CAD CAM EDM DRO - Yahoo Group Archive

RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Engraving...

Posted by Dhiren Shah
on 2005-08-16 10:02:02 UTC
Floating spindle motors and lighter gantries separate milling machines from
engraving. For small size characters, you would have to run your milling
machine slower or the shapes of the characters would be deformed.

You have a few choices:
1. Get a proper V bit tool for your chuck in your milling machine and run
the jobs slower. May not work well with typical 2 ply plastic engraving
material due to irregular surface material. If you plan to go deep into
wood, you may be OK.
2. If there is enough business, you could buy a new engraving system.
3. If you can find a dead engraving system, you could upgrade it by
eliminating old electronics.
4. If you have sufficient budget, you could acquire a laser engraver with
CO2 laser cartridge for wood, plastic, and anodized metals or YAG lasers for
hard and soft metals.

Dhiren Shah, Dir., Operations
Solustan, Inc., 165 Chestnut St., #200, Needham, MA 02492
PH:781-449-7666, FAX: 781-449-7759
www.Solustan.com
www.LinkMotion.com

-----Original Message-----
From: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of shadi_salhab_78
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 12:46 PM
To: CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Engraving...


Mark,
Thanks for the valuable info.
But the hermes.com seems to be a fasion site ?!!

Are you sure of the name?

Thanks










--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, Mark <mfraser@h...> wrote:
> hermes.com has lots of good reading on the subject.
> Quick overview of what I think I've learned...
>
> Real engraving spindles turn at 20,000 rpm or much higher,
> because a very small diameter tool can't be pushed very fast
> thru any material or it will break. Figure on 3 inches/min
> for a 1/32 inch dia toolbit. maybe even lower, for a 5,000
> rpm typical mill spindle.
>
> The V-shaped cutter is typical for rotary cutting. It will have
> an included angle and a tip width spec - read the hermes stuff.
> A "D" cutter is most often found on real machines for rotary
> cutting.
>
> There is also diamond-drag engraving, which is non-rotating.
> Just a point that gouges or scratches the surface.
>
> For rotary, use lubricant - rapid-tap, e.g., for non-ferrous
> metals, alumitap is another.
>
> I rigged up a holder for a dremel on my spindle head, which
> increases table travel by 6-7 times the speed. If you're
> doing small stuff where a thou is an important parameter,
> the dremel likely won't be stable enough.
>
> since the surface of the workpiece may not be perfectly flat,
> you'll get variable width (due to variable depth of the v-cutter)
> as you pass over the high and low spots. Many "real" spindles
> are spring loaded so that they apply constant force of the cutter
> on the workpiece, yielding better uniformithy.
>
> Use engraver's double sided tape. Carpet tape and other double
> sided stuff takes way longer to remove than the engraving takes.
> Heat gun or hairdryer helps. I HATE that DUCK brand has taken
> over most outlets, their double sided stuff isn't well suited to
> workpiece holding. Strong, yes...
>
> I've done quite a lot of experimenting with carbide and HSS
> cutters, have had fairly good luck making D-cutters from
> broken carbide PB-board drills. Use a diamond wheel to shape
> them. I've found that I can make a fairly "polite" drag tip
> by grinding to a point, then working it over with a diamond
> bearing rubber polishing wheel on the dremel. Smooth, not
> surgery-sharp, no burrs on teh workpiece.
>
> Fonts are another challenge - truetypes are outlines only, which
> doesn't necessarily look all that great. So, I often will pick a
> font with 'fat' vertical portions, then use my cam program to
> pocket each letter, which usually produces 'not bad' results.
> Set it up so that the lines (drag, usually) are spaced wider than
> the dia of the scratch, for best results.
>
> And I'm still learning... At 10 cents a letter, I don't see any
> way of getting real rich real fast, at the speed my mill works, a
> nd the time it takes for setup and tape-removal...
>
> Vac table experiments will happen soon, I guess.... / mark





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Discussion Thread

Mark 2005-08-15 21:43:44 UTC Engraving... shadi_salhab_78 2005-08-16 09:46:28 UTC Re: Engraving... Dhiren Shah 2005-08-16 10:02:02 UTC RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Engraving... Andy Wander 2005-08-16 10:32:24 UTC RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Engraving...