Laser engraving is the process of using laser machines to mark or
engrave on a process. The advantage of using these processes is that it
does not involve the use of inks nor does it involve any tools that
wear out as no contact is involved. It just requires you to adjust the
laser for proper engraving and adjust the intensity.
So my building neighbour came to me with a project idea for Valentine’s Day. He wanted to engrave a drawing that he made onto a flask for his girlfriend. I thought it was a nice idea and decided to borrow the Laser engraver at the company workshop for some time. After running into some snags we finally managed to do this.
So our first trouble was when we used the software of the laser engraver. The software did not accept the .svg file that my friend had brought along. When we scanned the drawing there was too much detail, hence we got a file of a huge size. We saved the file in bitmap format finally and got a move on things.
Since I had never done this before, I thought to first try the laser engraver out on another metal. We used a slab of anodized aluminium. Worked fine on the aluminium but I had no idea what material the flask was made of. So we decided to do it anyway.
The result was a fail. The surface of the flask was too reflective and so it kept deflecting the laser beam. Next we tried out putting scotch tape to the surface of the flask which would allow the laser to leave a mark on the surface. We did get some success but it is not exactly what we wanted.
So finally wed decided to engrave on the leather casing that Karl had made while i was tinkering on the laser. We tried out on other pieces of leather before we got into it. And then after seeing the results we engraved the original piece. And that is one we made the perfect gift.
So my building neighbour came to me with a project idea for Valentine’s Day. He wanted to engrave a drawing that he made onto a flask for his girlfriend. I thought it was a nice idea and decided to borrow the Laser engraver at the company workshop for some time. After running into some snags we finally managed to do this.
So our first trouble was when we used the software of the laser engraver. The software did not accept the .svg file that my friend had brought along. When we scanned the drawing there was too much detail, hence we got a file of a huge size. We saved the file in bitmap format finally and got a move on things.
Since I had never done this before, I thought to first try the laser engraver out on another metal. We used a slab of anodized aluminium. Worked fine on the aluminium but I had no idea what material the flask was made of. So we decided to do it anyway.
The result was a fail. The surface of the flask was too reflective and so it kept deflecting the laser beam. Next we tried out putting scotch tape to the surface of the flask which would allow the laser to leave a mark on the surface. We did get some success but it is not exactly what we wanted.
So finally wed decided to engrave on the leather casing that Karl had made while i was tinkering on the laser. We tried out on other pieces of leather before we got into it. And then after seeing the results we engraved the original piece. And that is one we made the perfect gift.
