laser inked metal - small engraved name plates

We all like laser.
We all like metal.
From the name plate of the company fat cat to the brass letter combination for the letter combination for burning --
Everyone has some use for laser metal.
Put the two together and you will get some really cool results.
If you use metal marking ink, you don't need a super-strong laser to mark the metal.
In this note, I will discuss how to do some cool designs on metal using Adobe Illustrator RetnaEngrave Cermark.
From making simple desk nameplates to big signage and all the designs in the middle, this is useful for all sorts of things.
"I did it at TechShop" Techshop is a great place for this project.
They have all the necessary equipment, and once you show them how great the laser ink metal is, they will always be equipped with eager admirers!
You can check out our other projects at Smith Allen Studios.
ComTo start, you need to get the right thing.
Unfortunately, it's not that cheap.
For other products used to mark the metal, there is a lot of instructions that depending on the product and the base metal, they may work properly.
We tried a lot on a bunch of different substrates and you really got what you paid.
Our suggestion is to find the right thing.
So you need: a vector-based drawing program (
Adobe Illustrator, Rhino, AutoCAD, etc)
1 Laser engraving machine (
Full Spectrum Laser 36x24 used here)
1 can of Cermark (LMM-6000)
1 piece of metal to be marked (
6061 aluminum shown here)(
McMasterCarr or equivalent)
Nitrile gloves (rubbing alcohol paper towels)optional)
Plywood for the manufacture of fixtures (optional)
Measure the size of your metal plate.
In your vector drawing program (
Illustrator shown here).
Make your work area as large as your metal plate.
Make sure that the work area is not greater than the laser cutting machine you will be using and that your device is the same as the one used on the laser.
Make a drawing or drawing in black on a white background.
You can go as much as you like, and the fill and the thick lines work well.
The thin line works until about 0.
According to the laser you use, 25pt.
Explode the text into the outline to make sure it is read correctly.
The laser will read the vector and the grating, so pay attention to what is filled and what is transparent.
Once you 've finished the design, measure your artwork and then measure your metal again to make sure everything is right.
Note: In order for the Retina carving to respect the 0,0 position of the artwork, you have to have something near 0,0.
So if your work does not contain x0 and y0, you need to cheat the software.
Do this by very time