Laser engraving explained
What is laser engraving?
In laser engraving, a thin layer from the top of the material is removed, resulting in a tangible, permanent marking on a material or product. This technique is very suitable for applying logos and markings on products or sheet material.
Laser engraving can be done in two different ways, flat engravings (filled areas) and line engravings (shallow cuts). The advantages of line engravings are that they can be executed quickly and are therefore inexpensive, while the advantages of flat engravings are that they stand out more and are more flexible regarding the information they contain (logo, text, symbols, etc.).
What does laser engraving look like?
The finish of laser engraving depends on the material. Organic material (wood, bioplastic with natural fibers, cardboard, etc.) becomes darker, the degree depends on the depth of the engraving and the specific type. Engravings in plastics are usually white or colorless. The finish of engravings is explained for all materials.
Flat engraving on PMMA
Flat engraving on cork
Line engraving on bamboo
Flat engraving
Flat engraving or raster engraving is a technique where the laser moves at high speed from left to right and takes small steps (a fraction of a millimeter) on the Y-axis. By pulsing at the right moment, we can engrave very complex shapes on plastic and wood. Just like line engraving, this technique is a shallow processing on the surface, a fraction of a millimeter.
Line Engraving
Line engraving is a thin, shallow cut on the top side of the material (except for mirror acrylic, which is engraved from the back to prevent reflection). Generally, it is 0.1mm wide and 0.2mm deep, but in materials with low density, such as foam, it can be slightly deeper. Engraving lines often provide good contrast in organic materials (wood, cardboard, etc.) and are slightly less visible in plastics due to the reduced contrast of the material.
How do I indicate engravings in my drawing?
Since line engravings are shallow cuts, they can be designed as regular cut lines with a different color. However, keep in mind the drawing rules.
Surface engravings must be completely closed shapes, without fill color but with a line color. This might sound a bit strange, but the fill color is ignored in the software; only the line color is considered in our software. In the online portal, it can be specified that the respective line color should be executed as a surface engraving. Keep in mind the drawing rules.
What should I consider when designing engraving lines and surfaces?
Line engraving is always done at the same speed, regardless of the material. For this reason, line engraving is relatively the cheapest processing technique and is very suitable for subtle engravings on large surfaces. Line engravings are not equally visible on every material; for example, on white acrylic, a line engraving is almost entirely invisible.
Flat engraving is a more complex technique and we have created a page where it is explained in detail what you need to consider when designing flat engravings.
On which materials can engraving be done?
In principle, almost any material can be engraved, but the engraving does not always come out well on every material. Whether a material or product is suitable for engraving depends on the physical properties of the object and/or the material. Almost all sheet materials in our assortment are suitable for engraving, with exceptions explicitly indicated.
Flat objects are the easiest to engrave, think of sheet materials, keychains, boxes, nameplates. Round objects can be engraved to a limited extent because the engraving only appears on one side; unfortunately, we cannot engrave around them.The engraving can be a maximum of 30x30cm for objects (the object itself can be larger) or 130x90cm for sheet material.
Wood fiber materials are best suited for engraving. Acrylic can also be engraved well; however, engravings are less visible on white or very light-colored acrylic. Materials where the engraving is barely visible include PE foam, PET felt, and Polyester (PET-G).
