Questions Concerning Laser Engraving

Hi All, I’ve got some questions concerning laser engraving. Yes, I know it isn’t going to be as nice as hand engraving. But, I have this vision of being able to create multiples of dogtags (to capitalize on the current EDC movement) with deeply laser-cut graphics. From years of participating in art galleries with my one-off originals, I’ve envied the flat artists who could paint one painting and send their kids to college by selling multiple prints.

So, I have lots of questions. My vision is as follows: Get a moderately large number (maybe several hundred - depends on multiples price breaks, of course) of dogtag shapes cut (water jet?), then have small runs of those laser engraved with my graphics, repeating the popular graphic designs, with smaller numbers to get rid of (or eat…) for my less successful designs.


I’m not talking about scrolls - I’m currently thinking about steampunk designs something like my Steampunk Viperfish knife (above, but not sculpted and excluding the copper and gold inlays).

Seems simple in concept. But, I have no idea of the capabilities of laser engraving machines. Asking around locally, all of the laser engraving here is only done on thin anodized aluminum, and I’m wanting fairly thick (1/16 to 1/8 inch) dogtags of copper, bronze and/or titanium.

So - First set of questions: I know there are laser engravers that cut designs on gun steel. Are there companies who can laser-cut depths similar to background removal like I do by hand engraving? Who are they, any recommendations? Do any of you laser engrave and are looking for work? Ball park pricing for 75% coverage of a dogtag sized graphic for maybe 10 or 25 at a time? Can they laser engrave copper, bronze and titanium (I’m not interested in decals or plastic-laser-stuck-on stuff)? Preferred computer format for graphics? What do I need to know about the computer graphics end of this process (I’m pretty good with computer graphics/Photoshop/Illustrator)?

More questions: Is water jet a good option for the dogtag blanks? How much hand finishing will be left from that? Are there better options other than water jet? Ballpark pricing? Recommended companies?

Any other things my tiny brain hasn’t thought of? Anybody have good war stories of similar attempts? Am I nuts to be thinking of trying this?

Thanks,

Tom Sterling

Is water jet a good option for the dogtag blanks? How much hand finishing will be left from that? Are there better options other than water jet?

I use a local company to cut out parts from 1/8 inch aluminum sheet with laser. I'm told they can cut as thick as 3/4 inch in aluminum, stainless steel, and mild steel. They leave tiny pieces un-cut and I have to wiggle them back and forth to break them free of the "webbing". So, there is a little bit of finishing needed with a vertical belt sander. If you are doing dog tags, I would suggest you tumble finish your tags with 600 mesh plastic triangles and burnishing solution with a vibratory tumbler. Then finish with mirror finish steel shot. You will have brightly polished parts with minimal hand work. Thanks for the replies, guys!

Doc, thanks to what you said, I was able to successfully search for laser cutting services fairly nearby. So, half the answer is there - thanks for the info.

Bruce, thanks for the steer. I have to agree with you that we may be looking at part of the future of engraving.

Chris, I'm curious as to how the Artesa handles background removal, but I'd prefer to hire the service, not buy another expensive machine. But, thanks for the lead - I really appreciate the information. The videos are interesting as well.

I'm surprised there's nobody on this forum who has knowledge about laser engraving? Maybe you'd prefer to keep your responses private? If so, here's an you can reach me at: tomtalk(you know what goes here)comcast.net. Sorry for the anti-spam measure...(you know what goes here) = the @ symbol.

Thanks,

Tom Sterling