Apples iPad engraving

[Sean Coyne]

Hey all,

Attached is a picture I took from goolge images. It shows an engraving done by Apple on one of their iPads. Apple offers this service to customers for a small fee. My question is... How is it done? What method of marking does Apple use for this?

I have personally played with cermark and thermark on iPads and can confidently say its neither of those. Because... the Apple engraving does not have the same coarse texture the cermark/thermark leave behind. This mark is smooth and a dark grey, not quite black. It cant be a standard etch as that always turns out white-ish. I doubt its a print because it doesn't appear to be embossed at all. I have personally seen this engraving up close and can say the previous with relative certainty.

Im thinking its some sort of UV, photo metal treatment, but would love to hear from someone with experience with it.

I know the picture doesn't help much but I also know that I would have been berated for asking this kind of question without a pic :)

Anyone have the inside track on this method?

[Henri Sallinen]

My moneys on Fiber/YAG laser.

[Mike Null]

I agree with Henri. The mark is 5 to 6 thousands deep.

[Axel Neldner]

Hi Sean,

i have been into research for a galvo fiber laser system myself and read an online article about the new SPI laser generation of tunable nanosecond lasers. Apparently you can choose 40 different waveform pre-sets ranging from 3-500ns. The very short pulse width would allow you to achieve high contrast black marks on clear anodized aluminum of the kind many apple products are made of.

If you are interested feel free to email me and i will send you the link.

Best regards
Axel

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Sometimes I wonder about product images like this. Occasionally the image is Photoshopped so what you are seeing isn't necessarily the real deal...

[Axel Neldner]

Hi Liesl,

i have seen some fantastic samples of black marked clear anodized aluminum done with a fiber laser. With the right settings you can get a dark subsurface mark with great definition without destroying the anodizing.

Best regards
Axel

[Liesl Dexheimer]

I bet! I know fiber lasering is a pretty nice way to laser aluminum without having to use a coating. :)

I don't necessarily mean this photo was Photoshopped but as graphic designer I've seen a lot of mock ups that aren't the real thing. For example, when displaying logo mockups (ex: http://wakaboom.com/template-2/20-awesome-logo-mock-up-design-templates-to-impress-your-clients/) designers have used simulated wood engraving effects in Photoshop. It's amazing what can be done now.

[Kev Williams]

Due to the sheer volume of Ipad sales, even if only 1 in 500 is engraved, they would need SPEED... I'd be willing to bet there's a room somewhere (or several) with 20 (or more) galvo fibers, with 20 people typing names while 20 other people are feeding the machine...

[David Somers]

And doesn't that sound like an exciting career in IT?

<grin>

[Steve Morris]

not a problem for them as they are built in China - loads of bodies available very cheaply.

[matthew knott]

Apple have a range of lasers they use for various different uses, these include UV, Green, and Fiber laser, we have a SPI fiber with all the different wave forms available, we normal opt for the 200nS as there are so many other setting to play with it gets out of hand. Marking clear anodized aluminium to go dark is easy with a fiber, plain is a bit trickier but we still get good results, I was doing some today, here's a video for anyone interested in seeing it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3Bpyyw2Gc&edit=vd

[Tim Bateson]

It's not black, but it does look good - it's just an anodized finish.
289007

[Bert Kemp]

Apple have a range of lasers they use for various different uses, these include UV, Green, and Fiber laser, we have a SPI fiber with all the different wave forms available, we normal opt for the 200nS as there are so many other setting to play with it gets out of hand. Marking clear anodized aluminium to go dark is easy with a fiber, plain is a bit trickier but we still get good results, I was doing some today, here's a video for anyone interested in seeing it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3Bpyyw2Gc&edit=vd

Could you make this public so we can see it TY:)

[matthew knott]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3Bpyyw2Gc Sorry guys, in the words of the great Homer Simpson Dohhhhh ! The photo at the end was taken after the part had been given a quick wipe with a clean cloth.