Problem- corian for lithopane?

[Claude Boudreau]

I have read using translucent corian for lithopane. Is it the same corian used for countertop?
I doubt light can go through this, no matter how thin it is.
Or is it some other kind of material , My countertop corian look like granite.
What else can you use for lithopane material?

[ger21]

Yes, it's the same Corian. Corian is basically just plastic, and when thin enough, light goes through it just fine.

I've seen lithopanes cut from white acrylic.

[Claude Boudreau]

Originally Posted by ger21 Yes, it's the same Corian. Corian is basically just plastic, and when thin enough, light goes through it just fine. I've seen lithopanes cut from white acrylic.

How thick would you need to be,would you say?

I have tried white acrylic with a 60deg. V-cutter 15000rpm and 25ipm. it does melt and make a mess. There is no information on the .25 inch sheet so I think it must be extruded. I will try cast with ball mill next time. My home made router is at its highest speed and my router at its lowest .

[ger21]

Never done one, but I think they start at around 1/4"

[Caprirs]

I get my Corian from local countertop contractors/installation shops and have also gotten some from Ebay. Everytime they have to cut out the counter for a sink, they have this nice big chunk they would normally just throw away. I help them find a place to dispose of it. Only pure solid colors work for lithos, nothing with those faux "inclusions".

The Corian for counters is typically 1/2" thick. The lithopanes give the best results when the thinnest section (deepest cut, most light passes through) leaves only ~1mm of material and the thickest section (shallowest cut, least light passes through) is ~4mm. Before running the litho program, I machine the Corian down to 1/4" thick so the roughing pass has less material to dig through.

[lovebugjunkie]

Claude

The acrylic has to be cast. IMO you will get “good” results but not near the quality if you use pure white/bone corian.

Have not done one using a ball nose in cast acrylic but I did one with a 60deg v bit and it was ok but not as nice as doing it in corian.

[Claude Boudreau]

Originally Posted by lovebugjunkie Claude The acrylic has to be cast. IMO you will get “good” results but not near the quality if you use pure white/bone corian. Have not done one using a ball nose in cast acrylic but I did one with a 60deg v bit and it was ok but not as nice as doing it in corian.

Produced my first lithopane today! Use a piece of green Acrylite GP (Cast)
1/4 inch ball mill .03 overlap 12000rpm 25 in/min. I was a bit disapointed at the result at first look, as it did not seem to have the definition I was looking for, but to my amazement the picture was quite stunning when I place it in a sunny window.I cant wait to get my hand on white cast acrylic and corian.
What stepover do you use with 60 deg. V-bit?

[lovebugjunkie]

Sorry, I was in error. The v-bit and settings I used on the last one was 30 deg v-bit with setting of 4% Line Spacing in PhotoVcarve which is .009 step over.

Search on userid “calgrdnr” and “BSImages” on the Vectric and this forum, they have done some outstanding lithopanes, some of the best I have seen. Both also give good info on their procedure.