There was a point in history where engraving automatically meant working with wood, metal or stone. Laboriously massaging intricate patterns and designs into these hard inanimate objects would could take hours and days (as was the case with ancient armor). These days the time spent cutting, marking and engraving is but a fraction of what it once was thanks to the advancements in laser engraving technology. Not only that, but this technological advantage has also widened the spectrum of materials that one can use.
Various industries have successfully adopted laser engraving and cutting to consistently produce precision cut pieces in a short amount of time. Engraving found its roots in woodworking, metalworking and stone cutting, but these days it has penetrated the worlds of fashion and apparel making, architecture and model making, and even the DIY-set has taken a liking to laser engravers since they have become more home-user friendly.
Wood, metal and stone have always been and will always be staples of the craft. In times past, wood was worked to produce ornate cabinetry, beds, doors and firearm stocks. These days engraved woodwork as well as a lot of engraved metalwork is for the gifts and memorabilia market. Besides the keepsakes and mementos crowd laser engraver use in metals often takes place in the industrial sector where precision cutting is required. Marking and etching of metals is also performed with laser engravers for labelling purposes. For the purpose of engraving stone has remained unchanged the longest. Today using lasers, engravers are able to replicate and exceed the works of stoneworkers from decades past. Much stonework is still ornamental to this day.
Due to the versatility that modern engraving systems bring to the table, newer materials have also been introduced into the fray. Highly flexible and loose materials like fabrics (cloth and leather) and paper can now be used to produce patterns for garments or signage. Materials that are fragile like glass and crystal, once thought to be so fragile that only mastercraftsmen can work them, can have a design etched or engraved on them in the course of an afternoon. Instead of relying on these highly skilled and super talented “one man shops”, laser engravers have democratized the craft in order to consistently produce high quality goods, and if need be, en masse.
Materials that never existed before modern era like plastic can also be marked or engraved using laser technology. Much like wood, the laser doesn’t really engrave plastic so much as burn it. With this in mind people often believe that only the densest and heaviest plastics are the only ones that can be worked, however due to the fact that the intensity of most laser engravers can be adjusted, even lighter gauge plastics can be put under the laser.
These are the main materials used in commercial and industrial laser engraving. Of course, there are different permutations of these materials that can produce some interesting results. For example using laser to engrave Brazilian rose wood would yield a different effect than say on walnut or pine. Likewise granite would yield a different result than concrete or limestone. Experimentation is needed to what kind of results laser engraving would have on other materials.
Author bio
Erryn Deane
https://www.needham-coding.com/
Erryn is the digital business manager for The Needham Group of companies, with a wealth of knowledge in laser marking systems, amongst many other things, he has decades of experience in online development, business analysis and management. In his spare time, he likes to find out how things work and looks to improve them, from vehicles to electronics or even musical instruments.
