Anyone Using Ikonmetal

[Kenneth Hertzog]

I've just read an article in E J magazine about ikonmetal and wondered if anyone here has used this product and what info they could give me on it.
Good, Bad, or your experience will be appreciated.
thanks for your time
ken

[Gregg Vaughn]

I seen it being lasered at the Indianapolis trade show, they were working on a small piece with a 100 watt machine. Lots of sparks and slow lasering (I'm not sure what settings were being used), but the end product looked nice.

[Scott Shepherd]

Kenneth, I think there are some people who used it on this thread. Used to be a link to a video clip of it being lasered as well. Not sure if that's still there or not :

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...highlight=IKON

[Kelly Bingham]

We used it once - looked great!! customer was happy. it does take verrrry slow speeds and more than one pass to get a good look. you cant cut it with a normal sheer or saw i understand and it seems to me that it would take many passes to try to vector it and they sell limited sizes.

kelly

[Kevin Huffman]

If you are looking for a more permanent fixture than plastics and have a higher wattage machine, Ikon metal is good.
With the lower wattages (< 50 watts), you have to make multiple passes to get any type of depth.
There is a lot more clean up then I expected but the results are really good. I have done many samples with it and I liked every single one I have done.

[Kevin Huffman]

Attached is a picture the Ikon metal sample I did yesterday.
I haven't cleaned it yet so please don't mind the smudges.

[Mike Null]

Here's a previous thread.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.p...ght=ikon+metal

[Scott Shepherd]

Kevin, what kind of run time is on that? I'm guessing about 45 minutes to 1 hour if you had to make multiple passes?

Assuming that's a good guess, at $2 a minute, that's a $120 sign plus material cost. Seems like a very expensive sign.

I love the look of the stuff, and as from my previous thread, I'm really interested in the material, but I can't see anyone I deal with paying for it. Have you found that not true?

[Kevin Huffman]

I am not sure of the time. I do know we ran it on our 30w machine, it took 3 passes at 15% speed and 100% power. The machine was a 42 ips machine.
You should feel the weight of it, it weighs almost as much as a metal sign and will last pretty much for ever.
The only place I could see marketing it to is the high end hotels, high end bars or really up scales places like that. Most normal business will opt for the plastics or other materials.

[Robert Rosensteel]

I used a couple pieces and sand blasted them they came out much deeper than the laser. Alot of sparks and dust was left in laser cabinet. Cost is a factor and what to market with the product at this time is a problem..

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Please keep the help coming and thank you all for the ongoing help.
what I need to do with this product is make a turtle that is about 2 inch square before cutout. this is a medal which is given out. I have till Sept to get about 100+ of them done. currently they are selling for $40 per item.
they expect it to be higher for next year prices. So they ask if I could do them with my equipment. I plan to cut the shape on the CNC machine and laser engrave the graphic or I may do it with a rotary engraver. This is why I'm asking questions before I start to experiment. I've ordered the 3 small pieces of each kind to try. Will keep you informed on the outcome.
ken

[Mike Null]

Have you considered having them cast using the spin casting method?

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Mike
I have NO clue what spin casting is. I don't think I have the machine to do this.
ken

[Angus Hines]

I saw and held a sign similar to the one Kevin posted last Saturday when we were in Tx for 'Laser Class' and it incredible looking and feeling stuff, but @ $138.00 for a 12"x24" piece (stainless) and $120.00 for (Bronze) I think I could find some different alternatives.
But it is as heavy and feels just like real metal, it even has a slight metal ting sound when you pluck it.

[Neal Schlee]

We've used it, just did a plate with for an award for the President of Iceland. We cut the pc. to shape either manually or with cnc, sometime polish depending on finish required, then mask, laser, paint, remove mask and that's it. We use it mostly only on high end awards. If you reverse engrave it, it tends to warp from the heat. Although it can be vector cut with the laser it's better to cut with a cnc or carbide tip saw blade.

Neal
ULS 660 SS 120 watts