Mother's Day Slate Coaster
Instruction
Many gifts can express your affection on Mother's Day. A slate coaster, both ornamental and functional, is one such option. Present your mother with a gift she can cherish all year long with her daily coffee. This simple project allows you to create a unique gift that can be personalized with your mother's name or a heartfelt message.
This project is pretty straightforward. We need to first get the included image of the design imported onto the canvas. Of course you can start with the included XCS file, but if you want to follow along step by step to learn this process, let's begin with importing.
It is simple to import files in XCS, just drag and drop the file onto the canvas. Next, select the file and click “edit image”. In the image editor, use the magic wand tool to click on the white background. This will remove it from the image, leaving the black elements of the design.
Click “save” in the image editor.
With the background removed, let's use the image trace tool to let XCS draw a vector around all elements of the design. This will make the engraving faster and more consistent. There isn't any need to adjust the settings on this design, but if you are working with your own design, you may need to work with the settings.
With the image trace complete, we can now drag the vector off of the original image and delete the image. let's also use the Height and Width properties to adjust the engraving so that it will fit on the coaster. I know my coaster is almost 4 inches by 4 inches. I like to give a little bit of padding around the engraving so, I'll resize it just under those measurements. If you want to add a name or a sentimental phrase, you may want to make the design even smaller to give some room for the text.
With the design resized, I also set the power to 80% and the speed to 80mm/s. These settings are for the D1 with a 5W laser, so you may need to adjust the settings for your laser model.
Slate coasters are pretty easy to engrave on, but I recommend creating a test grid to get the perfect settings for your material. Depending upon the power and speed, you can actually get different shades of color on the coaster.
To start the process, be sure you understand and follow all the safety guidelines to relate to your laser. Always wear personal protective equipment such as safety glasses when the laser is in operation.
I like to use center alignment when setting up to engrave on a coaster. It is handy to use the framing feature to ensure the engraving will be within surface area of the coaster.