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Thread: Engraving Bricks with a Xenetech 1625

  1. #1

    Engraving Bricks with a Xenetech 1625

    Hey all,

    So I recently acquired a Xenetech 1625 and then the next week a customer asked if I would be able to provide 500 engraved bricks for their school. I have a Xenetech 912 which isn't tall enough to fit a brick in so I would have to use the 1625 which I haven't even installed/tried to fight Xenetech for their software which I've heard can be problematic.

    The question is two fold-

    Can a Xenetech 1625 reliably route out/engrave 500 bricks without falling apart or would that damage the machine?

    Is it possible to get the software from Xenetech as I would be installing it on a new computer.

    Thank you in advance for your patience; I don't have a lot of knowledge when it comes to rotary engraving, I just parrot what I've seen.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Iowa USA
    Posts
    4,441
    This Forum is primarily about laser engraving. Yes you could laser engrave bricks, not all types however. Rotary engraving I think would be messy, dusty and hard on any machine. Why did you purchase a machine without the software to run it?
    Retired Guy- Central Iowa.HVAC/R , Cloudray Galvo Fiber , -Windows 10

  3. #3
    I think you're going to have a tough time getting a satisfactory result on bricks with that machine. But that may be the least of your problems. I would not advance any money to Xenetech based on reports we've had posted here. (do a search) Engravlab software is better software and I believe it will work on Xenetech. Contact Fred Schwartz at Quality One engravers and discuss your issue with him.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
    Gravograph IS400
    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
    Dye Sublimation
    CorelDraw X5, X7

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill George View Post
    This Forum is primarily about laser engraving. Yes you could laser engrave bricks, not all types however. Rotary engraving I think would be messy, dusty and hard on any machine. Why did you purchase a machine without the software to run it?
    Hi Bill,

    The bricks will be walked on so I don't think that laser engraving will provide the necessary depth/durability. I've used the cermark on bricks before and I'm not impressed and I wouldn't recommend it to a customer. The machine was given to me as the previous owner couldn't pay his lease and was walking away from his building.

    @Mike

    Thanks, I'll give Fred a call. I talked to his wife yesterday a little bit, I'll try to get in touch with Fred himself. I'll do a little research on Engravlab; I've read about it before and I assumed that it was a laser only software.

    I'd still appreciate any other feedback/experience anyone else has had with engraving bricks with a rotary machine; my wife engraved about 200 ceramic/stone tiles for an apartment complex with a rotary engraver before but the material is different and I don't know if this would destroy the machine.

  5. #5
    It won't destroy the machine but it will eat up cutters. A chip collector would be handy. I used Engravlab on my rotary engraver.

    Sandcarving is the best process for bricks.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
    Gravograph IS400
    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
    Dye Sublimation
    CorelDraw X5, X7

  6. #6
    Some guy came by about 3 weeks ago wanting me to engrave a couple of concrete pavers, as a 'mom's memorial' within the patio he's making. Both my fiber and C02 machines will engrave the concrete, but we're talking like 3 minutes with the fiber to get "TEST" in 3/8" high letters deep enough to catch a fingernail. These pavers won't be walked on, so what I did was, I painted the pavers- one 12x12", the other 6x12", with a couple of heavy coats of black paint. Then I put the laser to the pavers, engraving away everything BUT the words, using my 420/300mm lens. Took 3 minutes to swipe the entire 12x12, only took one pass-- and they look great! Then I clearcoated them with Rustoleum 2x matte clear, about 3 heavy coats. The clear darkened the pavers a snick. They've been out in the weather, from 20's to 80's snow rain and clear skies for 2 weeks. I told the guy worst case was he may need to shoot another coat or two of clear on them every year....
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


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