Hi everyone , I am wanting some experienced advice ! Has anyone laser engraved a raised logo type design on Steel where they have firstly laser welded metal to avoid wearing away the original object material ? In other words I want to engrave a raised logo on top of some steel that also has an existing design underneath and I dont want to loose any of that so the raised logo has to be accurate and my thinking is to weld material and then engrave that welded area .
Many thanks
T
I think we’re going to need some type of photographic examples.
It looks like the pattern was stamped into a die, which is a completely different process than what you describe.
I’d expect welding / brazing / silver soldering would change the surface metallurgy enough to affect how the fiber laser will remove it, so the texture and coloration won’t look nearly as even around the edges of the raised pattern. That could work nicely as part of the design, at least for some designs.
Perhaps:
- Engrave the pattern as a separate part
- Engrave a socket in the substrate
- Bond the pattern into the socket with a suitable adhesive
That lets you process the high-value pattern separately from the substrate, doesn’t affect the original surface, and lets you process both parts in batches.
Yes , there are a few processes to recreate the raised logo. Of course originally it was stamped in many cases but I was just enquriing for any thoughts / experience.
Thanks
IMHO, you don’t want to engraave something like this. It will be abrasive to the skin if contact is made to other parties and feels rough to the touch. Also collect dirt and debris.
You have the perfect machine to oxidize/anneal the metal, leaving a permanent mark that is both smooth and black.
Using a photo of the clasp, trace it and use one of the masking techniques to leave the area of the stamped logo untouched then you can mark around it with your fiber.
Make sense?
My first thought is to laser the “raised” addition before attaching it to the base metal. That way you can polish, tumble, bead blast only that addition to get the looking more the shade of the base metal.
Do a test piece with if a two-part epoxy adhesive has enough holding strength. If not drill a small hole or two in the base metal and silver solder them together. You are going to get discoloration from the heat, but CLA can remove it, then buff or tumble.