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Engraving, possible CNC purchase help

Midnight_Turner

Registered
Joined
Jun 10, 2016
Posts
219
Location
Sutton in Ashfield nr Mansfield
First Name
Miles
Hi all.

I’m getting more and more requests for engraving. Now I have been doing decals and to be fair, it looks fine, but it means I have to do a ca finish which I hate, and it’s generally a faff. Was thinking therefore to get a small CNC engraving machine. Does anyone have any experience of these? Can anyone advise please on the purchase of one?

Kind regards

Miles


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silver

General dogsbody
Executive Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Posts
6,301
Location
Somewhere in Staffordshire,
First Name
Eamonn.
Hi all.

I’m getting more and more requests for engraving. Now I have been doing decals and to be fair, it looks fine, but it means I have to do a ca finish which I hate, and it’s generally a faff. Was thinking therefore to get a small CNC engraving machine. Does anyone have any experience of these? Can anyone advise please on the purchase of one?

Kind regards

Miles

It all depends on what you want to actually do, they are two very different pieces of kit.

A CNC tends to be a router type machine that either engraves the likes of glass and steel with the right type of bit and then also works as a router type machine.

The engraver machine is just that, it engraves only, there are several different types out there, CO2 or the light laser (similar to the laser pointer only much more powerful)

I know [MENTION=284]johnny5[/MENTION] has a CNC he might be able to give you some thoughts on that, and if I remember rightly [MENTION=1682]KevinMc[/MENTION] has the light laser. "Neja" type machine.

I have a 40w CO2 one, which is a very good machine now that I have "customized" it to what I wanted to do. The pain to get it where I wanted hasn't been an easy one, however a friend of mine has the 100w unit that he works straight out of the box. no issues.

It all comes down to what you want to pay, Chinese and Taiwan imports are common and a very cheap option, however, they are cheap units so be prepared for some heartache with them.

You can get a NEJE light units for less than £100, CO2 units start around £300 and a small CNC you can get for around £400.

Bear in mind with them most nearly always use G Code to operate and you will need to get your head around that and the software you decide to use. You will also want to decide if you would like a rotary axis as well.

There are forums and G+ communitites for Laser engraver and CNC so if you want to go that way do your research first.

There are also forums that cover both machines such as CNC zone. K40 laser cutter upgraded to AWC708c controls

MYCNCUK

Home | K40 D40 Chinese Laser Machine Forum

But.... If you want anything particular engraving then PM me and can always look at what we can do.

PM me your tel number if you want to talk it over as sometimes its difficult getting all the info you need over here.
 

fingwe

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Nov 2, 2015
Posts
322
Location
Suffolk
First Name
Melanie
Unfortunately, in terms of a CNC, I'm not sure that there's a good, cheap, reliable solution which can engrave small text with accuracy and which looks good. Laser may well be a better bet, though still not cheap if you're looking for something which looks good.
 

Midnight_Turner

Registered
Joined
Jun 10, 2016
Posts
219
Location
Sutton in Ashfield nr Mansfield
First Name
Miles
It all depends on what you want to actually do, they are two very different pieces of kit.

A CNC tends to be a router type machine that either engraves the likes of glass and steel with the right type of bit and then also works as a router type machine.

The engraver machine is just that, it engraves only, there are several different types out there, CO2 or the light laser (similar to the laser pointer only much more powerful)

I know [MENTION=284]johnny5[/MENTION] has a CNC he might be able to give you some thoughts on that, and if I remember rightly [MENTION=1682]KevinMc[/MENTION] has the light laser. "Neja" type machine.

I have a 40w CO2 one, which is a very good machine now that I have "customized" it to what I wanted to do. The pain to get it where I wanted hasn't been an easy one, however a friend of mine has the 100w unit that he works straight out of the box. no issues.

It all comes down to what you want to pay, Chinese and Taiwan imports are common and a very cheap option, however, they are cheap units so be prepared for some heartache with them.

You can get a NEJE light units for less than £100, CO2 units start around £300 and a small CNC you can get for around £400.

