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
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
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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
900x600 80watt EFR Tube laser from Liaocheng Ray Fine Tech LTD. Also a 900x600 2.5kw spindle CNC from Ray Fine. And my main tool, a well used and loved Jet 1642 Woodlathe with an outboard toolrest that helps me work from 36 inch diameters down to reallllllly tiny stuff.
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.
Epilog Helix 50W, Epilog Fusion 40 75W, Tekcel Router, Taylor Hobson Model D & K
Dalgren 2516i, Epilog Fusion Pro 120W
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.
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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.
Lasers : Trotec Speedy 300 75W, Trotec Speedy 300 80W, Galvo Fiber Laser 20W
Printers : Mimaki UJF-6042 UV Flatbed Printer , HP Designjet L26500 61" Wide Format Latex Printer, Summa S140-T 48" Vinyl Plotter
Router : ShopBot 48" x 96" CNC Router Rotary Engravers : (2) Xenetech XOT 16 x 25 Rotary Engravers
Real name Steve but that name was taken on the forum. Used Middle name. Call me Steve or Scott, doesn't matter.
Sammamish, WA
Epilog Legend 24TT 45W, had a sign business for 17 years, now just doing laser work on the side.
"One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher
"The handyman's secret weapon - Duct Tape" R. Green
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.
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All but one of these are laserable, and yes, you can tell from the covering... (as Vic pointed out)
Last edited by Kev Williams; 11-24-2015 at 7:43 PM.
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ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
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.
Mike Null
St. Louis Laser, Inc.
Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
Gravograph IS400
Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
Dye Sublimation
CorelDraw X5, X7
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
Rowmark
Director of North American Sales & Customer Service
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
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Looks like my floor....
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
Rowmark
Director of North American Sales & Customer Service
It does indeed Phil - Thank you very much.
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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.
SawmillCreek.org
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
45W Epilog Helix
Corel X4, Photoshop CS3
Sherline 4400 lathe
JET 1221 Lathe
JET 1014 Lathe
Craftman 36" VS lathe