Questions Concerning Laser Engraving

[tsterling]

Hi All, I’ve got some questions concerning laser engraving. Yes, I know it isn’t going to be as nice as hand engraving. But, I have this vision of being able to create multiples of dogtags (to capitalize on the current EDC movement) with deeply laser-cut graphics. From years of participating in art galleries with my one-off originals, I’ve envied the flat artists who could paint one painting and send their kids to college by selling multiple prints.

So, I have lots of questions. My vision is as follows: Get a moderately large number (maybe several hundred - depends on multiples price breaks, of course) of dogtag shapes cut (water jet?), then have small runs of those laser engraved with my graphics, repeating the popular graphic designs, with smaller numbers to get rid of (or eat…) for my less successful designs.


I’m not talking about scrolls - I’m currently thinking about steampunk designs something like my Steampunk Viperfish knife (above, but not sculpted and excluding the copper and gold inlays).

Seems simple in concept. But, I have no idea of the capabilities of laser engraving machines. Asking around locally, all of the laser engraving here is only done on thin anodized aluminum, and I’m wanting fairly thick (1/16 to 1/8 inch) dogtags of copper, bronze and/or titanium.

So - First set of questions: I know there are laser engravers that cut designs on gun steel. Are there companies who can laser-cut depths similar to background removal like I do by hand engraving? Who are they, any recommendations? Do any of you laser engrave and are looking for work? Ball park pricing for 75% coverage of a dogtag sized graphic for maybe 10 or 25 at a time? Can they laser engrave copper, bronze and titanium (I’m not interested in decals or plastic-laser-stuck-on stuff)? Preferred computer format for graphics? What do I need to know about the computer graphics end of this process (I’m pretty good with computer graphics/Photoshop/Illustrator)?

More questions: Is water jet a good option for the dogtag blanks? How much hand finishing will be left from that? Are there better options other than water jet? Ballpark pricing? Recommended companies?

Any other things my tiny brain hasn’t thought of? Anybody have good war stories of similar attempts? Am I nuts to be thinking of trying this?

Thanks,

Tom Sterling

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

Is water jet a good option for the dogtag blanks? How much hand finishing will be left from that? Are there better options other than water jet?

I use a local company to cut out parts from 1/8 inch aluminum sheet with laser. I'm told they can cut as thick as 3/4 inch in aluminum, stainless steel, and mild steel. They leave tiny pieces un-cut and I have to wiggle them back and forth to break them free of the "webbing". So, there is a little bit of finishing needed with a vertical belt sander. If you are doing dog tags, I would suggest you tumble finish your tags with 600 mesh plastic triangles and burnishing solution with a vibratory tumbler. Then finish with mirror finish steel shot. You will have brightly polished parts with minimal hand work.

 

[Ed Westerly]

The latest "Guns of the Old West" magazine has an article on deep laser engraving that Pietta is doing on some of their guns. Doubt that they would share their tech with you, but the future of mass produced, "factory" engraving may be staring us in the old eyeball!

 

[Christian DeCamillis]

You should look at getting an artesa. You could engrave and even cut out the shapes. Here area a couple videos . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URXDFeX1Bwo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PrUvFCtQwA The inventor Leonardo is on this forum.

 

[tsterling]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Doc, thanks to what you said, I was able to successfully search for laser cutting services fairly nearby. So, half the answer is there - thanks for the info.

Bruce, thanks for the steer. I have to agree with you that we may be looking at part of the future of engraving.

Chris, I'm curious as to how the Artesa handles background removal, but I'd prefer to hire the service, not buy another expensive machine. But, thanks for the lead - I really appreciate the information. The videos are interesting as well.

I'm surprised there's nobody on this forum who has knowledge about laser engraving? Maybe you'd prefer to keep your responses private? If so, here's an email you can reach me at: tomtalk(you know what goes here)comcast.net. Sorry for the anti-spam measure...(you know what goes here) = the @ symbol.

Thanks,

Tom Sterling

 

[monk]

i've been using a laser for about 10 years. 99.9% of what this machine does is just "quick money work". i do batch work on this machine, when such is called for. i don't consider most of this as being artistic. if a client has 40 or 50 knives to use as "giveaways", that's when i really like the laser. i consider it as a "fun toy", that gives a cash reward. i think you should contact laser manufacturers to see what their individual machines can do. any laser that can do deep work in metal, requires a lot of power. in the case of the laser tube-- the more power it puts out, the more it's gonna cost you. to be totally profitable in the long haul, you'd likely have to buy your own machine. doing so would require you to do tons of work, just to break even on the deal. mine is a 30 watt unit. cost me 25 grand. took me 4 years to get to zero. the power requirement for what you seek may be in hundreds of watts for deep work. for actual parts cutting-- i'm just guessing-- maybe 1,000 watts of power . another possible consideration is where you would use your machine-- in residential areas, a laser of such power may not even be legal without a ton of safeguards in place. understand the lasing process produces a lot of toxic fumes. a filtration system to take care of that problem-- lots of bucks. i advise doing a lot of homework before making your move.

 

[tsterling]

Hi Monk,

Thanks so much for the explanation about laser engraving. At last, a useful discussion of what is needed - the web sites I've found don't provide anything like you've just told me.

Do you have any pictures of what your 30 watt can do? And maybe a ball park price of engraving a 1x2 inch flat metal plate with black/white graphic (about 75% coverage, no shading, just removed areas and non-removed areas).

Thanks,

Tom

 

[monk]

since my laser will not remove metal, i can't address that part. mine will only embellish hard metal in black, pearl white, and copper. the part is covered with a material called cerdec. the heat of the laser produces a chemical reaction between the cerdec and the metal surface. the mark has little depth, but is very durable. i can give you many examples of what i've done-- send me yer email address.

 

[tsterling]

Hi Monk,

I'd love to see a few examples. Here's my email: tomtalk(you know what goes here)comcast.net. Sorry for the anti-spam measure...(you know what goes here) = the @ symbol.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

the power requirement for what you seek may be in hundreds of watts for deep work. for actual parts cutting-- i'm just guessing-- maybe 1,000 watts of power.

The company that does my cutting uses three Trumpf 4000 watt lasers.

 

[tsterling]

The company that does my cutting uses three Trumpf 4000 watt lasers.

Thanks, Doc. Good to know info. I'm impressed that the cutting service I found can cut pretty thick metal with just a beam of light...

Tom