I know you have to have a different type of laser to cut through
metal, but after reading the wiki I saw that this laser can faux etch
into metal using a chemical which bonds to the metal. I was wondering
if anyone had actually done this or not. I have something that I
would like to try to "engrave" something in, and I wanted to know the
quality/ finished look, and any problems associated with it. I know
when cutting wood the smoke can cause discolouration around the cut
marks, so I assume that there might be some of this on the metal as
well.
Metal Etching
You can not directly etch metal, you can create the illusion of etching metal with the laser in two ways:
Get anodized metal (typically aluminum), the laser will etch off the anodized coating.
Buy a spray coating that reacts to the heat and bonds to the metal very strongly. So you spray the agent over the metal, run the laser, then wash off the excess. You are left with very distinct markings on the surface.
This needs some more research, nobody has picked up the torch yet though. Laptop Etching
This is generally some form of plastic, and I believe we can etch most laptop plastics. There are some that contain chlorine and we can not etch those. So far nobody has been brave enough to put their digital device under the beam.
Laser Class
In other news I would like to take this as an opportunity to pimp the Laser class that is happening tonight (Monday 7/18 @ 7:30 pm), we will be covering both of these topics and much more at the class.