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Engraving

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Frederick

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Hi all,

I have for some time contemplated engraving pens by laser. The price of a reasonable machine is, to say the least, astronomical and therefore well out of my reach. I have seen these Neje machines advertised and thought I would give it a go. This is the 1.5watt version.

83EC1A1C-5E70-4FB1-BC9B-E7B9DAC755E6.jpg

Having spent the day trying to work out how to use it and learning its limitations, this is what it can do.

7A07DB3A-5EE5-41DE-BA56-5B80A897B0D1.jpg

For a cheap (about £100) the results are not too bad. There are significant drawbacks, of course there are for this price, but if you want to engrave a wooden pen then this could be an answer.

The machine is made in China from DVD/CD carriages. The software is extremely “clunky “ and frustrating, but it can be seen that an enormous amount of thought has gone into making this.

The instruction say that it can engrave on Acrylic but as yet I have not managed to do it, the surface being too shiny and the laser not being powerful enough. All in all though, if all you want to do is engrave wooden pen blanks, then this should do the trick.

Cheers
Frederick
 
Lons

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Looks a decent buy at that price.

Did you buy it from Oz Frederick, I've spotted the reason it's cheap - it prints upside down.:ciggrin:
 
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Frederick

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Lons said:
Looks a decent buy at that price.

Did you buy it from Oz Frederick, I've spotted the reason it's cheap - it prints upside down.:ciggrin:
Click to expand...

:funny: I even had the camera the other way this time and it still did the same :rolling
 
Bill Mooney

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Hi Frederick, I have one of these & it works ok but I have to master the android software yet.
I read somewhere to blacken acrylic with say a sharpie to kill the reflection & it should work. I’ve not tried this yet.
 
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Frederick

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Bill Mooney said:
Hi Frederick, I have one of these & it works ok but I have to master the android software yet.
I read somewhere to blacken acrylic with say a sharpie to kill the reflection & it should work. I’ve not tried this yet.
Click to expand...

Hello Bill,

Now I know why they supplied a black felt pen with it. Thanks for that. I will try it and let you know. I have looked into the Android application for this and did sucessfully download it. However, information on the web has stated that it is full of viruses and try it at your own risk so i didn't go any further with it. Anyway, I don't think I really need it. I have tried roughing the surface of the Acrylic with a view to polishing it later, but that did not work.

Cheers
Frederick
 
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Frederick

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Bill Mooney said:
Hi Frederick, I have one of these & it works ok but I have to master the android software yet.
I read somewhere to blacken acrylic with say a sharpie to kill the reflection & it should work. I’ve not tried this yet.
Click to expand...

Hello again Bill,

I have just tried it (even at this time of the morning) and it works very well indeed. Wipe off the blackening and reapply it to highlight the engrave and the results are good. You do need full or at least 80% though. Whether this varies with the type of Acrylic, I am not sure.

Cheers
Frederick
 
flexi

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Someone on another forum and I think there is a forum for the Neje engravers said they used masking tape and engraved through that??:thinks:
 
stevenw1963

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I have a similar laser engraver and tried it on a pale green acrylic, the acrylic was engraved, on 100%, but it couldn't be seen.
You do have to ''fill in'' the engraving lines as unlike the wood etc, the laser doesn't burn the acrylic.
tried a bit of black polish (as that was what was at hand) and it highlighted the engraving very well, suppose you could try black paint and wipe the excess off if you're quick.
 
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stevenw1963 said:
I have a similar laser engraver and tried it on a pale green acrylic, the acrylic was engraved, on 100%, but it couldn't be seen.
You do have to ''fill in'' the engraving lines as unlike the wood etc, the laser doesn't burn the acrylic.
tried a bit of black polish (as that was what was at hand) and it highlighted the engraving very well, suppose you could try black paint and wipe the excess off if you're quick.
Click to expand...

Hello Steven,

The laser, as far as I can tell, just melts the acrylic and doesn't not vaporise it. This leaves a ridge around the engraving which has to be removed which effectively reducing the depth of cut. I have found it best to use a lower power i.e. approx 75 to 80% and repeat the cycle two, three or even four times. Also, if engraving black acrylic the surface is still too reflective and a matt finish or covering is still required.

As Mark stated (AKA Flexi) masking tape should work although not tried it yet.

Cheers,
Frederick
 
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Hi Frederick,

Good results on the flat blank. I would be interested to see what it looks like on a turned to size piece of wood?
 
Bill Mooney

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To engrave a turned blank you need a rotary table to rotate the blank so as to keep the focal length of the laser. I have one which was made by a friend but am unable at this time to show it on here as I’m moving stuff about & it is boxed up & is in limbo until I get sorted. There’s a guy in Os who makes & sells them. You can see them on YouTube. I hope this helps.
 
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Paul hd said:
Hi Frederick,

Good results on the flat blank. I would be interested to see what it looks like on a turned to size piece of wood?
Click to expand...

Hi Paul

I have not had any problems engraving on circular wood. I know that the focal point changes but it doesn't seem to matter. On a larger radius then I suppose it would. I don't have any pictures yet but will post some when I next play around with it.

Cheers
Frederick
 
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Frederick

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Bill Mooney said:
To engrave a turned blank you need a rotary table to rotate the blank so as to keep the focal length of the laser. I have one which was made by a friend but am unable at this time to show it on here as I’m moving stuff about & it is boxed up & is in limbo until I get sorted. There’s a guy in Os who makes & sells them. You can see them on YouTube. I hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Hello Bill

Thanks for this. I have tried it on slimline/streamline etc and it seems to do OK. What you say is correct and the focal length changes but if the writing is small enough and the circular blank is large enough, I have got away with it. I have tried Acrylic but not wood as yet.

Cheers
Frederick
 
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Paul hd

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Frederick said:
Hi Paul

I have not had any problems engraving on circular wood. I know that the focal point changes but it doesn't seem to matter. On a larger radius then I suppose it would. I don't have any pictures yet but will post some when I next play around with it.

Cheers
Frederick
Click to expand...
Thanks Frederick,
I look forward to the pics. :thumbs:
 
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Frederick

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Engraving on round blanks

I tried this today and I don't think the curved surface made that much difference. Soft wood 10mm dia.

20191208_215031.jpg

It does the job, unfortunately I am now hooked on engaving my own pens that I make. Down the rabbit hole I fall :funny:

Which way will this one come out? Who knows...........:banana:

Cheers
Frederick

It's the correct way up :claps::claps: Different camera this time.
 
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Paul hd

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Frederick said:
I tried this today and I don't think the curved surface made that much difference. Soft wood 10mm dia.

It does the job, unfortunately I am now hooked on engaving my own pens that I make.
Click to expand...

Hi Frederick,

That looks brilliant. I think I will have to get one of these.:thumbs:
 
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