Laser Engraved Door Signs

[Keith Outten]

I laser engraved eight of these office door signs this week for a construction company working at CNU. These were really quick and easy to make, raised text and braille weren't required. Using two colors requires some masking tape, painting each color separately which was real quick using spray paint with a ten minute drying time. The dark color is a new Fusion paint color that is a textured gray. It is quite unique looking and would be great for coating the surface of aluminum or plastic substrate material and then engraving.

[Joe Pelonio]

Nice! More Corian? I hope they keep making it. My wife was talking to some
sales people about countertops and they said the competition for granite has brought the prices down and now everyone is buying it and not much else. if you have any extra cash best buy up some extra Corian. I personally don't want granite, just because everyone else has it. Seems like a fad that eventually will wear off and then home buyers will call it "dated."

[Mike Null]

Very nice work Keith. I wish I had one of those machines.

[David Harvey]

Keith, you the man....

They look great. On the engraving, did you just kiss-cut the masking tape, peel and paint? ...or did you do a deep engraving into the substrate? I assume corian...right?

[Keith Outten]

Joe,

I understand that Dupont has taken the manufacturing of Corian offshore lately in order to reduce their costs. What you are saying about the popularity of granite counter tops is true, granite is the king right now but it remains to be seen if solid surface tops can regain their popularity again. The commercial sales of solid surface material is still going strong as many architects are specifying solid surface window sills and counter tops to keep the cost of buildings down at least a little bit. I also consider Dupont to be a very low risk, they have the financial means to keep their products going as long as they feel their return on investment has potential. There is a growing market these days in the medical facilities area because solid surface materials meet the new standards for patient care areas and stone/tile will never be acceptable again. Here in the South if you don't keep sealing granite mold grows on the bottom.

Mike,

You probably don't need a CNC router, you can outsource all of that work to me :)
If you decide you want one I strongly recommend you take the plunge, there isn't a woodworking machine on the planet that is anywhere near half the fun as a CNC machine....and the money they make ain't bad either :) I have three 24" by 36" Corian signs in my shop right now that are all inlay work, no paint of them at all. I'm waiting on a sheet of 1/4" thick orange acrylic so I can finish them. I will cut all the inlays on my laser engraver so the edges have a nice mirror finish.
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[Keith Outten]

David,

I normally set my speed and power settings so the depth of engraving is 1/32" deep. This works for inlaying plastic for ADA signs and it paints nicely if you just want to paint them.

These were indeed made from Glacier White Corian, I engrave them and paint em without any masks. I usually just run my ROS over the surface to remove the excess paint which is quick and painless. Corian is one of the least expensive materials you can use for signs because your labor costs drop significantly, nobody believes me but it is true in my case. Lots of times I use a foam brush to paint the engraved areas rather than spray paint, it is less messy and a lot faster.
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[Mike Null]

Keith

You are my man. I would love to have the machine---but.

I just sold my first order of vinyl signs after letting my Graphtec sit idle for two years. Nice order too. My part-timer ran it and in fact did everything but the layout.

[Keith Outten]

Mike,

I hear ya loud and clear. I also own a graphtech vinyl cutter that has only been used for a couple of small jobs in three years. I have confidence that I will land some work for it one day :)
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[Scott Shepherd]

Corian is one of the least expensive materials you can use for signs because your labor costs drop significantly, nobody believes me but it is true in my case.

Nice looking signs Keith. One of the toughest things people seem to get stuck on is initial material cost. Tell someone they have to spend $250 on a sheet of Corian and they say "No way, it's too expensive".

However, Corian is less expensive than Rowmark or IPI plastics per square foot. It's good people think like that because it keeps people like us in business. You have to be willing to spend money to make money.

[Mike Null]

Steve

I'll let you know where I buy IPI if you'll let me know where you buy Corian.

[Scott Shepherd]

Steve

I'll let you know where I buy IPI if you'll let me know where you buy Corian.

Corian, 1/2" thick is about $260 a sheet, which is 12' long by 30". That works out to $8.66 per square foot.

Rowmark goes for about $15-16 for a 2 sq. ft piece. That's not far off. Get some of those fancy colored acrylics people talk about and you're over $10 sq. ft.

