Arts & Crafts

Attention to detail and individuality characterise your products. With a Trotec laser engraving machine, virtually any design can be reproduced onto a wide variety of materials. Lettering, logos, images, and even photos can be added to your products using a Trotec laser.

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Applications

With Trotec laser engraving and laser cutting machines, you can apply individual designs onto a single piece or an entire series of products. Whether you or another workshop created the design, you can combine long-standing traditional crafts with innovative technology.

Can metal be engraved with a CO₂ as well as a fiber laser?

When marking metal with CO₂ lasers, a special paste or spray must be applied to the workpiece and dried before laser processing. The marking is burned into the metal with the laser. After laser processing, the residue of the paste or spray must be washed off. For this process, a lot of energy is required; so the laser must move at an appropriately low speed. On some metals, high contrast can be achieved using this process, but it should be noted that not all metals are suitable for paste or spray marking. The necessary pastes or sprays can be costly and the process time-consuming. Metal can be directly marked with a fiber laser. A distinction is made between engraving, annealing marking and coating ablation. The Speedy flexx series of laser machines are equipped with a CO₂ and a fiber laser. Use both laser sources in a single job without having to manually change the laser source, the lens or the focus. The patented JobControl^® laser software makes this possible: Simply assign the desired laser source to each colour within the graphic.

Can I achieve the same processing results on all materials?

Synthetic fabrics respond very well to processing, as they often contain plastics or polyester. The laser beam melts polyester in a controlled manner, providing fiber-free, sealed edges. Laser processing organic fabrics such as cotton and linen produces a brownish discoloured cutting edge, similar to laser processed wood. This effect can be partially compensated by selecting the right lens and laser parameters and using compressed air.

Cast acrylic vs acrylic?

Acrylic can be laser engraved and cut. The slightly more expensive cast acrylic ('gs') allows you to achieve crystal-clear cut edges and white engraving. In order to obtain a quality cut, the laser speed should be reduced. As a rule of thumb, a minimum of 10 W of laser power should be applied per mm of material thickness for a high-quality cut in one run. Laser cutting of extruded acrylic ('ex') also produces crystal clear edges, but with a small burr. Extruded acrylic requires less laser power for cutting, but it is difficult to engrave. Acrylic is prone to flaming if the gases caused during laser processing are not removed efficiently, making a high-performance exhaust system essential. A laser-engraving machine must never operate unsupervised.

Does wood burn during laser processing?

Yes. Wood lasering is a sublimation process. However, this result is often desirable. Accurate focusing, selection of the appropriate parameters, use of suitable optics and supply of compressed air allow you to achieve high quality cutting and engraving results. Dust forms during laser processing, which can be seen as smoke. For wood processing, we recommend the use of an efficient extraction system, allowing you to achieve perfect engraving and cutting results. In addition, the service life of your laser device is extended. Extraction with maximum flow rate is essential when it comes to wood processing with a laser machine.