3D Laser Engraved Wooden Crest

We have a special treat, showing you the mesmerizing 3D wooden engraving of the Canadian Coat of Arms using 1/4" solid maple wood. We used the relief mode in our JobControl software to auto-adjust the power of the laser according to the amount of gray shade in our 3D image. With stunning results!

The finished file used to generate the image was made by Gantry Company (gantryco.com).

We supplied them with the vector image and they transformed it to be 3D!

We then made it grey scale so we can see the depth of the laser engraving.The darkest grey's are deeper than the lighter grey's.

As the laser passes from left to tight the black images use 100% power while white uses no power and grey scale uses a particular power based on the percentage of grey.

We've attached the 3D TIFF file that you would use when sending to over to the laser, or you can use the .cdr or .eps file if you'd like to do a 2D version.

To print the 3D image press File, Print, Preferences then switch the mode from standard to "relief" and viola! You have begun the printing process.

After this, comes a fairly long process time (about 30min for a crest that's 5" x 5") and clean up but with amazing results!

You can either clean it simply using a tooth brush and water or use a bevel machine with a foam tip.

For the best results use light woods like Maple.

We tested out a variety of woods including ash, cherry, mahogany, cedar and maple. We chose 1/4 inch maple as it typically charred the least amount and we were able to clean it up fairly easily in the post process cycle.

The best way to print the image using the Speedy300 100w flex laser machine was with 100 power, 35 speed for the first 2 passes.

Then 2 passes with 60 power, 100 speed to clean up the residue from the first heavy duty passes.

The higher the power the bigger the depth, but the lower the power the more details you get.

Enjoy and have fun with it!

Written by: Zina Aahmed