PDA

View Full Version : Colored Engraving Materials



Chris Mahoney
11-16-2010, 3:11 PM
Hey everyone,
I was wondering if there were any materials that, when applied to an object, would engrave a certain color; kind of like Ceramark. I've done some searching and I can't find anything. I usually engrave the object (mostly plastics) then paint over the engraving and wipe off the excess, leaving a painted engraving. I was just wondering if there are certain materials that could substitute for this process.

thanks!

Martin Boekers
11-16-2010, 4:00 PM
I believe Cermark has some limited colors, but there isn't anything I'm
aware of that turns a color or bonds to a material in the actual engraving
process.

Some have worked with a "glass frit" or ceramic glazing compounds
but I don't believe they have had consistant success.

Here is a "hotly contested" link from the past.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=50986

Here is another way using "powder coat" or even a "laser toner" fill
powdercoat powders can be bought cheaply at a company
like Harbor Freight.

A supply company makes a similiar powder check here;

http://www.smoke-wood.com/SM-wd20.HTML

I haven't used any of these, but some here have had some success with them.

Marty

George D Gabert
11-16-2010, 5:49 PM
there are some 2 color / layer laminated plastic sheets tha you engrave off the cap and leave the base color

GDG

Dan Hintz
11-16-2010, 7:39 PM
I've had a lot of success with some custom mixes of frit/dyes, but multi-layer plastics are so much easier to work with...

Chris Mahoney
11-17-2010, 8:32 AM
Thanks guys!
I've attached a picture of an example of what I was trying to explain. (it's only a test model so the quality isn't great!) It's engraved, then painted white. I think Ceramark has a coating that burns different colors, but I'm not sure on the quality and accuracy of the color, which is a big deal in my case.

In the link Marty shared, the LASER DARC material is applied the same way i do the painting, (minus the second engraving step).

Dan, if you could give me some more info on the materials you mentioned i would greatly appreciate it!

Dan Hintz
11-17-2010, 9:51 AM
I'll have some recipes in my book, but if you're looking for exact matches (like Pantone), you're going to have a tough row to hoe. Best you can do is mask, laser, paint with a color-matched batch of paint, unmask.

Chris Mahoney
11-17-2010, 10:13 AM
I tried masking it with ordinary masking tape, but some of the paint peeled off with it on a lot of them. I'm using acrylic paint so thats probably the issue. As far as the color matching goes, the color paints we have are approved by our customers, so all I need to do is match the paint color (if I need to use a different paint)

Martin Boekers
11-17-2010, 11:16 AM
I sometimes do this on brush steel nametags, after the paint drys I
replace it in the laser and re-vector cut the text outline. This makes
sure the paint doesn't stick to the mask and pull of pieces. You probably
wouldn't do that for all applications, but it is a useful tool!

I also make sure that I don't use too much paint for a fill and wipe the
excess off the mask. that does help.

The Laser Darc and toner based probably work better on wood as the
resin from the heated wood bonds to the plastic toner.


Marty

Rodne Gold
11-17-2010, 2:11 PM
Engrave and paint fill , wipe off excess and then clean with meths or thiners (depends on base material) is the easiest.

Chris Mahoney
11-18-2010, 8:22 AM
That's the method I have going on now. I've done thousands of these and I've been brainstorming a few different faster ways to do it. Seems like its kind of coming to a dead end. Thanks again for your input everyone! I appreciate it

Scott Challoner
11-18-2010, 10:21 AM
If your trying to speed up each piece, I would look at the entire process. If you want to apply something to the piece before you engrave it, you're just moving the application step to before you engrave rather than after for no net gain. You still have to apply a material and then eventually wipe off the excess. What dpi are you engraving at? You can still get good results at lower dpi with big time savings. If you need a smoother engraving so that you don't see raster lines in the paint, you can lower your table (defocus) so the beam is wider leaving a smoother engraving.
The paint fill looks to be as easy as flood filling using the edge of a card. Let dry and wipe with a thinner or, my favorite, use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
I'd play with the dpi/focus thing on some scrap. You'd be surprised how you can speed things up.

Chris Mahoney
11-18-2010, 10:57 AM
Thanks Scott!
Im currently running at 400 dpi with 2 passes so its deep enough for the paint to fill in good. I haven't tried refocusing, but, for some models there is a register mark with the logo that the refocusing might take away. I'm using a 2" focus so, I would say focus about 1/8" off the model?