Post your laser etched builds.

[haveyouseenhim]

I figured this would be an interesting topic. I just started getting a few lasered and like the finish way more than waterslide decals.

[bluebunny]

Very nice, Mike.   

[pickdropper]

I am not sure where to start with this one.

[pickdropper]

And that does look good, Mike.  Was that a single pass or multiple passes?

[pickdropper]

Ok, I'll post an old one I don't think I've posted here before.

[haveyouseenhim]

And that does look good, Mike.  Was that a single pass or multiple passes?

It was two passes at full power. (30W laser I believe)

I guess I doesn't like the Testors lacquer. I like how it looks like anodized aluminum because it couldn't get it all off.

[pickdropper]

Yeah, I get that same effect with PPP Hammertone green.  I kind of dig it actually.

[deadastronaut]

that's it....i can't take it anymore...as you can see i haven't got a towel to throw in......beep.......................................................................




cool etches guys...

[Kipper4]

Whoa wait a goddam minute you mean to say its possible to laser etch Painted aluminium boxs?
Do i need a specific paint? and or undercoat?
When i asked my bruv in law to laser etch me some boxs he said it was not possible to etch alumium as it was too shiney and the laser would reflect back at itself.
Very cool boxs guys I'm loving these.

[pickdropper]

You can actually laser etch bare aluminum, but you need the right lasers.  They are expensive and not as common.

A CO2 laser (more common) works fantastically with painted surfaces.  I've said a few times that I far prefer etching powder coated finishes to painted, but I've done both.

[pickdropper]

AFAIK, the reason you can't etch bare aluminum with a CO2 laser is that they simply aren't powerful enough to dig itp the surface.

For bare aluminum, you can laser mark them.  You apply a coating to the aluminum and then hit it with the laser, which fuses it to the aluminum substrate, permanently marking it.

[Mustachio]

Awesome, Hope you know you guys are killing me! I'm working on buying a 40watt laser engraver for home now. Not sure when but maybe sooner then later! I was talkn to a guy that might be able to get me a good price on it. I'd like to use it for a ton of different things though not just engraving pedals. Can cut stencil's for airbrushing and rubber stamps tons of stuff , I've been doing some research on it so if this comes through, and I can get one cheap I can put all my cad skills to more use

Thanks for the inspiration and possibly putting me in debit guys hahaha

[pickdropper]

Awesome, Hope you know you guys are killing me! I'm working on buying a 40watt laser engraver for home now. Not sure when but maybe sooner then later! I was talkn to a guy that might be able to get me a good price on it. I'd like to use it for a ton of different things though not just engraving pedals. Can cut stencil's for airbrushing and rubber stamps tons of stuff , I've been doing some research on it so if this comes through, and I can get one cheap I can put all my cad skills to more use

Thanks for the inspiration and possibly putting me in debit guys hahaha

If it is a Chinese build machine, there are a few things to watch out for:

1.)  That you can get replacement parts.  The laser tubes are consumable, so make sure you can get replacements years down the road.  You can buy an extra when you buy the machine, but I believe they age as they sit, so it is not as ideal as buying one when you need it.

2.)  Carefully research how their drivers work.  That is usually the weakness of a lot of the Chinese machines, but there are exceptions.  For example, I always use Adobe Illustrator.  Some of the cheaper machines won't accept that file, so I would be SOL.  If it only takes JPEG and GIF, it's worthless, IMHO.  To do laser engraving right, it absolutely must accept vector files.  Corel Draw is common and will work fine, even though that isn't what I personally use.  The best way is if the laser engraver is setup as a standard printer (like the Epilog machines).  Then you can print to it from many different programs.

[haveyouseenhim]

Just finished the final assembly.

[bluebunny]

Just finished the final assembly.

Very nice, Mike.

Even nicer!         And very blue.

[Kipper4]

You can actually laser etch bare aluminum, but you need the right lasers.  They are expensive and not as common.

A CO2 laser (more common) works fantastically with painted surfaces.  I've said a few times that I far prefer etching powder coated finishes to painted, but I've done both.

which would be the right laser for this appllication please

[pickdropper]

You can actually laser etch bare aluminum, but you need the right lasers.  They are expensive and not as common.

A CO2 laser (more common) works fantastically with painted surfaces.  I've said a few times that I far prefer etching powder coated finishes to painted, but I've done both.

which would be the right laser for this appllication please

Since you quoted the part about bare metal and about C02 laser, I am not exactly certain which one you are asking about, so I'll do my best to answer both./

YAG lasers are used for actually engraving into metal.  Their wavelength is shorter, so they can't engrave as many materials.

CO2 lasers can engrave metal if it is painted, powder coated or anodized, but can't dig into the metal itself.  It can permanently mark a bare surface if it is treated with a marking coating.  This marking material is fused to the surface when the laser hits it.

You can read a bit about it here:

http://www.epiloglaser.com/tl_yaginfo.htm

[Kipper4]

Great stuff now i can ask my bruv in law more details about there laser machine and be confident i will understand the response a little better thanks Dave

[haveyouseenhim]

Today I had some boxes powder coated at a place that powder coats large farm equipment. Then I took it to a different engraving shop than I normally do. This shop has a BABE running the machine(I couldn't help but flirt with her ). Lasered on an Epilog Mini. It turned out pretty dang good. The powder coat was thick so it gave some nice depth to the lasering.

[deadastronaut]

^ nice and crisp mike, ...and a babe bonus too...so i guess we'll see a lot more from you now..