This was my first year engraving with lasers and I was wanting everything I gave for the holidays to be something made with my machines. I was trying to figure a unique and fun gift to give people for Christmas this year and came up with this. It became very popular and people loved it so much that it was a hot item and I could not keep them in stock. I finished my last one on Christmas Eve. It does require a little work outside of lasering but the end result was well worth it! Due to the number of tumblers done this holiday season, I have a data base of over 70 names with origins, variations, meanings and fun facts. I will be expanding this data base constantly and hope to be able to just copy paste as time goes on.
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Step 1: Research
I used multiple websites to research names. Places like Ancestory.com, Behindthename.com, and Names.org were great tools. But often I just did general wiki searches on the names.
There were some names that were completely and utterly unique. But if you do enough research, you can find meanings behind any name! Sometimes I had to take apart a name to find meanings and facts but it was fun to do.
Step 2: Rotary Setup
Setting 1
Process Method
Vector Laser Engrave
Process Material
Tumbler
Power(%) or Cut Pressure(g)
100
Speed(mm/s)
250
Set up your Rotary tool in the F1. While I do have a D1 Pro, I do all my tumblers on the F1. I just find it easier and plus I don't have to adjust my D1 from my larger projects.
Make sure to select “Laser Cylindrical” in the mode you will use.
Be sure to line up appropriately along the lines on the base plate of the machine.
Also be sure to set whether you use a chuck or rollers. I used the Chuck.
Make sure to measure the outside perimeter of the tumbler and enter this number in to ensure an accurate engrave.
Place your tumbler in the rotary and ensure it is level.
Check that your rotary is aligned to the appropriate lines on the base plate again. Often the tool shifts when you put the tumbler in.
Step 3: File Setup
Set up your file as shown in the picture.
I always set a border with the measurement of my tumbler. I set this to ignore so it will not be engraved. It gives me a boundry to esure all my egraving will fall within the tumbler size.
Note that in the picture, the meaning of the name falls outside of the white area (the area that is set to engrave). I set this part to ignore as well. It will be added later.
Enter the name in your font choice. Be sure it falls in the white area.
Enter your variations and origins. Again, be sure it falls in the white area.
Go ahead and enter the meaning of the name. While this will currently fall outside of the white area, being that it is set to ignore, it will not engrave at this time.
Finally enter your fun facts. It is easier to type this up in a separate program (I use Libre office) and then copy and paste it into XCS. I try to go ahead and figure where each sentence should carry to the next line and go ahead and break it up in the word program. For example, instead of just typing “This is thought to have contributed to its widespread popularity across the world.” I would hit enter after “its” to create two separate lines. This made it easier to center and create a pleasing look on the tumbler.
Step 4: First engrave
Setting 1
Process Method
Vector Laser Engrave
Process Material
Tumbler
Power(%) or Cut Pressure(g)
100
Speed(mm/s)
250
Lines per cm
300
Pass
1
Other Parameters
Blue Light
Select the content in the white area and then select engrave. Be sure that you have “Blue Light” selected and then set your power to 100, speed to 250 and LPI to 300.
Run framing and note the line on your tumbler as it frames. Be sure you have a bit of room left that is not egraved at the bottom of the tumbler. This will be use later for the name meaning. If done with the program supplied, and if you have a 20 to 22 oz skinny tumbler, this should be already set correctly.
Depending on how much content you have included, this can take up to 30 minutes to engrave. While this seems a long time, it is worth it. If you are wanting to decrease the time, you can change the LPI to a lower amount but I found the edges of the letters (especially the smaller letters) to be sharper and clearer with a higher LPI.
IMPORTANT!! ONCE COMPLETE, DO NOT MOVE YOUR TUMBLER YET!! DO NOT EVEN ROTATE IT BY HAND!!
If you feel the need to check your work prior to the next step, run a frame again and see what is engraved but do not adjust your tumbler at all.
Step 5: Second engrave
Setting 1
Process Method
Vector Laser Engrave
Process Material
Tumbler
Power(%) or Cut Pressure(g)
100
Speed(mm/s)
250
Lines per cm
300
Pass
1
Other Parameters
IR mode
This is what I call a clean up. Most people state you can just clean the residue using certain chemicals and such, but I learned this trick from a video I saw online and it works great although it does double your engrave time.
Without moving your tumbler, highlight your content you were engraving and change the “Blue Light” to “IR”. Keep the same settings for power, speed and LPI.
Run the engrave again. This will clean up your engrave to reveal the metal beneath.
Once this step is complete, run a framing to check that all the letters are cleaned. I have found that on blue and purple tumblers, I may need to run a 2nd clean engrave with “IR” to clean it a bit more. I have never had to run a 3rd clean. (However, it should be noted that while I say never, some blues and purples have a haze that may need another clean if you want, or at this point, clean with your chemical of choice.)
Step 6: Engraving the Meaning
At this point, once I am happy with the engraving of the main body, I will then move the Rotary tool to bring the bottom of the tumbler further into the laser. This will move the top part of the tumbler outside of the laser area.
Then I will select everything I had already engraved in XCS and set it to ignore.
I will then select everything, meaning of the name included, and drag it to the right. (See the picture) This will put some of what we already engraved outside of the white but bring the meaning of the name into the engraving area.
