Hi, I have a task to clear white marking on grey anodised aluminium and mark a new text using either monport or omtech laser. What is the best stragety to remove or hide previous marking and mark new text? Thanks in advance.
AZ
Could you post a pic?
You canât, unless you can re-anodize it. Which means you would likely have to remove the old anodize coating. Laser engraving anodized aluminum is a One-and-Done deal.
Anodizing aluminum uses an electrochemical bath to build a thick, protective oxide layer on the metal. Clean and degrease the part, attach a titanium or aluminum wire, submerge it in a sulfuric acid bath as the anode, run a DC current to grow microscopic pores, add dye to color it, and boil to seal.
One option is to totally clean the aluminum, so the old markings will not show, and enamel coat it. You can then laser off some if the enamel. Of course you lose the durability of the anodize.
Short answer: Start over with new anodized aluminum.
Hi Mikey,
Thanks for always responding. Just to clarify one point that currently article does not have engraving bubt marking and, I guess, it can be engraved for the first time (if it can be cleaned / masked somehow). I thought to explain it as I understood from your comment that may be I mentioned about already engraved articles. [quote=âMikeyH, post:3, topic:191363â]
Laser engraving anodized aluminum is a One-and-Done deal.
[/quote]
You can check Lenovo Tab Pen Plus as sample as it is similar material and has marking âLenovoâ in white on grey anodized aluminium. Hope there is some idea to complete it before holidaysâŚfingers crossed!
Thanks
AZ
That white writing is likely paint. Grey over aluminum would not give you white. I
Are you sure it is aluminum? The button on the side suggests it is plastic instead. I have one like it (black plastic) for my Samsung phone. If you have one, make a tiny scrape at the top to see what is under the grey.
For a tiny font, you might try the SHX line fonts, like ISO9. Windows also has some line fonts with the standard install.
I have to agree with them on most points.
You can create white on aluminum. This is black iodized as far as I can tell, donât know how you could create black aluminum.
Good luck.
Hey Mikey,
I rubbed the surface on bottom and top and it is being rubbed fast like plastic. Even ChatGPT is confirming that it is plastic, at least outer body. Now does it change your idea of using fonts? I was planning to use an image with my text to overwrite it in one go. What do you say?
Hi Jack, I think it is plastic. Is there any suggestion for plastic material as well?
My suggestion for the font was based on the size of the pen. The image below is an 11mm diameter pen, much larger than yours. It was also done with a 10w diode (Sculpfun iCube) and no rotary. I had a lot more area for my logo than you have.
My stylus pen is 6.75 diameter with about 5mm of flat area on each side. The hilight along the center of yours indicates it is round without any flat surfaces. I would guess a max of 3mm working width without a rotary, and 5mm with one. If you try to wrap the text or logo too far around, it will be visually unappealing. You look at a pen, but rotate a glass or mug.
Hi Mikey,
The existing text is 16x4mm which I was thinking to paint first and then re-write my required text. Today I tried different settings for writing text only but still looking for how to paint to remove existing text. What are your settings for above markings?
Thanks and Regards,
AZ
There is two types of CNC machining, subtractive and additive. A 3d printer is additive machining.
The other removes or damages the material. Either of these, once operated on, can not restore the original part. Like engraving the text on a steel cube, you damage the surface and you canât get the original cube back. You can mill it down to take material out around the text and make the side clean, although shorter.
However, you canât do this on a laser. They have little depth control as far as having text burnt into it, each pass removes a layer off the surface, even across variations, such as text. You canât set a specific depth that is even across an area that has had damage.
You donât mention what kind of a machine you have, at least itâs not in your profile.
Most co2 lasers will work with plastics, usually melting them. Many types of plastics and other materials react with the heat and release gas that could be toxic or lethal.
Make sure of what you want to do and with what materials.
Make sense?
That is bamboo, so my settings would be meaningless in your application.
Hi, Good Day!
My plan was to make white rectangle to hide existing writing and then write a logo on that white rectangle. However, could not figure out how to write in black as monport laser is still marking in white. Below are settings for making white rectangle and marking logo. Logo otherwise marking fine on grey cover (see attached pics: I was also testing limits for making white rectangle so burned it in the process therefore plz ignore burned issue).
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Settings for makink white rectangle to hide existing text:
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Settings for marking image logo (which works fine on grey but need suggestions to make it black)
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Test Results
Thanks in advance,
AZ
You need to help us help you. Your machine/power/lens isnât mentioned in either your profile or in the post.
I know itâs am OMTech, so it could be about anything. The settings appear to be something only a fiber has.
Suggest you update your profile (License Management â Update Forum Profile).
When someone posts a question to you, when trying to help you, itâs only simple courteous to answer their questions.
Specifically you need to tell us what kind of material it is. If you donât know, we have our hands tied and likely canât help you as much as weâd like.
All I can tell you is that for a fiber, you can usually use a much smaller interval. However, it adds more heat, which appears you donât need as your material appears melted. With a fiber you can melt some metals.
If youâre attaining white, it appears to be working from your description. You might not be able to obtain black at all. It depends on the type of material.
Can you convert your âimageâ to a vector? Might simplify things.
So you wanted to burn it white, then burn it black with the same material and machine? It does not work that way unless you are using laminated with various colors.
Laser has 2 colors, burned and not burned.