Gravoply 1----Laser ?

[William Wilkie]

Hello All,
Do any of you guys have any history of trying to laser engrave Gravoply 1 (not meant for a laser). I have a customer that really likes this stuff, I am running a laser (model below). I have a whole lot of plates to run.

Also is there a "general" dummies guide to laser engraving, tips, hints, power and speed setting, etc. anywhere online ?

I run mostly Gravoply Ultra .062" and some Anodized aluminum plates.

This site has been a great deal of help, you guys really do a great job of sharing information.

Thanks and Best Regards,

[Rodne Gold]

You will not get good results , cutting especially will be problematic as the substrate used (ABS) is not good for edge quality.
Engraving is normally not too problematic if you minimise power , ie engrave at JUST enough power to cleanly remove the cap.
If you get a lot of melt in your lettering or engraved areas , make the engraving a shade of grey which will "space" the dots so you dont get huge heat affected areas.

[Bill Cunningham]

Rodnes right, it won't cut nicely. However, you can use a higher speed/lower power, and score it deep enough to snap it apart cleanly.. A few practice pieces to get the speed /power right to allow a clean snap off, even around curves..
If you have to raster a large area, expect it to warp badly.. It won't like the heat build-up..