My point was simply that the price per square foot, when compared to the things everyone uses every day is not very different, yet, when brought up, people get sticker shock and say how expensive Corian is.

I think you'll make a lot more money if you hand someone a Corian sign and then hand them a 1/16" thick plastic sign. It's a chance to get a premium price for something that doesn't cost a premium to produce.

[Tim Bateson]

...This works for inlaying plastic for ADA signs and it paints nicely if you just want to paint them..
Keith, How do you secure the acrylic inlays?

[Keith Outten]

My wholesale price for Glacier White is $8.66 per square foot plus delivery fees based on the volume I purchase. The door sign shape above costs me about $4.71 cents per plaque which is a bargain considering how my labor costs go down because I don't need a mask and I can spray or brush paint and sand off the excess with my ROS. I literally make hundreds of these every month so time is the most critical issue to me, the savings are impressive over any other material.

I have never found a customer that doesn't prefer solid surface signs once they see a sample. I can CNC route them with ease and they laser engrave extremely well so fine detail and customer logos are a snap to add to just about any design. I mount them with keyholes so I don't have to purchase double sided tape and adhesive for mounting and Corian will last fifty years in the weather. No backing material is required and I can route nice edges which adds a lot to the design. Dupont's adhesive makes an excellent color fill material that is permanent and available in lots of colors. Any kind of paint sticks to Corian, I haven't found any type or manufacturers brand that won't work yet.

The only down side is that full sheets are heavy. I use a hydraulic table to move the sheets from storage to my ShopBot. This allows me to slide the sheets onto the CNC table and not have to lift them.

I recently paid $20.00 per sheet for 1/8" thick Laser Max 12" by 24" for some directory strips I had to make which is more expensive than white Corian per square foot. I buy many of the Corian colors for $11.33 per square foot and the most expensive colors are $16.66 per square foot at current prices. Often I am able to get my material cost back just from making small desk signs, nameplates and other specialty items from the scrap pieces :)
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[Keith Outten]

Keith, How do you secure the acrylic inlays?

Tim,

For small items like text I use Loctight CA Glue. For large inlays I use Silicone Adhesive. You can also use epoxy if you need more strength on certain designs. Dupont adhesive is always perfect when color matching is required.
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[Mike Null]

Steve

I see your point. I was calculating 8 foot lengths.

[AL Ursich]

Sanding.... Color Fill then sand with the ROS... What grits do you use?

New to this.

AL

[Keith Outten]

Al,

I use 80 grit disks on my ROS when sanding ADA door signs. They are required to have a matte finish and 80 grit provides a perfect finish on Corian.

On large Corian signs I will often work my way through several grits then switch to scotchbrite pads if I need a smoother finish. If I need a nice polished surface I go to 220 grit and switch to wet sanding with Trizac disks.
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[AL Ursich]

Thank You for the Tips. I usually work in wood but I would love to get into Corian signs. I have a chunk of white in my shop from the local cabinet shop that I want to make some samples for. He asked for wildlife carvings....

This sign is from a Ronald McDonald Week long camp going on this week for kids and family dealing with cancer.

One for the camp and one for the Philly Office.

http://www.ronaldmcdonaldcamp.com/directions.html

If you need to delete the link search "Ronald McDonald Pine Forest Camp" Interesting story and pictures. The regular summer camp ended last week and now begins the mini camps like Football Camp, Cheer Leader Camp....

AL

[Keith Outten]

Very nice Al,

When you find the time to use that piece of Corian be forwarned, you will be hooked. Corian machines beautifully without the problems normally associated with wood. Spray paint to fill or use a foam brush and you can easilly do multiple colors without masking. When your done just run your random orbital sander over the top of the sign or plaque then route the edge last and you will be amazed at how fast you can turn out really nice signs.
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[Mike Klafehn]

Keith,

Did you use a round over bit on the CNC for the signs? If so, did you cut them out after the round over was used. What bit did you use to cut them out?

Mike

[Keith Outten]

Mike,

This style door sign is routed as follows:

The keyholes on the back are cut on the CNC, they are roughed out with a 1/4" spiral bit then the final shape is cut with a keyhole bit.
The countour detail is routed on the CNC with a 60 degree bit.
The plaques are cut out on the CNC with a 1/4" up spiral bit.
The edge is routed with a classic roman ogee bit on a router table.
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