My first attempt at cutting out a building with my laser

VICSRC

Do you have the laser as part of the hobby or do you use it commercially as well. Have some designs I would like to try as well.

Steve

Both

I make R/C airplane short kits and I just dug out my trains to try to make a few buildings for it.

Send your ideas in PDF form and I will look to see if I can make them

What material were you cutting? How wide is the kerf?

How thick of a material can you cut. I have about 20 feet of arcade that I need to make for my high line. I'm exploring ways to reproduce the arches, including having them all laser cut. I have a friend with a CNC router which could also work.

I have a foot print of 20 x 12 inches

Parts can be cut into sections and glued together.

I can cut 1/8th lite ply

I've also used laserboard available from these guys:

http://automatedartists.com/laserboard

More pictures of the building

Perhaps on your next attempt, you could build in alignment tabs to make construction easier and stronger? I don't know if that would be hard to engineer or not, but the kit makers do it and it does make construction a snap.

Thats no problem at all thanks for the suggestion.

If anyone has a building they would like to submit please do.

I am thinking about painting the wood with tempra paint first to see if it will make painting a lot easier.

I have ordered samples of laser board to try cutting it also.

I just finished designing doors and windows and a garage door to cut tomorrow.

If I can talk my wife into it she will paint the building.

If anyone thinks this is a little strange of me ...I have not had my trains out in at least 50 years... Both O gauge and HO I got hooked on G scale several years ago but the track wont last a year here in Arizona the sun dries it out.

more pictures.

Garage door and windows   sorry for the out of focus pics

vic

Really nice for a first attempt.

What type of print.file do you use? Autocad, CoreDraw??

How long does the set-up take?

Sorry for long delay but here are a few more pictures

thanks for the update.

Things are looking good.

very interesting, ca you work from Micrografx designer DSR files?  if so contact me at  ravenex@gmail.com    I may have some files for you to work with.

 my intent is to make masters for resin replication..

Thanks Russ for that link to the laserboard.....may try some of that!!!

I use MDF on larger structures....but the laserboard sound neat.

Your buildings look good.....tab and slot do help next time.

I work with Illustrator files and Corel draw files.

If you could send me a file I would like to try it.

As far as tabs Th

at is not a problem as I incorporated them into the bridge I built.

Dave the laserboard has two distinct sides, one of which looks like fine wood grain.  Either side takes stains and washes or old rattle can stuff.  Glue up works best with acc.  It smokes when cutting about the same as basswood.  Most lasers can import various file formats.  Mine uses raster images for textures and vectors for cutting.  Raster images are those like photoshop uses IE pictures, vectors are those from drawing programs like Illustrator, Corel Draw etc,.

Vic - for a first project you have done a great job, how about doing a church next?  You know arched windows etc,.    Russ

do you have a church in mind?

What laser do you have?

I have a full spectrum gen 5

As far as using laser board I find that 1/8 lite ply is a lot cheaper

Where can I find 12 x 24 texured birch sheets that don't cost a arm and a leg?

Bridge in HO scale

Fantastic work, having your own laser the sky is the limit for you!! Thanks for posting.

Jeff

Vic, an Full Spectrum Laser 40w Hobby Laser.  Great machine, the company sucks!  The machine works very well, but working with the company itself is just awful!  I even confronted their president at a trade show and he was just as bad in person as they are online!   

I have had no luck finding lite ply either locally or online at a price that makes building a whole structure cost effective.  So I've been doing mock-ups with foam board and skinning with laser board.  Mostly for detail parts etc,.  I also use just printed sides and laminate them up.  This is all for ON30 stuff.  For the outdoor stuff I use my cnc and real wood and real tools!   

I don't have a particular church in mind it is just that with a laser it is fun do really cool looking windows and trims!  Russ

Here are some parts I designed and cut today.  These are roof parts for a coal bunker.

Two were cut on v groove siding and the rest on plain stock.

I'll glue a grooved and plain together for a end and use single plain for mid roof support.

The slots are for some .080 x .188 ribs for support.....

Thanks for lookin!!!!

Where do you get your V groove material?

Evergreen Styrene sheets. They are 6x12 inches.