Bear in mind with them most nearly always use G Code to operate and you will need to get your head around that and the software you decide to use. You will also want to decide if you would like a rotary axis as well.

There are forums and G+ communitites for Laser engraver and CNC so if you want to go that way do your research first.

There are also forums that cover both machines such as CNC zone. K40 laser cutter upgraded to AWC708c controls

MYCNCUK

Home | K40 D40 Chinese Laser Machine Forum

But.... If you want anything particular engraving then PM me and can always look at what we can do.

PM me your tel number if you want to talk it over as sometimes its difficult getting all the info you need over here.

What great advice thank you so much!! Could you post a link on where to get one of the light laser ones, I’d start off with an import for around £100 then work my way up!

Thanks again


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silver

General dogsbody
Executive Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Posts
6,301
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Somewhere in Staffordshire,
First Name
Eamonn.
What great advice thank you so much!! Could you post a link on where to get one of the light laser ones, I’d start off with an import for around £100 then work my way up!

Thanks again


I don't recommend anything in particular but if you search in google for " laser engraver" you will find a host of sellers out there.

This is the type of machine you are possibly thinking of then I presume.


engraver.JPG

The I would recommend you pop over to the IAP and follow the link below for more advice and information. There is loads on there for you to read and catch up on.:winking:

Happy reading..:face:

Chinese Laser Engraver - International Association of Penturners
[MENTION=1431]Midnight_Turner[/MENTION] Just thought another thing you need to know is wait until after the 23rd February and you will see the prices drop a little as its Chinese spring break (New year to us) so the prices and service will be effected.

If I were you I wold wait until early March before ordering. Priced tend to go up until end of March due to demand and stock availability.
 

Penpal

Grand Master
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May 26, 2013
Posts
25,340
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Having followed the string on these at IAP there is many a twist in the operation,satisfaction level with so many variables. Good luck with your plan mate.

Peter.
 

Pierre

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Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Posts
996
Location
Southern Central France
First Name
Pierre
I don't recommend anything in particular but if you search in google for " laser engraver" you will find a host of sellers out there.

This is the type of machine you are possibly thinking of then I presume.


View attachment 34859

The I would recommend you pop over to the IAP and follow the link below for more advice and information. There is loads on there for you to read and catch up on.:winking:

Happy reading..:face:

Chinese Laser Engraver - International Association of Penturners

[MENTION=1431]Midnight_Turner[/MENTION] Just thought another thing you need to know is wait until after the 23rd February and you will see the prices drop a little as its Chinese spring break (New year to us) so the prices and service will be effected.

If I were you I wold wait until early March before ordering. Priced tend to go up until end of March due to demand and stock availability.


yep that's the machine I use. For pens its limitations are square area 2.5cm x 2.5 cm and height (a slimline) I put the names on the finished pen and the imprint is virtually impossible to detect.

here is an example IMG_0916.jpg

The software comes on a USB key and you must tell your firewall to accept a potential virus ( I am a computer specialist as well so I was able to control it and there was no virus, its own code is written like one!!)
Once the software is correctly installed you either type text into the interface or drag and drop the appropriately sized picture into the box then once you are happy with the final picture send it to the machine and print .

I always use a text piece first as you can see from the picture and the system has a handy lining up box which flashes a box the same size as what you will print so you can get the final piece in place. You can use virtually all of the fonts on your computer.

this second picture was a first dirty try for me on a rough cut piece of wood IMG_0010.jpg it looks better when its smooth. PM me if you want more info but be aware that I have a heavy workload at the moment so may take a couple of days to reply.
 

Bill Mooney

Blind old git
Grand Master
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Aug 16, 2014
Posts
10,997
Location
County Durham
First Name
Bill
What great advice thank you so much!! Could you post a link on where to get one of the light laser ones, I’d start off with an import for around £100 then work my way up!

Thanks again


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I bought mine from Amazon for £109.99. It is a Meterk which is another brand name for the NEJE. Same machine, same software Miles. It is small but will engrave a Pen.
 
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