Hello fellow laserers. I have tried to find the answer on this for a while, so I’m hoping you van help me out. I am trying to figure out what i need to mass produce electrical labels such as in the picture attached. I know its plastic, but im not sure what kind, and i dont know what laser equipment i need. I know it will have to be a very expensive laser to produce the quality i need, but i need some direction as to fiber vs co2 and wattage needed. Any ideas on what kind of plastic this is would also be very much appreciated.
To add to what @baricl1317 said, Trotec also sells a product called TroLase that is similar to Rowmark. I agree that a CNC router will probably make nicer nameplates, but lasers are also used with the materials mentioned.
The rounded ends of the letters suggest those were made with a router, not a laser, and if that specific appearance is important, a rotary cutter is the way to go.
ABS is fine for CNC machining, but laserable sheets from reputable sources will be acrylic. Per Wikipedia:
I’m willing to believe it, although a good outcome surely depends on having a known-good ventilation system of the sort one might not find on, say, a desktop diode laser.
We make those same kinds of nameplates. It’s a 2 layer acrylic. We are currently using IPI, but Rowmark makes a similar product. There are pros and cons to whatever kind you get. What you have pictured is a white core with a black cap.
Rotary will get you the best results, but I use a 60w CO2 laser in my shop here and it works, but it does take some tweaking to get right, especially with the white core as opposed to the black core.
You can create the beveled edges, but it is a bit of work. I use Offset Fill to do it. Also, white cores are known for coming out dirty, so I use low power (like 10%) and go over it twice.
If you want, I can post an example of a project I have done, so you can see. Then you can tweak it to your own dimensions and text that you need.
