Rowmark laser able versus router-able.

[Neville Stewart]

I think I might have gotten hold of router versus laser, how can you tell the difference? There is nothing specific on the plastic protective cover. TIA Neville

[David Somers]

Neville,

I am not aware of a Rowmark for laser and another for CNC use. Can anyone else answer with more assurance?

Laser is the preferred method though if you were really careful with your feeds and speeds and tested carefully you could use a CNC for the job. There is a CNC bit out there for doing ADA work as well if that is what you have the Rowmark for.

I think you will find a laser to be wayyyyyy faster engraving Rowmark than a CNC. Seemed like there have been some threads on this within this last year in both the laser and the CNC forums of SMC. A quick search will dig them up for you.

Dave

[vic casware]

Hi Neville,
We use Ultragrave all the time as it lasers
and rotary engraves really well.
If it is laserable Rowmark (ultragrave or Lasermax) they usually have the lightning symbol
on the sheet so there is no confusion, so maybe you have something from
the Mattes range if it's a matte finish which doesn't laser to well.

[Neville Stewart]

Yes , it's has a sort of a matte finish. I was able to punch through the blue layer, but it bled somewhat on the cut edges. It has nothing but Rowmark and some handling/ care instructions on it.

[Scott Shepherd]

There's also a distinct different feel to it. It seems more rigid to me. Not a lot, but you can hear tones that are different when you handle sheets of it. Either that or I'm gone completely insane.

[Joe Pelonio]

There's also a distinct different feel to it. It seems more rigid to me. Not a lot, but you can hear tones that are different when you handle sheets of it. Either that or I'm gone completely insane.
You are not crazy, I noticed that too. It's easy to tell if you try to engrave it with the laser, it will take two passes or more power/less speed. If no lightning symbols, it's meant for rotary.

[Neville Stewart]

Im guessing rotary grade then. As I mention I was able to remove the top layer but got some bleeding, however it was a very detailed small part, probably not suitable. I'll try some text. Thanks guys. Guess I'll spec the Right stuff next time.

[Kev Williams]

All but one of these are laserable, and yes, you can tell from the covering... :) (as Vic pointed out)


http://www.engraver1.com/erase2/rm.jpg

[Mike Null]

The biggest difference in laserable vs rotary engravable plastic laminates is the thickness of the cap. The rotary material will generally have a thicker cap which if laser engraved will take more than one pass. Rotary material is sometimes a different composition and doesn't cut well with a laser.

Rowmark and Johnson Plastics are sponsors of SMC and both offer free tech support to answer any questions you may have about their materials.

[Phil Noakes]

Neville,

My name is Phil Noakes and I am the sales manager for Rowmark.

You have received some good information on this thread. The pictures Kev published should be very helpful identifying what you have if the masking is still on it. If the masking is off, it becomes more difficult because the rotary and laserable products look identical. The major difference is the products we recommend for rotary engraving are made from ABS, or they may be acrylic with a thicker cap layer that does not laser engrave easily. Our laserable products are made from acrylic, and they have a micro surfaced cap that is easily removed with a laser.

We frequently hear of people lasering Rowmark products that we don't recommend for lasering. It can be done, but we do not offer laser setting recommendations for those products.

I wish I could tell you specifically what product you have, but without information from the masking or seeing a physical sample, it is really difficult.

Please contact us directly if we can help you further.

Regards,

Phil Noakes

[Neville Stewart]

Well Thanks very much for taking the time to respond Phil. Im pretty confident I have the rotary version as I have tried a multitude of settings and Im not delighted with the best one. I can see the rotary would work on what I have. That is by no means Rowmark's issue as I got it to practice on anyway. Glad to see the Laser version is so easily identifiable so I will know next time. I have a cnc router so it really wont be an issue. Perhaps you could answer as to why laserable over routable would be preferred in a general sense or application? thanks very much Neville

[Scott Erwin]

Looks like my floor....

[Phil Noakes]

Neville,

Customers have told us over the past 10 years or so laserable engraving plastics have become more popular because of the number of lasers that have come into the market place. We feel a lot of engravers have begun to purchase laserable materials only because they can use them on their laser or rotary machines and they only need to stock one product. In many cases the laserable products are also rated for outdoor applications. I hope this helps.

Phil

[Neville Stewart]

It does indeed Phil - Thank you very much.

[Jeff Belany]

Appreciate Phil from Rowmark chiming in. My issue is that, while many newer Rowmark has a well marked cover sheet, many I still get as Rowmark have a plain cover. I assume this is older stock. I suppose it would be a big expense but sure would be nice if the color number was printed on the back in several places. I try my best to cut off the color number and tape it to the back but as pieces get cut up it gets harder to do. Just a suggestion, maybe in the future.

[Phil Noakes]

Jeff,

Thank you very much for the suggestion. We put a product code on each sheet using a bar code label, but once the sheet is cut down the bar code label may not follow along. One solution I have seen is to write on the masking with a magic marker the item code of the product. I know that isn't the preferred method, but it will work if the masking is still on the sheet. For the 16 years I have been here all Rowmark sheet is manufactured with clearly marked masking identifying it as a Rowmark product. If the sheet's masking doesn't say Rowmark on it, you might want to question if you have received a substitute product.

Thanks again for your suggestion.

Phil