloss green transparent
- 1/4 sheet TroGlass clear
- Optional:
- Hot air gun
- Bench vice
- Work gloves
Laser machine used
- Speedy 400 flexx, 100 watts
- 2″ lens or 2.5″ lens for TroGlass Clear 10mm
- Vacuum with honeycomb laser cutting table resp. acrylic grid
Any Speedy laser engraving machine can be used to create this sample.
Tip
Any left over material can be used for the “blossoms.”
laser-cutting-acrylic-flower.jpg
ZIP
Step by step
STEP 1
Step 1: The design
Create your own design or import our template. If required you can adapt it to your requirements. Send the base plate job for laser cutting to the laser using the below driver settings.
Print settings:
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Cut Job | 1000 dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| Colour | Optimised geometries, inner geometries first |
STEP 2
Step 2: Laser cutting the base plate
Put the TroGlass Clear on the acrylic cutting grid of your Trotec laser machine and insert the 2.5″ lens. Then laser cut the base using the following settings. Parameters will vary depending on the laser machine used and its available laser power.
Laser Cutting Parameters
| Colour | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) | ppi/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| red | Cut CO2 | 95 | 0.2 | 20000 |
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | on | -3 mm | – |
Information:
We used the standard speed optimised parameters TroGlass Clear from JobControl® laser software for this task.
STEP 3
Step 3: Design “grass”
Send the design for the grass to the laser using the below settings.
Print settings:
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 500 dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| Colour | Optimised geometries |
STEP 4
Step 4: Laser engraving and laser cutting the “grass”
The next step is to put the dark green transparent TroGlass onto the acrylic cutting grid of your laser machine. Use the 2″ lens for this and all following tasks for this application. Laser engrave and cut the design with the following parameters, which will vary depending on laser machine and available power.
Laser cutting and engraving parameters
| Process | Colour | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engraving | black | Engrave CO2 | 14 | 20 |
| Cutting | red | Cut CO2 | 100 | 1 |
| ppi/Hz | Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 1 | on | 0mm | High Quality |
| 1000 | 1 | on | – | – |
Tip:
Select the bottom to top laser engraving process so that dust does not settle in the engraved areas.
STEP 5
Step 5: Design “Stem”
Send the design of the solid wood stem to the laser using the driver settings below.
Print settings:
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Cut Job | 1000 dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| – | Optimised geometries |
STEP 6
Step 6: Laser cutting “Stem”
Change the acrylic cutting grid against the honeycomb cutting table and position the walnut sheet. Cover the rest of the engraving area with paper to maximise vacuum. Use the following parameters to cut the wood:
Laser Cutting Parameters
| Colour | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) | ppi/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| red | Cut CO2 | 100 | 1 | 1000 |
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | on | – | – |
Tip:
Covering the engraving area produces a vacuum which is essential for a clean and consistent laser cut.
STEP 7
Step 7: Design “Blossoms”
Finally, send the design of the abstract blossoms to your laser.
Print settings:
| Process mode | Resolution | Cut line |
|---|---|---|
| Cut Job | 1000 dpi | none |
| Halftone | Others |
|---|---|
| – | Optimised Geometries, Inner Geometries first |
STEP 8
Step 8: Laser process “Blossoms”
Put the maple veneer sheet into the laser, and carefully cover the rest of the engraving table with paper. Then cut the blossoms using the following parameters:
Laser Cutting Parameters
| Colour | Process | Power (%) | Speed (%) | ppi/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| red | Cut CO2 | 100 | 1.2 | 1000 |
| Passes | Air Assist | Z-Offset | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | on | – | – |
Tip:
If you cut the entire sheet, focus on the middle of the material to compensate for any differences in thickness.
STEP 9
Step 9: Assembly
Put the stem into the base and decorate it with the blossoms. Depending on your design you can combine large and small blossoms. Finally, position the grass into the base, and this inventive Mother’s Day bouquet is ready.
Handicraft tip:
Twisted blades of grass are good for creating an eye catching piece. To make these, position the “blades of grass” into a bench vice or another heat-resistant holder. Take a hot air gun and carefully heat the filigree grass, then deform and twist the hot acrylic.
Important: Wear gloves when working with hot acrylics to avoid burns
Hold the acrylic in place until it is cooled down. With a little practice, you can create impressive designs.
Inspiration
Use other colours of TroGlass, e.g. TroGlass Satins or TroGlass Frosted and transform the “flower bouquet” into an abstract sculpture.
