I bought some anodized aluminum dog bone tags, assorted colors. There were a bunch with no color and some were a very light pink. The pink text was very low contrast and only visible if you tilted it just right. Top tag in image.
I thought I might try Cermark on the pink. With the same laser settings, I actually got a grey scratch resistant marking. Middle tag in image.
Wow! Maybe we can mark aluminum after all! I pulled out a tag with no anodize and sprayed it with Cermark. To see if I could get a darker marking, I cranked up the power and slowed down the laser. Voila! I get an almost black etch on the shiny aluminum. The marking is substantially more pronounced when you pass your finger over it. Bottom tag in image. I think an in-between setting for the laser will work best.
- I have no idea how this would work on different, or thicker, aluminum.
- I do not have to toss 20+ dog tags now.
- Pink or silver is a dollar extra.
P.S. This is an iCube project.