Still teaching myself how to engrave wood… Found a bit size that works good (.0315") and a depth that works well (.05"). Have been keeping the spindal at 5000 rpm but slowing the feed rate to 35ipm and the cut per depth to 1/3 or so of the bit diameter.
That’s lookin’ sharp as usual Darren!
Nice work!
Nice!
It looks very crisp. Do you have to sand the edges of the engraving much when it’s done?
Nice looking part!
What Font and type size are you using? How small of type have you been able to successfully engrave?
Did you also cut out the part on the Nomad, in addition to doing the engraving? If so, what tool path parameters and cutter did you use for the cut out?
I did the engraving first using a .0315 flat cutter. The font I used is a built in font on Easel called “Lavanderia” (Easel can be found at app.easel.com) although I have successfully taken a screen shot of another unique font, converted it to an svg file, and engraved with it. It’s a little trial and error in the program - I click on the toolpath simulator to see if the bit size can work and if not, I enlarge the font a little or use a smaller cutter. The smallest I have been able to use for engraving is .0295". I tried with some smaller cutters - .02 and .0118 and I broke both bits, likely due to too fast a feed or too deep a cut per pass, or both.
And I did the engraving first and then cut the profile of the whale. For the shape I used a .125" cutter, 40ipm feed and .04" depth per cut with the spindal at 5000rpm.
Here is an example where I engraved my wife’s company logo, used a built in font in easel (called Bebas) for the rest of the text and also incorporated some clip art images. A local baby store started carrying our wooden toys and wanted a sign to promote them - so I thought, let’s do it up Nomad style!
Here is a font called “a little sunshine” that I took a screenshot of, converted to an svg file, and then imported into easel
Used a .0315 cutter for both examples and cut to a depth of ~0.025" I believe
Thanks for the info.
You do very nice work.
Do you do most of your work in Easel? I took a look at it awhile back when the beta version first came out, but it was early in the cycle and then it not quite ready for prime time.
Do you have any issues getting the Gcode from Easel to work with Carbide Motion or is it just load and go?
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Most of what I’ve been doing is 2d stuff and engraving, and for that type of work easel is super easy and intuitive to use. For me what makes it so good is I can set my workpiece size and then click and drag things around, resize shapes by clicking and dragging, easily set depths for cuts, etc. it’s kind of like building a PowerPoint slide and then exporting it as gcode.
And so far the gcode coming out of easel has worked perfectly with carbide motion. Haven’t had any issues at all. Mind you I have been conservative with spindal speeds (gone up to 7500) and feed rates / depth per cut so I’m not sure what would happen if I approached the limits of the nomad.
Darren if you wouldn’t mind posting some of your process and export setup (screenshots too please!) from Easel, I’m betting that’d be a great thing for people to see to make sure they’re getting the same results out of Easel that you are 
@UnionNine For sure - I’ve actually already shot some video of me cutting the whale and doing the engraving - just need to find the time to do a voiceover and upload it!
Based on your work I took another look at Easel. It has improved a lot in the last 8 months, thanks for the tip.
As an experiment I designed, and cut out, an anniversary card. I know, but my wife is used to being married to a geek… 
