Has anyone engraved aluminum business cards? Amazon sells blanks. Wondering about the type of bit and how to secure it during engraving.
Thanks.
I got pretty good results using the Carbide 3D “MC Etcher” drag bit (120 degree). You still get a tiny bit of a burr though. I made a 3d printed jig to hold one card at a time so they wouldn’t get marred and I could quickly put one card in after another but you could do the same thing with clamps (just don’t put any force on the card that would warp it at all).
2 Likes
Lasers are the easiest for that job. But The McEtcher would work great and actually give some “feel” to the engraving that laser wouldn’t as well as being shiny instead of the dull white of a laser. I would make a small, shallow pocket in MDF the exact size of the card with a thumb notch added to pull the cards out.
2 Likes
The video featuring these as part of the many projects: https://youtu.be/5sn539S4rH0
3 Likes
For what it’s worth, my JTech 7W (diode) laser wouldn’t make even the slightest mark on anodized aluminum from onlinemetals.com. I even sent a sample to JTech and they couldn’t etch it either. Perhaps one of their newer 24W or 44W lasers would work, but anodized aluminum seems like a job for a CO2 laser…
2 Likes
Sorry. Should have specified- I am considering CNC.
I agree with @SLCJedi, lasers are the best for this particular job.
CNC, Lasers, 3D Printers and Plasma Cutters are all symbiotic tools. CNC is the most versatile of the four.
This is what I recently wrote to a customer who was looking at starting a sign making business. You may find some of the perspective in that note helpful.
** Here are my thoughts:
- If you’re looking to cut a lot of wood, Shapeoko 5 Pro is the machine for you.
You’ll undoubtedly find success with the machine and the capability it will open up. Our machines are the strong basis for tons of sign makers worldwide. The ability to accurately cut a wide variety of materials into nearly any shape will take your creativity to places you haven’t even dreamed of. This is true for all of us, including me. I was a customer long before I worked here. The machine made me more creative. Owning a CNC is an awesome experience. - If you would like to use the CNC to create the items you sent, the ideal material would be aluminum rather than steel. The Shapeoko 5 is more than ready for aluminum duty. The limiting factor for time and details would be the endmills needed to produce the outline of the crab. The larger letters could be done quickly and easily with a 1/4" single-flush endmill on Shapeoko.
- For the Crab and other fine detail work, you’ll need smaller endmills and longer run times. The exact demands of any given design are up to you. Learning what exactly is possible takes experience and experimentation.
- That said, if you need to cut sheet steel, you’ll need to buy a plasma cutter or small water jet in addition to your CNC machine.
Several tools are indispensable to a sign-making business.
1: The CNC machine. It’s the most versatile creative tool for the myriad of jobs you want to accomplish. Wood, Metal, and Plastic are all equally at home in the CNC. (metals = mainly aluminum + brass). A CNC is also unmatched at creating depth in all those materials.
2: A laser: This used to mean exclusively CO2 lasers, but fiber lasers are making an impact today. I still think that considering the cost and size of the laser, you’ll find that CO2 is the most capable sign maker for the money.
3. A Plasma Cutter: This allows the incorporation of steel shapes to your capability and designs. Outdoor signs significantly benefit from steel construction. If you have that capability, you can guide your clients to utilize steel in outdoor applications and then sell them an indoor sign as pretty and intricate as they imagine. That indoor sign will be made with the CNC. Because you have the increased capability, you are making two sales to a client instead of one.
I hope these thoughts are helpful to you as you look to build your business.**
4 Likes
My intent was to carve wood, so I purchased the Shapeoko 5 Pro.
I was presented with the business card job. My concern was that I could not do a quality job and/or the selling price would not be worth my time.
Sounds like I should get the bit and try a sample.
Thanks for all the input.
1 Like
Good stuff. The bit is worth it for all kinds of other fun uses. MC Etchers are a blast. I use the 120° more than the 90°. But, I’m always in favor of having all the possibilities at my fingertips. If it were me I’d buy the combo pack.
5 Likes
Hi, Is this the new engraving tool path for just Carbide 3D and if not any suggestions for updating the software for 2D? ALSO… I’m thinking about upgrading to the 3D but still learning 2D but thinking if I’m still learning might as well learn both at the same time or is that a bad idea and should I master 2D first then 3D? Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions.
The Engraving toolpath is a 2D feature in Pro
For a work-around/alternative see:
Since 3D pretty much requires 2D geometry, I would recommend at least covering the basics of that first. We have videos at:
https://my.carbide3d.com/#Design_with_Carbide_Create
and I’ve written up a bit at:
https://willadams.gitbook.io/design-into-3d/2d-drawing
and
and also you may find something helpful at:
If there’s something specific which you wish to know which you can’t find information on, let us know and we’ll do our best to assist.
1 Like
What wavelength is the laser? 7w is plenty to etch anodized aluminum if the configuration of the laser and delivery optics is correct.
I have a JTech 24W on my S5Pro. I haven’t tried engraving anodized aluminum on it yet, but they say it does it.
I have engraved anodized aluminum on the 130W CO2 laser at work.
CO2 will certainly mark aluminum but it is not as easy as other wavelength lasers. The problem is that aluminum is highly relfective to 10um light. The CO2 wavelegnth is around 10um. Aluminum marks well with the CO2 if the power is high enough and you have a fairly short focal length. For marking, 130w is pretty high output. The best, or easiest, for marking anodized aluminum is a near infrared laser which is near 1um. I looked and saw that the JTech is 455nm. It is possible that the energy density is not high enough in that configuration for marking aluminum. But it is entirely possible that the 24w laser will do it if the energy density is high enough. Comparitively, a diode laser (near 1um light) putting out even 3w will mark aluminum unless the optical setup is less than optimal.
Well, I’m guessing the anodized coating absorbs a different wavelength of light than the bare aluminum. The CO2 does a great job at low power on anodized aluminum. Haven’t tried unanodized as aluminum doesn’t discolor with heat.
How do you clean off the burrs from aluminum without scratching it?
How did you fill in your name?
Is it possible to do letters without Contour – so it would be a single line instead of outlined?
I go to a local metal supplier and get them to order me sheets of alumnuim with a protective plastic on both sides. I leave that on when engraving/cutting so i can clean the alumnuim up afterwards without scratching it. Im sure wherever you’re located you could find someone to do that for you. The only disadvantage is you usually need to order at least one sheet (48" x 96") so that may be overkill for what you need.
2 Likes
Thanks. This project is the business cards sized blanks from Amazon.