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Laser Engraving


Crilix

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Ok, so the place where I work recently got a 45W Epilog Laser unit for branding equipment, cutting precision templates, etc. Anyhoo, we the lowly employees get to use it after work hours for whatever we feel like. We even get some free lexan/acrylic to mess with. I have to first apologize for the crappy photography - I ain't that great at shooting pics, and some of things look a lot better when you look at them at just the right angle. The following is what I've done so far:

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Crilix/SHqRZwBPViI/AAAAAAAAAcg/ap7KRm5i4Hk/s144/DSCN2151.jpg

This is one of the first things I fabricated, an iPhone stand (for my iPod Touch) from the Make Blog. I made up some art for it, and it ended up pretty well. I wasn't pleased with the overall functionality of the stand, so I actually designed my own. I don't have any pics of that one yet, but I'll get some done up soon.

 

 

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Crilix/SHqRaJsEEgI/AAAAAAAAAco/YuAtZu8u9Xw/s144/DSCN2153.jpg

This was about a 20min job - my own pair of earbud winders. I got sick of having them get all tangled up in my jacket pocket, so I guesstimated some dimensions and ran this through the laser. With a Batman logo, just so it had some kinda artwork.

 

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Crilix/SHqRaJX-FEI/AAAAAAAAAcw/pY6jEk3fip4/s144/DSCN2158.jpg

This is my leather case for the iPod. I've always liked this artwork, but because they don't ship to Canada and they're expensive anyways... I shamelessly ripped the graphics from the T-Shirt image and burned it into the case.

 

 

http://lh6.ggpht.com/Crilix/SHqRaO7Pv9I/AAAAAAAAAc4/cr4H9tRQQ6A/s144/DSCN2171.jpg

One side of my Wii, with the Hyrule/Zelda crest engraved.

 

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/Crilix/SHqRabO4AcI/AAAAAAAAAdA/57fRfZOoY8A/s144/DSCN2173.jpg

The other side, with some artwork from Okami. Gorgeous game.

 

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/Crilix/SHqVBoE3quI/AAAAAAAAAdw/KmRYIECD00A/s144/IMG_0007.jpg

This is a crappy summer jacket I got for all of $25. I took the laser to it, and it turned out pretty well. You can see some tears on the FNF logo - that's because there were some alignment issues, and the laser went over the same area twice, burning the fabric too much. Image comes complete with a weird pose, bad hair, and a lopsided hat.

 

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/Crilix/SHqVB7SS56I/AAAAAAAAAd4/k2xOwFzJ3B0/s144/IMG_0010.jpg

And last, this is the left sleeve of my jacket. I had a hard time trying to get it to lay flat in the laser, which resulted in the faded out areas. The laser has about 1/8 of an inch in tolerance before it falls out of proper focus. Oh, it's supposed to be a gravity gun, btw.

 

 

I can't say what other laser projects I'll drum up over the course of the summer, but I'll post 'em here with a quick blurb. I think I'll keep adding a bunch of nerdy logos and stuff to my jacket though. Oh, and I need to do the back of my iPod, but I've yet to figure out what to put on it.

-Cril

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Guest etruscan

dude, that is hands down the coolest thign i've seen all week. I cant believe how slick that looks on your jacket, good lord !!

 

vnj !

 

 

q4u: can the laz0r etch curved surfaces ?

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Steve - Yes, it can do curved surfaces. Kinda of. There's a rig that rotates cylinders, like mugs or glasses, so that it's matched with the speed/position of the laser. But it pretty much only works with that type of object. Round objects (like a ball) would be pretty impossible.

-Cril

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Guest etruscan

Interesting. I just happen to have a cylinder that i might like to have engraved.

 

What are we talking here, price wise, Mr ? I realise this isnt Crilix's " Ye olde e-shoppe of laz0r engravingz " thread, but im seriously interested in having something etched. Its a barrel shroud for my paintball gun that i think would be absolutely badass with a design on it.

 

I could go the acid-etched route too, but this would be so much cooler than that. Im planning to anodize the piece myself too, once i get it back from Ze'ev, but i think it'd have to be etched first.

 

Another question - Are these etchings purely cosmetic ? Ie - is the very very very top layer all that gets etched, or is it possible to make a deeper mark on the work ? ie: to make a knurled/rough surface that has better grip, for example ?

 

 

 

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Price wise? Well, there's something I haven't really considered. It all depends, really, on a few things. Lemme give a quick overview so we all know what's going on.

 

Yes, the laser can do varying depths of engraving. As you see with my iPod stand and earbud winders, it can go from just lightly etching something in to fully cutting the material. But it's not in terms on "cut/engrave x deep". The laser operates basically with two main variables - power and speed. Really slow at very powerful speeds will cut material. Faster speeds are better for engraving. It all depends on the nature of the material. Keep in mind though - this isn't a heavy-industrial laser - We can do types of plastics and wood, but it isn't nearly powerful enough to cut or engrave metal. (So that may be a problem with your barrel) However, there is a special spray-on chemical that once applied and lasored will fuse a type of dye/colouring into the metal surface. As far as I know we only have black - I've done a few shiny stainless steel surfaces that have turned out to look absolutely sick with black art on it. But doing any kind of cutting, engraving or textures on metal is near impossible.

