Silver 3D Butterfly
Basic Information
| MachineLP5 |
| MaterialMetal/Wood |
| Size106 x 68 mm |
| Material InformationThe wood is 1/16" thick from Amazon, the 2" aluminum foil tape is 1.18mil thick from Tape Bear. Polyurethane varnish and dark walnut stain from Amazon |
| Production Time60 min |
| Engraving Difficulty |
How-to Tutorial
Step 1 Prepare the wood and cut out the butterfly shape
Task 1: Load the file "Butterfly Silver LP5"
Task 2: Hide Shapes 3 and 4, and cut shape 5 - the right wing.
Task 3: Hide Shapes 4 and 5, and cut shape 3 - the left wing.
Task 4: Hide Shapes 3 and 5, and cut shape 4 - the base.
Task5: Clean the cut shapes with alcohol
Settings 1
| Engraving MethodCut |
| MaterialWood |
| Power100% |
| Depth70% |
| Pass15 |
| Module Type20W 450nm |
| Other ParametersThe wood is approximately 1/16" basswood plywood from Amazon. IMPORTANT!! Before cutting, it must be stained (I used dark walnut), and at least one coat of polyurethane varnish applied to each side, and each side sanded smooth with 400 grit sandpaper. Finishing the wood is absolutely required to prevent burn stains, and it must be hard and smooth for the aluminum tape to stick. A bit of alcohol is need to clean the wood after cutting. |
Step 2 Apply aluminum tape, cut, and weed
Task 1: Load "Butterfly Silver_2 LP5"
Task 2: Cut a section of tape and carefully apply to the right wing. DO NOT press the tape down. Don't worry about small wrinkles.
Task 3: With a razor knife, cut the excess tape around the wing.
Task 4: Set the LP5 mode to VECTOR GRAPICS and, using preview, align the the cutouts on the wing.
Task 5: Select the group for the right wing and, using preview, align the the cutouts on the wing, and cut the aluminum. DONOT USE THE METAL CUTTING SETTING.
Task 6: Carefully weed the aluminum using fine tweezers. It will weed easily.
Task 7: Using the paper backing from the tape, shiny side up, and the back of a plastic handle screwdriver or similar tool, burnish the aluminum tape until it is smooth and pressed firmly into the wood.
REPEAT the above step for the left wing, then repeat for the bottom of the right wing, and the bottom side of the left wing. If desired, each wing can be clear coated for added durability, but this is not necessary.
Settings 1
| Engraving MethodCut |
| MaterialMetal |
| Power65% |
| Depth50% |
| Pass1 |
| Module Type20W 1064nm |
| Laser Frequency37 |
| Other ParametersThe material is very thin (1.18mil) 2" aluminum foil tape from Tape Bear. This tape is much thinner than standard aluminum tape from Amazon which is typically 3.6mil. |
Step 3 Assemble the Butterfly
Task 1: Assemble the wing, and place bottom up.
Task 2: Apply a thick bead of epoxy along the joint
Task 3: Before the epoxy hardens, place the base on the epoxy joint.
Task 4: Wait at least an hour, then glue the magnet to the base with GOOP. Epoxy doesn't stick very well to the magnet and it will eventually fall off.
FINISHED!
Design Files
LaserPecker Design Space V2.5.1 or above is recommended.
