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Sample Club: Laser Engraved & Cut Acrylic Inlay Photo Frame

Mirrored acrylic and wood join together to create one flashy photo frame - perfect for displaying your holiday memories year-round.

This sample club illustrates that adding just a simple piece of acrylic to a wooden frame creates a one-of-a-kind piece your customers will love!

Materials:

3'" x 5" and/or 4" x 6" wooden photo frames.
1/8" thick mirrored acrylic. Available from Acrylic Idea Factory, LaserBits, or your favorite acrylic provider


Files: Right click the file below and choose "Save target as." Open the file in CorelDraw 8 or later.
sc_inlay_frame_4x6.cdr	sc_4x6_frame_acrylic_cut.cdr	sc_inlay_frame_3x5.cdr	sc_3x5_frame_acrylic_cut.cdr

This project is fairly simple, consisting of only three steps. The first is to engrave the inlay area in the frame. Secondly, cut the acrylic inlay. And the final step is putting the two together. The result is a very contemporary and sophisticated-looking photo frame containing bright mirrored acrylics that pair nicely with the more traditional wood material.

Let's start with the frame first. Open the file that matches the size of your photo (3" x 5" or 4" x 6") and send it to the laser. Put the frame face up in the engraver and manually focus it.

Once you've focused the machine, you're ready for the first part of the project. Determine the speed and power settings for the job. We engraved the inlay portion using 20 percent speed and 100 percent power.

We'll be doing a relatively deep engraving to ensure the acrylic will fit, so make sure to select "Bottom-Up" engraving to reduce wood residue. Use rubbing alcohol to wipe away any remaining residue from the frame after it is done being cut and engraved.

You'll see the engraved area comes out relatively dark because we're running at a low speed and high power. This won't be a problem because the acrylic inlay will be applied and will cover the dark wood.

Photo frame after inlay area has been engraved

Now it's time to cut the acrylic. We want a smooth finished edge on our cuts, so we'll utilize the Vector Pin Table. Insert the table in the upper right corner of the machine and then place the acrylic mirror-side-down on top of the pins. Select your frame size and send the job to the laser. We used the following settings to cut our acrylic: 15/100/5000.

Pin Table placed inside machine

Acrylic sheet on top of Vector Pin Table

When you're done cutting the acrylic inlay, simply insert it in the engraved area of the frame. Use Gorilla Glue to adhere the acrylic to the frame if necessary. Wipe down the frame to removed any residue or finger prints and you're done. Insert your favorite picture and enjoy this colorful project!