In order to engrave on your machine you will need to know the focus distance of the peg hole base. This number should be written on your laser but can be found by using the focus test with the focusing card on the base plate.
Make sure that the rotary is placed so that the holes in the rotary are aligned with the ones in the work area. Use the provided screws to secure the rotary in place.
Remove the jaw attachment from the rotary and install the rod attachments. Position the ring onto the attachment so that it is held securely.
Setup The Object Diameter
You must measure the diameter of the ring with calipers. Use inside diameter for inside rings and outside diameter for outside rings. Change your rotary settings in the Edit Menu/Settings/Rotary. Select FSL Chuck Rotary V2 Type. Enter the Object Diameter in Inches and hit save. Do not change the other settings - only modify the diameter whenever your object diameter changes.
Measure Ring Height
The machine is ready to engrave the outside of the ring. In order to engrave the inside of the ring, adjust the tilt angle to 15 degrees. Adjust the position of the rod attachment so that the inside of the ring is centered (as shown below).
Once the ring is positioned, use a height gauge (or something similar) to find the height difference between the ring and the base plate focus.
For engraving inside the ring make sure to place the gauge arm inside.
If you're doing the outside of the ring, then place the arm on top of the ring.
For engraving inside the ring make sure to place the gauge arm inside. If your doing the outside of the ring, then place the arm on top of the ring.
Move the Laser Into Focus
Move the Z-stage by the distance the height gauge recorded so that the ring is in focus by entering into the Z text box: focus of base + height of ring. For example if the focus of the base is 244mm from your focus test and height of the ring is 181mm you may enter into the box: 244+181, instead of doing the math. Alternatively you can simply enter the sum. Entering the numbers separately makes it easier to change the latter number for rings of different sizes.
Enter RetinaEngrave v3’s designer page by inputting the machine's IP Address into the web browser or by scanning the QR code on the touch screen.
Placing and removing markers:
Use the camera capture button to better help with ring alignment. Press CTRL+left mouse click a point on the inside of the ring.
Clear the previous marker points if any by pressing the clear markers button.
Inside Ring:
Using the arrow keys, jog the red laser pointer so that it is positioned at the far left of the most bottom position of the inside of the ring.
Press the M keyboard shortcut key to set a reference marker here.
Jog the red pointer to the other side of the ring on the right and press the M key again to create a second marker point in the workspace (note that the view on RE3 will not be equivalent to that of the work area).
For individual using the UV Galvo, we recommend using painters tape or something similar to make the
Outside Ring:
Using the arrow keys, jog the red laser pointer so that it is positioned at the most top position of the outside of the ring.
Press the M keyboard shortcut key to set a reference marker here.
Jog the red pointer to the other side of the ring on the right and press the M key again to create a second marker point in the workspace (note that the view on RE3 will not be equivalent to that of the work area).
Once the reference markers are set up, turn on Rotary mode using the slider. Enter the Settings page by selecting the setting icon.
Select the Rotary tab. Then locate the Set Rotary Location and select the Set icon.
By selecting the Set Rotary Location button the two marker points will be used to create the engraving axis and the center of the two marker points will be mapped to the center of the workspace.
Return to RE3, you can now import or make the project you plan to engrave. After you are done designing ensure you rotate your work 90 degrees using the Orientation tools.
The laser will engrave the image from left to right, while it advances the rotary from top to bottom.
Note- If you end up uploading a vector image you will need to rasterize it within the software by selecting the following button under the vector fill and rasterize tab
Make sure to select your work object and press the “Center Middle '' for the vertical axis, followed by the “Center Middle” for the horizontal axis then it will be moved to the center of the workspace. Objects centered in the workspace will now be perfectly centered between the two marker points. If you want to move it off center, move your object slightly to the left or right to move it along the rotary engraving axis. For example, if you want to move it 1mm to the left, change the X position to -1mm. The Y position in the workspace doesn’t matter as it will always engrave from top to bottom advancing the rotary but the taller the object, the more it will wrap around.
Run a preview job to make sure your item is exactly centered on the ring then run the laser.
If your image doesn’t look correct then the most common problem is that you did not clear out the previous marker points before selecting the new ones. Note that you can only add the marker points with Rotary mode turned off.
Still having Issues?
Please create a Support Ticket by using the button below or sending an e-mail to support@fslaser.com stating you've done all previous troubleshooting steps.
- When submitting via an e-mail you may attach any pictures, videos and project files needed for support to see.
- When submitting a ticket using the button below please either respond to the automated generated email stating we have received the ticket with your pictures, videos and project files or upload these to a Google Drive or Dropbox folder and include this link within the support ticket "Your Issue" dialog upon creation.