In this post, we are going to be taking a look at the Zoom Precision Engraving Tool for the ScanNCut. This was kindly sent to us by its creators to try out and you will be able to see it in action in the video posted below.
Bear in mind, that we tested it only on the ScanNCut 2 but the creator tells me it works on all versions of the machine.
We also only tested this on aluminium blanks but this engraver can also engrave on copper, silver, metal clay, acrylic, plastic, glass, and leather.
The engraver comes with three tips and you also receive some aluminium blanks to play with, but you can also buy a number of other accessories for the Zoom Precision Engraver.
There is a precision tip, a regular tip, and a blunt tip. I personally only played with the regular tip since everything seemed to work out so nicely with it.
You use this tool like you would your blade holder. So you just remove the holder in your machine and replace it with the engraver.
I started by using the default settings on the machine and the result was okay but not great. It wasn’t until I played around a bit with the settings that I started to get much better results.
It also made a difference if I made multiple passes with the machine. In other words, I would leave the mat in the machine and get the machine to repeat the draw again.
For example, in the image below, the word ‘MAX’ was engraved using different settings for each as follows:
- Draw Speed 1 – Draw Pressure 4 – 1 Pass
- Draw Speed 1 – Draw Pressure 4 – 2 Passes
- Draw Speed 1 – Draw Pressure 4 – 3 Passes
- Draw Speed 1 – Draw Pressure 8 – 1 Pass
- Draw Speed 1 – Draw Pressure 8 – 2 Passes
- Draw Speed 1 – Draw Pressure 8 – 3 Passes
To get the fill to appear, I went to the Settings in the machine and enabled the Fill Pattern option and then changed the Fill Spacing to 0.039 and the Fill Direction to 0°.
Now it may be a little difficult to see the differences in the image, but there is a difference. (Note that you don’t get these large aluminum blanks with the engraver. We purchased these separately from our local Spotlight store here in Australia.)
Eventually, I got to the point where I only used the following settings for pretty much everything.
- Draw Speed – 1 or 2
- Draw Pressure – 9
When I did that, I stopped doing multiple passes because it didn’t really need it.
My favourite was when I used an SVG file that highlighted the FILL function. So instead of just creating an outline of a pattern, it would also add a fill.
You can get the SVG file we used at LoveSVG here. It’s one of their free svg files!
These are the settings we used to create this:
- Draw Speed – 1
- Draw Pressure – 9
- Fill Pattern
- Fill Pattern Size – lowest possible
- Pass – 1
Tips for Making it Work Smoothly
Apart from the settings noted above, here’s a few things to keep in mind to make this work smoothly for you.
- Use double-sided adhesive to ensure that the blank you are using sits securely on the mat.
- Make sure that you line up the blank on the dotted lines to ensure it is straight.
- Use the Scanning option to scan through the blank so that you can easily place your image/text on the blank correctly. Use the Zoom function in the machine to better help you do this.
- Always use the DRAW function when using this tool.
Where Can You Buy the Zoom Precision Engraving Tool?
Official Website Link:
Watch the video below for the full tutorial on how to use the Zoom Precision Engraving Tool
(Can’t see the video? You may have an ad blocker on.)
TONYA says
HELLO CAN THIS TOOL WE USED WITH THE CM650W? IF SO WHERE DO YOU GET THE TAGS?
Alanda Craft says
The creator of this tool tells me it will work for all ScanNCut machines but it is always a good idea to confirm with them first. They also sell the tags. So just head over to their website and contact them there. Here’s their website link: https://www.zoomprecision.com/
Lisa says
Hi Alanda,
I’m looking into the zoom engraving tool I was wondering if they do replacement parts I’m from the UK hope you can answer my question
From Lisa
Alanda Craft says
You will probably need to contact the manufacturers direct on this one Lisa. Here is the link to their contact page on their website: https://www.zoomprecision.com/contact
pauline boyd says
Hi I have purchased this tool and have engraved on metal, acrylic and plastic with great results.
I do the last 2 passes with the medium and blunt tip to get a smoother feel to the finish so it doesn’t feel rough to the touch.
Great product and would highly recommend
Alanda Craft says
Nice tip Pauline. I will have to give this a try because some of mine did come out a little rough.
Lynda says
OMG!! This may be a game changer. I’m hoping it will work with my 650! Thanks for the info!
Alanda Craft says
The creator of this tool says it works on all ScanNCut machines so it should work on yours.
Monica Bester says
Hi can it in engrave on plywood?
Alanda Craft says
We haven’t tried it ourselves and the plywood would have to be pretty thin to get through the ScanNCut machine. It’s probably something you will need to contact Zoom Precision about. They may have done some testing already to see if it works.
Woendi Lindersmith says
What is the maximum thinkness for the metal blanks? Thanks for sharing this information it was a great help
Alanda Craft says
Here is a link to the Brother site which tells you the maximum thickness for the machine – https://help.brother-usa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/129108/~/maximum-thickness-that-can-be-cut
Jo Ann Melton says
I would like to use this for engraving on leatherette for patches . The fill in designs. Do you think this will work? I just purchased the Zoom tool and have not used it yet. Your tutorial is the reason I purchased it. Very informative thanks for sharing. I have one of the first Scan and Cut machine that works wonderfully. Thank you
Alanda Craft says
I’m really not sure if this will work with leatherette Jo Ann. It is designed to work with metal, which it does very well. We haven’t tried using it on anything other than metal. Maybe if you contact the company they will be able to give a definitive answer. Here is a link to their home page.https://www.zoomprecision.com/. We still have our very first ScanNcut and it still works great. We’ve had a lot of fun using our ScanNCut machines over the years.