Question: Engraving machine principles

[Bluefish]

Hello folk, I’m new to this craft and trying to wrap my head around the how the machine and hand pieces work. It’s my understanding that they work on a pressure/vacuum principle, pressure pushes an anvil in the hand piece and hits the back of the bit holding device. Then a vacuum pulls the anvil back then the cycle starts again. The pressure differential between the two is how hard it hits and the speed is how fast it cycles. If my thinking is not correct or if there is another type of system out there I would like to learn about it. Links to past posts or links on different machines on the web are fine.

Thanks. I’m sure this is just the beginning of many questions in this field.

 

[monk]

not sure about all the systems, but you seem to have a fair grip on the situation. i have a gravermeister and also a lindsay. the grs handpiece has a spring in it. the lindsay has no spring. both systems are highly reliable, as well as very responsive to the input--- foot pedal or palm control. welcome to the forum. you'll find yer best tool is a pencil and notepad. it's my opinion, as well as that of many others, learning the design principles and putting them on paper will be the most important of all the disciplines one must master.

 

[tdelewis]

You might want to look at the new PulseGraver. It is sold on Tira Mitchell Engraver. Her Ad appears at the top of the page sometimes. I don't know anything about them as they are very new. They are electric only, no compressor which eliminates the need for one. I'm sure there must be a video on the web demonstrating them. Since you posted this I going to make an effort to find out more about them.

 

[tdelewis]

If someone out there has used the PulseGraver would you give us some info.

 

[allan621]

There was a time when engravers were arguing about which system is best but over time its been shown that all work well when you are familiar with using them. So the arguments have pretty much died away, at least on the forum.

But for clarification ( and I hope I get this right), the GRS system uses the anvil and spring. The GRS pressure box breaks the air flow into distinct shots of air, the air pushes the anvil compressing the spring until the spring releases the pressure by pushing the anvil back into the starting position, where the next burst of air pushes the anvil back into the spring, The amount of distinct bursts of air the GRS system can create is amazing. I have heard the spring may need to be replaced but it probably takes a very long while and is probably very easy to do. Which makes it no big deal.

I have the Lindsay system which uses a steel piston to move the chamber back and forth. . Kind of hard to wear out a piston. Now I have worn out a part of a Lindsay tool. It took over twenty years to do that and I use it constantly, over 45 hours of engraving a week, 50 weeks a year. On the one hand I had to send it to Steve for a week to be upgraded. On the other hand he charged me less than a hundred dollars for bringing the tool back to new condition. Plus you get to deal with the Lindsay family.

The third system is from Engraving Arts and was created by Chris Di Camillas. Unlike the first two, which uses an air compressor, this is run by electricity. Kind of clever. Haven't heard much about other engravers using it for full time engraving but Engraving Arts is an upright company and Chris is to be respected. Even though I'm going to be retiring in a year or so, I still plan on driving to Engraving Arts, which is only a 2.5 hours from here and try it out. No point in me planning to buy it but I am curious.

All three are solid companies. What is to be avoided are look a likes, knock offs, counterfeits and crazy cheap prices. Not worth it. At all.

And Monk is absolutely positively right. The first step is knowing how to draw what you will be engraving. Paper and pencil and start sketching.

Allan

 

[dogcatcher]

The Pulsegraver is controlled by a Hiland pulse board. The graver handle uses the power of a magnet being activated and deactivated by the Hiland pulse board creating a hammer effect by a piston.

 

[Memorymaker]

The Pulsegraver is controlled by a Hiland pulse board. The graver handle uses the power of a magnet being activated and deactivated by the Hiland pulse board creating a hammer effect by a piston.

Also, the handpiece has a round piece on the top that controls the distance the piston travels. The Pulse Graver has a bunch of adjustable preset buttons that you can set to exactly to how you like to engrave for different purposes.

I have all of the Lindsay systems except the cheapest one, 2 GRS Gravermach AT’s and a bunch of their handpieces and a Pulsegraver. I am and will always be a rank beginner since I don’t engrave that much and only occasionally on practice plates. However, so Far I like the Pulsegraver the best followed by the GRS and then the Lindsays. They all have their advantages and purposes though.

This is just personal preference at this time. I like the Pulsegrave’s exacting settings and the presets That make precisely duplicating specific cuts days later. I like the Lindsay’s when you want to engrave in the field since you can use just paintball tanks. I like the GRS because of the settings and the different handpieces. I also like it because you can use the air tact for palm control and rotary handpieces in the same unit.

You can’t go wrong with any of the 3 because of the quality of each.