The laser was invented sometime in the late 1950s, though there’s some debate about who was responsible for its creation.
No matter the source, one thing is clear: the arrival of the laser revolutionized the medical, engineering, and manufacturing sectors.
One place the ordinary person may have come across lasers is on the engraving on metal memorabilia. In the past, these objects were engraved by hand. Today, it’s faster, more accurate, and more precise to do it using a laser engraving machine.
Are you curious to learn more about the laser engraving process? Then read on!
How Laser Engraving Works, Technically
If you want to engrave an object using a laser, you need a laser engraving machine. This machine looks something like a 3D or ink printer, but it operates quite differently.
There are three main parts to a laser engraving machine:
- The laser
- The controller
- The surface
You can think of the laser as a pencil, the controller like a human hand and brain, and the surface like a piece of paper.
You load your design data into the machine’s computer, place your object into the machine, and switch it on. Inside the device, a high-powered laser directs a laser beam onto the surface of the thing you want to engrave.
That beam permanently carves or vaporizes out the material using heat. This leaves the indentations that define the pre-programmed text or design. In most cases, the maximum depth of a laser engraved image in metals is 0.020″, but it can go deeper in other materials.
Laser Engraving Steps
There are several critical steps involved in laser engraving your product or project.
First, you need to decide what you want to engrave. Laser engraving is exact and versatile, meaning you can choose from a wide range of fonts and imagery. You can also engrave almost any material.
If you’re a talented graphic designer, you can probably whip up a design yourself. If not, spend some time looking around the internet for designs you like, then create a brief to share with the designer you hire. They’ll translate the design into a digital file type that’s compatible with the engraving machine.
Next, you’ll need to work with the operator to decide on the settings you’d like. For example, how deep do you want the engraving to cut into the object? How fast and how often does the laser need to pass over the design?
The operator will run a few tests to check the settings before working on your piece.
If you’re working with a single item, you might be operating the machine yourself. In that case, the steps mentioned earlier are still the same. It’s just that you’re the one controlling the settings, doing the tests, and pressing the start button!
Two Types of Laser Engraving
When it comes to laser engraving, there are two ways of (laser marking on metals or other materials.
The first type of laser engraving is called raster engraving. This is the most common type you’ll encounter. The machine works by engraving the pixels of your design into the object point by point. In vector engraving, the laser machine traces the outline of your graphic or text vector-by-vector while gouging out the engraved design simultaneously.
But how do you choose which style of engraving is best for your project? Raster engraving is typically used for large objects or large engraved areas. However, it’s slower than vector engraving, so if time is of the essence, or you have an extensive product line to engrave, vector might be your method of choice.
What Do People Commonly Have Engraved?
There’s an almost endless list of industries, materials, and objects that people use laser engraving for. That’s because consumers do not just use it. Manufacturers use laser engraving to etch important safety, parts identification, and tracing information onto their products, too.
Some of the items people laser engraved most often include:
- Trophies and medals
- Handmade crafts
- Memorabilia
- Sentimental gift items
- Glass products
- Promotional marketing items
- Coins
- Stamps
- Wood products
- Kitchen items
If you’re engraving sentimental gift items like jewelry, expensive watches, heirloom items, or things like birth or wedding certificate holders, hunt around for the best laser engraver. Ask friends and family members for recommendations, read Google reviews, and check websites like the Better Business Bureau.
What Are the Advantages of Laser Engraving?
A laser engraving machine is an efficient tool for marking products. It achieves results faster, cheaper, and more precisely than traditional engraving.
Wide Range of Materials
A laser engraver can etch your design into an almost endless range of materials with just a few adjustments. This includes:
- Wood
- Textiles
- MDF
- Cardboard
- Paper
- Metals
- Foil
- Glass
- Ceramics
If you’re unsure whether the object you have can be engraved, just drop a line to your local engraving company. The chances are it probably can be!
No Contact Processing
The engraver has to clamp the engraved object in place in traditional engraving, which is completed by hand. It mustn’t be able to move because the engraver requires a steady surface to work on.
This ensures the result is precise–but it can also damage the piece. Laser engravers don’t touch the object at all. Simply place the thing into the machine, and the laser does the rest.
More Detail
The manufacturing industry is all about precision. And a laser engraver produced results that are far more finely detailed than traditional methods ever could.
Due to the computerization of the process, the operator can control every detail of the depth, size, duration, and more of the engraving. As a result, you can create designs down to a tenth of a millimeter in length with a laser–far smaller than most manual processes could ever achieve.
Laser Engraving Process Explained
If you’re looking for a way to permanently mark an object with text or imagery, the laser engraving process is for you. Remember, once something has been engraved, it’s impossible to remove it, so you’ll need to plan your design carefully. Careful planning is even more crucial if you’re engraving a line of manufactured products.
For more insights into today’s manufacturing and scientific innovations, browse the other articles on our blog.