Stamped plates

[bob pfohler]

Have a customer- wants machine plates for some commercial units being built locally. Each unit gets 2 plates and the estimates are 40 units per month.
The plates contain a lot of info and it changes (ie. serial #, date etc.) from unit-to-unit.

It could be a great account if:

1)I can find a source for the blank plates that won't kill me in price or min. order.
2)I invest in a machine that can stamp -engrave the alum plates.

Anyone have any experience with this type of stuff?

[Mike Null]

Bob

If the plate has a lot of characters stamping may not be your best option.

I would consider laser sublimation on plates you've made yourself. This requires a laser printer with a laser sublimation cartridge and a heat press.

I would also consider anodized aluminum tags which are easy and can be set up in Corel almost automatically.

Last, I would consider Cermark on aluminum but preferably stainless steel tags.

You can make a good mark on aluminum with a diamond drag machine but it's slower and to me least preferable.

Feel free to call or send a pm. I do quite a lot of these.

[Larry Alles]

You might want to try the marking machine made by Automark.
It stamps 3 characters per second and is computer controlled.
The character wheels come with 1/16" to 1/4" characters per wheel.
I have engraved the wheels for the last 35 to 40 years.

[Keith Outten]

How about a small rotary engraver?
.

[Mike Null]

Larry

what's a ballpark price for one of those? I notice they are made right here in "River City".

[Larry Alles]

Mike,

I only engrave the wheels. You would have to contact Automark
to get a price. They have been in business for over forty years as
far as I know. Their machines have been sold world wide.

[Bill Cunningham]

If the plates have sq. corners, I just use enameled brass, or anodized aluminum, or enameled aluminum. It all works fine. The enameled brass is usually brass coated steel, so rust might be a problem outdoors .etc, but the others are fine.. and cheap.. Most users of machine plates keep the same general design, so the changing of information is not all that hard..