Those look so cool that I had to go look up the price of a laser cutter. the best I could find is just over $2,000 for small desk top models. Is that what you guys are using?

go to full spectrum laser on the net

I have the 12 x 20 gen 5 and its about 4 G's after you get the support items for it.

I cut R/C airplane short kits in my spare time

go to my web site and look at some of the pics there.

vicsrc.com

You can get a idea as to what a laser can do.

I am also thinking about getting a 3D extrusion printer but the footprint is'nt large enough for the airplane parts I need to make yet.

You can also check with some of the guys that have lasers to see if they can do a one off for you.

I dont mind doing it because it allows me to make 2 items and I can add it to my layout if I ever get it started

By the way guys I have a vacuum former also

AMC Dave

Are you laminating onto foamboard?

Can you post a completed building pic?

Has anyone used a laser to cut foamboard?

It's so enticing, but unless you're doing commercial stuff, the cost per "craftsman kit" would be enormous to amortize such an investment. I would be in heaven to have one, but when I print out plans, hit them with spray glue and cut the parts with a #11 blade. Cost is close to 0. That being said, cutting curves with a knife is still very challenging and the laser wouldn't mind them at all.

Meanwhile I just had the pleasure to view some videos of a guy who is making a 1:60 Boeing 777ER completely out of manila file folders. All of the opening parts open and on correctly designed scale hinges. The engines thrust reversers work. The landing gear is completely scale and retracts. All out of manila folders. If he can do this with a #11 blade and computer printed plans, then so can I and I'll hold off with the laser cutter for now. 

Here's the link to that fellow's work. It is awesome. I don't know how he got it to form around compound curves like the lips of the engine nacelles.

http://petergreenberg.com/2014...coolest-paper-plane/. After you view this, go to YouTube and watch the rest of his videos.

My laser is just an add on to my retirement 'toys'!  I am living my dream by having a shop full of toys that I use to make 'train stuff'!  It would take years to cost justify the machinery at my current 'build rate'.    It would bore me to tears to HAVE to make hundreds of something just so I can get more toys.  My past life was all in computers so that is my skill set, NOT scratch building.  Just enjoying designing and playing and sharing on the forum.

Haven't tried cutting evergreen styrene, hows the smell?  Mostly basswood and laserboard.  Haven't tried foam board either, hmmmmmm!  Let's keep this laser thread going please I want to see more, GOOD STUFF!  Russ

I am the same!!! same background also IBM 28 years.

What is there to justify????

He who dies with the most toys wins!!!

3d scanner due in a month! (most toys!)    Russ

Russ

Who's printer/ scanner did you go with?

I am looking for a printer that is expandable at a later time when needed.

I am looking at Rigidbot but they only have one extruder head

You guys that have lasers are so lucky...  What a great job you all are doing.  The buildings and bridges look wonderful. 

Alan

Wow......lots of similarities here!!!!!

I was a Sr System Analyst for a big bank. Started out on a IBM 158 mainframe!!

Styrene cuts well.....it's about 50% of what I cut. Smell?? I can smell it but I have a GOOD industrial exhaust system so it's not bad at all.

Foamcore cutting?? It's cuts OK....and was one reason I bought the laser table. The cover cuts fine but the foam between is eaten away some by the laser so you get a concave cut. That and fumes I can find if safe or not I do not cut it.

I too have a vac former....but I have never gotten to where I am happy with it. Mine is a self contained unit with a 12x18 table.

I'd like a 3-D printer.....but the software is tough to learn!

If I remember right I started on a 138 and finished on the 3090 systems.

I was in field repair. and when pennant started was transfered to printers (what a waste of my talent)

But I could see the writing on the wall and stayed for the money.

I learned all about lasers with the 3800/3900 laser printers

It was amazing to see it print at about 30mph

I worked on every printer The Itsy Bitsy Machine Compny made and imported.

Well you are ahead of me with Corel. I can barely understand Illustrator.

But I guess if we all blend our minds together we can all learn something new.

No toys like that for me yet. Maby one day when they get better prices. I guess I need to find a neighbor with one. 

Attached is a PDF I found here to make wooden tunnel porals. the first two pages are for O and the rest are for a larger scale. The O gauge are 9in by 9in for the outside dimentions. Would you be able to cut these and if so how much for 4 of them?