Select just the meaning of the name and change it from “Ignore” to “Output”.
VERY IMPORTANT! Since you have moved your rotary tool, be sure that it is re aligned to the same lines on the base plate from step 2.
Run a framing to ensure the placement on your tumbler. Adjust it if needed so that it falls under what you already engraved. I like to center the meaning under the name.
Once you have it set to where it will not overlap what you have already engraved, run it with a “Blue Light” engrave at the same settings you used in Step 4. This usually just takes a few minutes.
DO NOT MOVE THE TUMBLER!! If you need to review your engraving, run a framing to check it.
Do a clean up with the “IR” engrave at the same settings from Step 5. Remember, if nescesary, you can run a second “IR” engrave to do further clean up.
Step 7: Final Cleaning
After you are satisfied with the engrave, gently remove the tumbler from the rotary device. Using a baby wipe, clean the tumbler from top to bottom.
Step 8: GIVE IT!
The best part about this was the uniqueness of the tumbler. Everyone that I personally gave one to was enthralled and genuinely surprised by it. Often people do not realize what history is behind their name or what it means. People talked about things that were included in the fun facts that they were not aware of and it was a huge success since it generated so much talk about themselves.
I used multiple websites to research names. Places like Ancestory.com, Behindthename.com, and Names.org were great tools. But often I just did general wiki searches on the names.
There were some names that were completely and utterly unique. But if you do enough research, you can find meanings behind any name! Sometimes I had to take apart a name to find meanings and facts but it was fun to do.
Set up your Rotary tool in the F1. While I do have a D1 Pro, I do all my tumblers on the F1. I just find it easier and plus I don't have to adjust my D1 from my larger projects.
Make sure to select “Laser Cylindrical” in the mode you will use.
Be sure to line up appropriately along the lines on the base plate of the machine.
Also be sure to set whether you use a chuck or rollers. I used the Chuck.
Make sure to measure the outside perimeter of the tumbler and enter this number in to ensure an accurate engrave.
Place your tumbler in the rotary and ensure it is level.
Check that your rotary is aligned to the appropriate lines on the base plate again. Often the tool shifts when you put the tumbler in.
Set up your file as shown in the picture.
Select the content in the white area and then select engrave. Be sure that you have “Blue Light” selected and then set your power to 100, speed to 250 and LPI to 300.
Run framing and note the line on your tumbler as it frames. Be sure you have a bit of room left that is not egraved at the bottom of the tumbler. This will be use later for the name meaning. If done with the program supplied, and if you have a 20 to 22 oz skinny tumbler, this should be already set correctly.
Depending on how much content you have included, this can take up to 30 minutes to engrave. While this seems a long time, it is worth it. If you are wanting to decrease the time, you can change the LPI to a lower amount but I found the edges of the letters (especially the smaller letters) to be sharper and clearer with a higher LPI.
IMPORTANT!! ONCE COMPLETE, DO NOT MOVE YOUR TUMBLER YET!! DO NOT EVEN ROTATE IT BY HAND!!
If you feel the need to check your work prior to the next step, run a frame again and see what is engraved but do not adjust your tumbler at all.
This is what I call a clean up. Most people state you can just clean the residue using certain chemicals and such, but I learned this trick from a video I saw online and it works great although it does double your engrave time.
Without moving your tumbler, highlight your content you were engraving and change the “Blue Light” to “IR”. Keep the same settings for power, speed and LPI.
Run the engrave again. This will clean up your engrave to reveal the metal beneath.
Once this step is complete, run a framing to check that all the letters are cleaned. I have found that on blue and purple tumblers, I may need to run a 2nd clean engrave with “IR” to clean it a bit more. I have never had to run a 3rd clean. (However, it should be noted that while I say never, some blues and purples have a haze that may need another clean if you want, or at this point, clean with your chemical of choice.)
At this point, once I am happy with the engraving of the main body, I will then move the Rotary tool to bring the bottom of the tumbler further into the laser. This will move the top part of the tumbler outside of the laser area.
Then I will select everything I had already engraved in XCS and set it to ignore.
I will then select everything, meaning of the name included, and drag it to the right. (See the picture) This will put some of what we already engraved outside of the white but bring the meaning of the name into the engraving area.
Select just the meaning of the name and change it from “Ignore” to “Output”.
VERY IMPORTANT! Since you have moved your rotary tool, be sure that it is re aligned to the same lines on the base plate from step 2.
Run a framing to ensure the placement on your tumbler. Adjust it if needed so that it falls under what you already engraved. I like to center the meaning under the name.
Once you have it set to where it will not overlap what you have already engraved, run it with a “Blue Light” engrave at the same settings you used in Step 4. This usually just takes a few minutes.
DO NOT MOVE THE TUMBLER!! If you need to review your engraving, run a framing to check it.
Do a clean up with the “IR” engrave at the same settings from Step 5. Remember, if nescesary, you can run a second “IR” engrave to do further clean up.
After you are satisfied with the engrave, gently remove the tumbler from the rotary device. Using a baby wipe, clean the tumbler from top to bottom.
The best part about this was the uniqueness of the tumbler. Everyone that I personally gave one to was enthralled and genuinely surprised by it. Often people do not realize what history is behind their name or what it means. People talked about things that were included in the fun facts that they were not aware of and it was a huge success since it generated so much talk about themselves.