 

Then there's the artwork itself - I find it's easiest and looks best with two-colour vector designs. It is possible to do some rasterized stuff, but you'll need to have it pretty high-res as the machine works from 300-1200 DPI. And with rasterized work you basically use dithering to emphasize different shades, which may or may not look that great once everything is said and done. There is a way of matching different power/speed settings to colours from vector art though, so you can probably do up to six or so solid colours (not gradients) in the artwork and have them turn out at different depths (which are configurable for each colour).

 

So yeah... if you have a black metal barrel you might be outta luck. Unless you paint it another another colour, and you can burn that paint away to reveal the black.

 

Ok, I kinda suck at explaining stuff, I hope that made sense. If you're seriously interested in doing this Steve, fire me an email or whatever and we can bat things back and forth until it's figured out. Generally speaking, I don't think it'd cost you too much, most likely less than $50 (shipping costs aside).

-Cril

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Guest etruscan

wow, no, thats a ton of useful info. The piece i have is a round aluminum tube that i was hoping to get a 'grip' etched into , cause it seems easier than figuring out how to do it manually with a cut off wheel, but in reality grip tape will work very nicely and be a fraction of the effort.

 

And since what im looking to have done is aluminum ( and although it's a tube, it will eventually have a weirder shape -slots and holes etc ) i can see it's not the best candidate for teh laz0r. But ill keep this in mind for anything else that might be cool to do - i kinda forgot you had this resource http://www.fnfclan.com/uploads/uploads/emoticons/default_smile.png

 

FYI the plan is to anodize it using an at-home system i've put together ( but not tested ) .. i have yet to throw together the 'bath' container and hook up the power source, but the hard part is past ( finding and buying the sulphuric acid ) so im pretty close to being able to run some trials. Then if Ze'ev finishes the millwork on the shroud itself, ill be in business.

 

Ill be sure to post pics and whatnot when i do eventually do this. No idea when though, i just hope its' before paintball season ends, lol.

 

Anyhoo.. Cant wait to see the piece u did for Frank !

 

 

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Would you be able to laser etch a Macbook Pro? if so, how much would you charge per-say? http://www.fnfclan.com/uploads/uploads/emoticons/default_tongue.png

 

Are you sure the valve store wont ship to Canada? I bought the companion cube plush from them and they shipped it to me with no problems. Also, do you mind if I use your pics to write up a news article on it for my works website?

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Yeah, I ordered some of those kick-ass HL2 Deathmatch toilet shirt from them a year or two ago, and they only shipped to Canada via +$20 FedEx delivery. But now, it looks like they don't ship up to here any more. Says the shipping section: "Valve will only ship Merchandise to addresses in the United States."

 

Can we engrave a Macbook Pro? Yes, fairly easily. My boss actually did his big HP somethingorother, I can dig up some pics for you if you're interested. As for charge, like with Steve it's probably about $50 (shipping costs aside). It basically all depends on how simple/complex the artwork is (and therefore how easy it is setup for the laser). But I'm fairly certain the material will engrave rather nicely.

 

What kind of article are you thinking of? Yeah, generally I don't have any objection - go ahead. Just give me credit and link to this thread or the album or something. Oh, and let me know when/where I can read said article http://www.fnfclan.com/uploads/uploads/emoticons/default_wink.png

-Cril

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Woo, more lazor goodness in the past few weeks:

 

http://lh6.ggpht.com/Crilix/SIlN-T-7AWI/AAAAAAAAAgk/sNqrywPoyDc/s400/DSCN2224.jpg

This is a present for my mom's birthday. I drew it in Photoshop, engraved it onto some 1/4" lexan, and cut it out along the edges. You can see the original art here.

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Crilix/SIlN-g6J1WI/AAAAAAAAAgs/GdPz3Y8ZkXA/s400/DSCN2228.JPG

I made these up, no kidding, 5 minutes before I left to see the Dark Knight. They're pretty small and thin, measuring about 2.5" across. I carry them in my jacket pocket. Just in case.

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Crilix/SIlN-7K4x8I/AAAAAAAAAg0/svzCyDpIVAs/s400/DSCN2231.JPG

This is the iPod Touch stand I mentioned that I designed. It has two positions for the legs, so that you can have the device vertical or horizontal. In vertical there's also enough clearance for the docking cable to plug in. On each of the stand arms I also have lateral blocks so that it doesn't move too much from side to side.

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Crilix/SIlN_OHvMQI/AAAAAAAAAg8/ItABNob5tak/s400/DSCN2232.jpg

This would be the main base, where you can see the different notches along the top for each leg to clip into. I had some issues aligning the material, so you'll notice that the artwork is a bit off-centered from where it was cut.

 

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Crilix/SIlN_TK8IDI/AAAAAAAAAhE/iwMLR-KAbBg/s400/DSCN2233.JPG

And this is one of the two arms for the stand. The notch midway along the slant is for the lateral stops to be inserted. I didn't photograph them because they're boring.

 

If you haven't noticed, I really really like working with the clear lexan/acrylic. It just looks so friggin' cool.

-Cril

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, Chris' pics were way better. Here's what he made for me for some cash.

 

The front view, it has the piratebay.org logo and it reads DRM FREE DEVICES ONLY in the upper left. On the bottom, it reads VADERONICE.

The other pic has a great detail he added, which is an AK with a Rose coming out of the front. He has always had a thing with drawing roses, but it works really well here.

http://www.fnfclan.com/uploads/uploads/monthly_08_2008/post-25-1217820539_thumb.jpg

http://www.fnfclan.com/uploads/uploads/monthly_08_2008/post-25-1217820552_thumb.jpg

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