Batch Engraving: Customize Multiple Tumblers at Once
High-Throughput Multi-Tumbler Engraving
In high-volume laser production, time is your most expensive commodity. While a rotary attachment is the gold standard for full-wrap designs, it can be a significant bottleneck for small-to-medium logos.
By utilizing a 4-inch lens and a custom jig, you can engrave an entire tray of tumblers in a single pass. Here is the step-by-step workflow to “juice” your production speed.
Step 1: Hardware Setup
The standard 2-inch lens found in most laser systems is designed for a tight focal spot and a narrow depth of field. This works perfectly for flat materials, but has limitations on curved surfaces as the beam quickly goes out of focus.
Why the 4-inch lens is different:
The 4-inch lens provides a much longer focal range. This increased depth of field allows the laser to maintain a crisp, consistent mark even as the tumbler’s surface curves away from the beam. This is what makes “flat” engraving on a cylinder possible.
The first step of this method is to swap your standard 2 inch lens for a 4 inch lens.
Step 2: Create a Jig
In your design software , create a workspace that matches your laser’s bed size (e.g., 24″ x 12″). Measure your tumblers and draw rectangles that will represent the positions of the tumblers in your physical jig. Once you have the spacing dialed, vector cut the rectangles that will hold your tumblers out of a material like task board or acrylic.
Step 3: Place Tumblers into the Jig
Place your tumblers into the jig slots. Ensure they are seated firmly and are level across the horizontal plane. Once they are loaded, use the 4 inch manual focus gauge to set the focal point just below the highest point of the tumblers.
Step 4: Graphic Software Preparation
The goal here is to align your digital workspace with the physical jig. Using the file you used to cut out your jig, align the logos as desired on each tumbler.
Constraint Check: Ensure no logo is wider than 2.75 inches. Because the tumblers are stationary, you are limited by physics. If the graphic is too wide, it will eventually lose focus or appear stretched at the edges.
The Golden Rule: Keep your graphics to 2.75 inches (70 mm) or smaller in width.
Application: This is perfect for corporate logos, monograms, or serial numbers.
Step 5: Use “Selection Only” Printing
In your design software, select the logos intended for that batch. Print using “Selection Only” so that the vector lines for the grid do not come through. Alternatively you can remove the vector lines from your design file before printing. Send the job to the Epilog Laser Dashboard and configure your settings. On a 100W Fusion Pro we used the following settings for tumbler engraving:
Settings
Resolution 600 DPI
Speed 40%
Power 100%
Step 6: Run the Laser
Once your job is on the laser, hit go and watch your machine fly through a whole table of tumblers.
This method using a jig allows you to engrave multiple tumblers at once on your Epilog Laser. This works well if the size of the graphic is limited to less than 2.75 inches (70 mm) or smaller in width. For full-wrap designs or larger logos, the Rotary Attachment is still the recommended tool.
A jig is the best way to ensure consistency and speed. You can easily laser-cut a simple jig out of task board or acrylic that holds the tumblers in a fixed, repeatable position. This allows you to use the “Selection Only” printing feature to process an entire bed of tumblers in a single job without manually aligning each one.
The standard 2-inch lens has a relatively narrow depth of field, meaning the laser goes out of focus quickly as the surface of the tumbler curves away. The optional 4-inch lens provides a much larger focal range (depth of field). This allows the laser to maintain a crisp mark further around the curvature of the cylinder, making it possible to engrave “flat” on a stationary tumbler.
