Wood Laser Cutting & Engraving
Laser Processing Wood Products
Woods such as oak, birch, maple and basswood are easily laser cut and engraved with remarkable detail using Kern’s CO2 laser systems. Full sheets of wood can be placed on the processing bed and are held flat during processing with the help of a complete downdraft table system. When laser processing is completed, simply release the vacuum and the wood parts can be removed. A standard blower package also removes fumes and small debris. These are ducted out the back of the laser system to the outside of your facility or to a optional fume extraction unit.
Furniture, picture frames, cutting boards and wood inlays are just a few products that can be economically manufactured with Kern laser equipment. When cutting full sheets of wood the small beam kerf of the laser results in high yields and low material waste.
3D LASER ENGRAVING ON WOODEN SURFACES
Kern is well known in the laser industry for providing the most detailed 3D laser engraving system in the world! Kern’s 3D engraving technology has opened new avenues for artwork to be displayed on a variety of wood products.
THE PROCESS
Designing 3D images takes some time but the end results will be breathtaking. The key to 3D laser engraving is to understand the software you are working with. You need to be able to shade your drawing in gray to give the depth desired in your image. The grayscale artwork below previews what a laser ready 3D image should look like. Kern’s KCAM laser software is one of the very few on the market which will accept true 8-bit or 256 different colors of gray for resolution. That means there are 256 different power levels from black to white, which correlates to the 256 different levels of gray between black and white.
There are many brands of software on the market that will allow you to design in 8-bit grayscale. Some of them include: CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. More advanced software includes: ArtCAM and Cimigrafi. If time does not permit the learning of the drawing software programming, artists are available to develop your files at a reasonable charge.
The Gantry Co. is one such company that has been providing the finest 3D grayscale graphics to engravers since 1994. Check into the Partners Program which allows access to all 3D files available with substantial cost savings. For more information please visit www.gantryco.com.
THE KERN ADVANTAGE
Kern’s array feature in our KCAM software will allow you to duplicate the 3D image across the entire x-axis. The laser engraver will engrave all of the files at once and save you time. For example, a 3D image five inches wide can be arrayed so that ten 3D images are engraved on a single pass. Our high speed engraving systems offer a superior combination of speed, laser power and state-of-the-art software which makes them the machine of choice for 3D engraving applications.
THE RESULTS
If you would like to see Kern’s amazing 3D samples, please test your material today. Make sure to mention 3D engraving in the message text box.
WOOD INLAYS
Wood inlays are commonly laser cut in production of furniture, hardwood floor accents and skateboards. Contrasting colored woods are positioned in an alternating pattern to give the end product a decorative look.
URNS
Wood urns can be engraved with images and grayscale art to create a personalized product. The urn photographs below were supplied by The Davis Whitehall Co.
CUTTING BOARDS
Cutting boards and cheese trays can be cut and personalized with logos, text and photos.
CLOCKS
Laser cut and engraved clocks created with a Kern laser system.
COMMERCIAL SIGNAGE
Laser cut signs can be found just about everywhere, including schools, museums, commercial buildings and store fronts. Wood is a great substrate that allows for many different textures and sign arrangements to be displayed.
