3 More Cool Projects With Your Creality Falcon A1 Laser Engraver!

And hello again, this is Mike. And again in this episode, we're going to be looking at the new Creality Falcon A1 laser engraver, and some of the fun projects you can do with this. In the previous video, we worked on making control panels for the layout. In this episode, we're going to do three new projects, two specifically for the layout, and one just for fun. And we're going to show some features of the Falcon A1 that we didn't get to in the first episode. If you missed that first episode, check out the link right over here to go back to that one. Otherwise, stay tuned and let's check out three new cool projects for the Creality Falcon A1. Now Creality describes the Falcon A1 as the first laser in your life, and I say absolutely. If you are looking to get your feet wet in laser engraving, but you still want a fully functioning machine that's large enough and powerful enough to do loads of projects, this is a good place to start. How easy is it to use? Well, my high school age son has been running it like crazy, making signs to sell to his friends and his teachers at school, a little side gig. And Creality is a well-known and well-respected brand among makers, not only for their quality laser engravers, but also for 3D printers like my Ender 3 V3 SE that I featured previously on the channel, also 3D scanners, and other products that are made for the maker community. And supplies and accessories for all of these can be found at the Creality webpage. Okay, the first of my easy projects with the Falcon A1 is I'm going to take this inexpensive MPC era all-plastic flat car and I'm going to detail it by putting a wood deck on it. Now I know folks often take balsa and then they scribe their lines and do a similar project, but rather than sitting there with a straight edge and scribing all of those lines, I don't think my hand would like that very much. So instead, I'm going to have the laser do the hard work. So I could go into a graphics program and make the design with all of the lines, but why reinvent the wheel when I already have on my hard drive a file to make a loading dock for my 3D printer? So rather than starting fresh, I simply took that diagram, threw it into Tinkercad, took a screenshot of it, resized it here in the Falcon Design Space software to the proper measurements for my flat car, and burned it. And a little while later, here are the results. I've got it. It's a perfect match right there, and I hope you see, I hope you can see that. And so now we have my scribed wood, and so I think anyway, that that looks a lot better than the original bare plastic. So to put this on there, I'm just going to use just a dab of rubber cement to hold it on there. One, it'll hold it in place. Two, if I ever change my mind, I can scrape the rubber cement off. Elmer's would probably do the trick as well. So that is quick and easy layout project number one, using my Falcon A1 laser engraver. Project number two is somewhat of a necessity for me right now. As many of you know, I've been working on phase two of my model railroad, and that means I'm laying more track. And since I like to spruce up my track and make it look more realistic, that means I'm going to need a lot more extra ties. Now with ties, there are several options. There are some commercially available I found on eBay last time, or you can take 3 16th inch strips of balsa and cut them down from Hobby Lobby, which I've done in the past, but that can get expensive. Or starting with some 3 16th inch plywood, I actually got a two by four at Lennard's, and I cut it into four 12 by 12 squares. I could also order from the Creality store or other online sources, but I was in a crush for time. If you do order from the Creality store, remember all the materials come with a special QR code that can be recognized by the camera on the Falcon A1, and all of your burn settings are automatically entered into the DesignSpace software. With this, I had to do a little bit of figuring and some test runs in order to get it just right. I went into DesignSpace and used the shape tool to make a rectangle to match the dimensions of an 027 track tie and set it to line engrave. Then I used the array tool. I selected grid array and filled in rows and columns of track ties until I filled the work area. By the way, you could do this with any design or image. Need a bunch of laser cut windows or doors? Design one and then use the array tool. I adjusted the power settings until I had the laser strong enough and slow enough to cut out the individual ties from the plywood. And after using that cool array tool, letting it burn for a few hours, what came out was lots and lots of new railroad ties. I just need to add some brown paint to them. I will add some brown tempera craft paint, just like I do with my other ties, and we're ready to go. And I have the pattern saved. If I ever need more, just throw in another sheet and let them burn. It's a quicker and more economical solution to my track problem. So now that I made a couple of projects specifically for the railroad, now I'm going to do something that's a little more fun. You know, after a long day of working on the layout, you know, you get hot and thirsty and what better way to enjoy your refreshing beverage than with a customized tumbler. And for that, I'm going to use the Falcon's rotary kit, which attaches to the laser engraver and can engrave on round objects such as this tumbler. Now there are several different Falcon A1 packages available, some with the rotary kit and some without, but it is a separate option for those that do not have it. To prepare your Falcon A1 for using the rotary kit, there are two things you must do first. One is the bottom plate of the Falcon A1 must be removed. There are four, one, two, three, four hex screws that hold the plate to the outside case. Check the different Allen wrenches that came in your Falcon A1 package or the rotary kit to find the right size. One of them will fit. Then in order to accommodate the height of the rotary kit and your engraving, you will need to elevate the Falcon A1 and you can use the included legs that come with the kit to accomplish this. They simply screw on where the original feet were. Note that this also elevates the safety shield of the Falcon A1 up, leaving a gap at the bottom. If for any reason or any circumstances anyone would be looking underneath this guide towards the laser, be sure to use the included safety glasses that come with your kit to protect your eyes. Make sure the rotary tool is parallel to the laser's x-axis to make sure your design is straight. The rotary tool includes an adjustable claw that can mount either inside or outside the object, plus some rods for support of unusually shaped objects. It also includes a special cord that attaches both to the tool and to the right side of the Falcon A1. Before putting the tumbler or other object on the tool, measure either the perimeter or the diameter of the object or both and record the measurement in millimeters. Tighten the end screw, then adjust the chuck of the claw to get a good fit on the tumbler. Then slide the support on the other end and clamp it in place. Lastly, loosen the end screw so that the tumbler can be rotated by hand and align the arrow so that it is pointing to the screw. In the Falcon design space, change the settings from plate engraving to rotary engraving and select your rotary tool. Also on the right side of the screen, be sure to enter the dimensions of your object that you previously measured. Enter either the perimeter or the diameter and the software will calculate the rest for you. Select your image and position it where you like. Just as before, frame the image and check positioning and start. My tumbler is made of anodized aluminum, so I selected aluminum business card in the material settings. You cannot directly engrave on transparent items or on mirror-like surfaces such as untreated aluminum or stainless steel. However, there are some aftermarket products available that will properly coat these objects and create a visible reaction with the laser. For more information about the Creality Falcon A1 or to make a purchase, check out the links in the video description down below. And there you have it, three new project ideas for the Creality Falcon A1. And this is just a sampling of the many many projects that you can do with this powerful but easy to use laser engraver. So whether you're working on the layout, sprucing up your rolling stock, or you just want a cool mug to drink from, give it a try. Meanwhile, I'm going to go back to keeping the trains running, and we'll catch you next time with more toy train tips and tricks.