Laser for Pet Tombstones.....

[Ron Morris]

I've searched this forum..... and cannot find the perfect setup that would cut marble & granite for pet tombstones. Can someone recommend an economical laser setup? I'm am brand new to this so I have no clue as to what I am doing. If you could also tell me what else is needed to make a tombstone marker. Software, accessories, etc..

I'm looking at cutting stuff that's not really big.... maybe a cutting area of 24" x 24"...... (Or maybe that is big?)

Also, I've looked at some of the packages that are being sold on the internet. $10k to 15k seems kinda expensive to me. But maybe that price is correct.

any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

Pastor Ron

[Mike Hood]

If you're actually planning on CUTTING marble or granite... you're down a bunny trail. Diamond saws and wires are best suited for cutting stone.

If you're talking about ENGRAVING marble or granite, a laser is one method. But don't let $10K scare ya, most are in for at least twice that (and some) around here.

A big problem you'll find if planning to engrave larger stones is the weight the Z axis will support.

Ironically, I have a pastor nearby that approached me hoping I could engrave some bricks for him in a fundraising effort. After talking to him for awhile and hearing the budget he had, we figured an inexpensive vinyl cutter and a sand carving setup was a better deal for them. Maybe that would be something you could look into?

[Ron Morris]

not cutting..... see how much I know......

thanks........
Pastor Ron

[Gary Hair]

Pastor Ron,
Sandcarving would be a much better application for stone of almost any type. You can't get deep enough with a laser to make something that will last. Unless your markers are sandstone you won't get deeper than a surface fracture with a laser. I do sandcarving and use the laser to cut the masks. You could get a vinyl cutter for $2000-$3000 and spend another $1500 - $2000 on sandcarving equipment and be way below what you would spend on a laser.

Just my .02

Gary

[Keith Outten]

Another option is to use a CNC router to engrave stone. There are a few guys who post on the ShopBot Forum who have done some really impressive VCarving of text and graphics on marble and sandstone. Search their forum, there are some nice pictures and details of their setups.

Generally speaking ShopBots are less expensive than most laser engravers.

.

[Rodne Gold]

Mike , using pass thru doors and rollers on adjustable stands either side of the laser , you can do stuff too heavy for the table.
We fabricated 2 stands with rollers and used it to laser sheets of 20mm glass , 3m long. The sheets were suspended in a museum and had pics and text on em. The Rollers support the glass and the table is sent down. you have to make the stands adjustable re hight for focus and to make sure the piece is flat to the laser head. It's a little fiddly to clock the piece up especially long pieces.
We also made a ruler type arrangement on the table for alignment and the fact that we could only do like 500mm sections at a time and had to move the sheet along. Only time my pass thru ability was crucial , other than that I hardly use it.
As to pet tombstones , well you are not going to make money out of that , there is not a great market and you are limited in what you can work on with a laser, Why even buy one for that? Easier would be to contract to laser engravers , sublimation guys , digital printers , engravers etc and set up a co marketing various pet tombstones. You would have a far better range . Design em yourself and send the contractors the ready to use artwork and hey presto. Doesnt cost you a cent capital equipment or require you have machining skills and builds you a market to where doing things in house is viable.

[Mike Null]

Rodne

There are an estimated 135,000,000 dogs and cats in the US. There are a lot of people making a living providing various services for this population. With good marketing there is an opportunity to make a lot of money.

Just as a crazy example, you can pay as much to leave your dog at a kennel as it used to cost for a hotel room.

[Rodne Gold]

Mike , I understand , but the poster , by his own admission , says he knows nothing at all about this. Jumping in cold with a laser engraver can be very painful financially. Just Google pet tombstones to see what the competiton is and whats already out there.

[Mike Null]

Rodne

You are certainly right about that.

[Mike Hood]

I just bought a dye sub setup (Epson 4800 Hybrid) this week to get started in markets where the laser isn't as well suited. Don't get me wrong, the laser is great, and is paying for itself in cut work mostly, but every job has a preferred tool. I think a person could do well with a masonary saw, vinyl cutter and lite sandblasting rig.

[Bill Cunningham]

Pastor Ron,
Sandcarving would be a much better application for stone of almost any type. You can't get deep enough with a laser to make something that will last. Unless your markers are sandstone you won't get deeper than a surface fracture with a laser. I do sandcarving and use the laser to cut the masks. You could get a vinyl cutter for $2000-$3000 and spend another $1500 - $2000 on sandcarving equipment and be way below what you would spend on a laser.

Just my .02

Gary

I regularly do marble and Granite.. The etch is about .005 deep, and really just takes off the polished surface.. Taking off the polished surface is all you really need in a lot of cases.. Take a wander around any cemetary, and see how many polished granite or marble surfaces have been obliterated, or even weather damaged in a hundred years.. The dates on the monuments will tell you exactly how long they have lasted, and virtually all will outlast anyone who's going to be visiting the site, and probably their grandchildren too.. I'm not talking about the actual engravings, the 100 year old lasers didn't do a very good job :D so all were chisled, or sandblasted. I'm just talking about the quality of the polished finish on the stone.. If the polished finish has lasted, then so will any etching into it..

[Garry McKinney]

Depending upon the laser power , and the type of work you want to achieve there are some amazing things you can achieve. But it is not going to be fast, and the learning curve can be intense.

A laser marks marble or granite by causing mini explosions caused from intense heat. Understanding this is the basic for what follows. I do raised lettering in granite and marble quite often. I am able to acheive .060 letters fairly eaisly . I am using a 120 watt epilog. To do it requires the full power of the machine and the graphics to be designed to compensate for the breakout that occurs anlong the edges.

Different marbles react differently, white is very soft and material removes eaisly , gray or blue works well and the results work well, black granite is much harder, and dense. But can be done, but requires a longer set up for the burns.

I would like to say there is a perfect set up but like most of the work I do , each stone is slightly different and may take adjustments to make the burn work. I have used every thing from 100 percent speed and power to 5%speed 100% power to 30 pecent speed and 20 percent power. I have yet to find a perfect match and especilly if your using natural stone or laser grade stone the difference can be amazing.

Good Luck

[Chuck E Cobb]

I really think for what you are wanting to do a sandcarving set up works the best. Here is a forum for just that, sandcarving.

www.cuttingedgesandcarving.com/forums (http://www.cuttingedgesandcarving.com/forums)

Chuck

[Ron Morris]

I really do appreciate the time you spent into answering a "stupids" question. I'm going to research some more....... I guess you guys (& girls) have seen this question posted a bunch. But I just couldn't find any info on it...

thanks......
Ron