Old machine, new method - laser cutting gaskets

Hi Guys,
I'm working on the JD H. I have access to a laser cutter and I want to try making cork gaskets with that.
Is it possible to get digital files of the gasket shapes?

I can photo capture and duplicate, but precision is lacking.
I'm trying a basic CAD program (TinkerCad) but it's very slow going. I'm not an engineer.

Any suggestions?

I'd think a photo capture would be about as accurate as you could get. About 20 years ago I had the
exact same situation but was a rubberized paper gasket material. The part that took the longest was
getting information from the gasket material maker that the material would not catch fire and smoke and
foul up the lenses of the laser. Once we had that I had my ten new perfect gaskets the next day. I had
a round pipe flange gasket, with 6 smaller holes that just touched the outside edge of the OD, but did
not break through. Any kind of punch or hard tool pulled or moved the gasket material and ruined the
gaskets. A waterjet was going to be my last resort, but still has tool pressure. The QA inspector came
up to my cubical and congratulated me on buying a perfect example of an almost impossible to make part.

I would caution you on lasering cork, it's a decayed tree bark, possibly flammable, and brittle. Plus
it's a TERRIBLE gasket material. Bend it slightly and it breaks. A cork filled rubber composite is a
good gasket material.

I absolutely hated the cork valve cover gaskets on my small block Chevy in my first car. Oil pan
gasket was a leaker too.

Check with the owner of the machine, it will expect an import format and convert that to the correct commands for the laser.

A high contrast image taken very perpendicular to the surface to be gasketed is perfect. A program like Corel Draw, or Adobe Illustrator can be used to digitize the profile and export a DXF
file, or a STL file. most Laser engravers and cutters will make the gaskets. SCSU has 4 Laser engravers and they can cut through 1/4" plexiglass easily. We were making Virus Shield head
clips in our 3D printers, and cutting the clear plastic shields with the lasers. It is not a good way to make them due to the material costs, but in the beginning and until mid July, they
were in demand. We may have made 4000 devices with the generous donation of materials from Stratisis Corporation. Jim

If the gasket you are copying will fit on a flat bed scanner that is a good way to get fairly accurate pictures that you can turn into an STL or DXF.

If you soak the cork in warm water for an overnight or room temperature water it will be much more pliable to use.

Thanks DR. EVIL
I tried it once but couldn't get it cut all the way through. And the capture camera wasn't precise.
I'm re-tracing my lines thinner and darker to hopefully get a better sample.
The cork is only 1/16" thick.

Thanks Janicholson
Do you have any suggestions for file conversion programs?
I can scan as tiff or jpg. How to convert this to .stl (for cad) or .svg (for the laser)?

What are you using to cut? Glowforge?

Thanks FarmingEngineer
I thought of scanning, but don't want to risk a scaling or size problem. The scanner I use will enlarge everything.

BarnyardEngineering-
a Dremel digilab LC40

Both Corel Draw, and Adobe Illustrator can take in images, scale them if needed, and export them as STL/DFX files. Watch some YouTube videos on it. Jim

OnShape is a free CAD software. I have alot
of luck with it for my students on the
robotics team. With nnalert, I had to move
to it for my CAD classes so that students
can use it anywhere. You dont have to have
a powerful computer as it is cloud based
and like google documents you can have
multiple people collaborating at the same
time.