Laser engraving or Laser cutting is the using of a powerful laser emitting diode to engrave and mark an object, typically metal or glass or any hard substance. Laser cutting and etching,
digital laser cutting tools
engraving does not use ink or tool bits where the bit is doing the cutting and touching the surface.
A laser engraving machine is divided into three parts
- Laser
- Controller
- Surface.
The laser is like a very precise pen or pencil - the beam emitted from it allows the controller to trace patterns onto the surface.
The controller (a computer normally) controls the direction, intensity, speed of movement, and spread of the laser beam aimed at the surface that needs cutting.
The surface is any material that will be compatible to the cutting action of the laser
The most common Laser Engraving machine is configured X-Y table, where the work surface like a table is stationary and the laser optics moves around in X and Y directions and directed by the computer or some sort of controller to draw vectors [Vector in its simplest form is moving from point A to point B] in laser cutting it means that the laser is controlled to cut in a specific way to start at a particular segment and finish when it reaches it’s intended end point.
Less common is the configuration where the laser point is stationary and the work-piece moves around the device.
There are other types of laser engraving machine that are in use, including a cylindrical type where the laser traverses a fine helix and on/off laser pulsing produces the desired image.
A laser can remove material very efficiently and precisely, because the laser beam is designed to deliver energy to the surface in a manner which converts a high percentage of the light energy into heat.
So what is laser engraving?
The best way to describe it is by using the analogy of your desktop printer, First You design your signs and images to be engraved on your computer and you send the finished work to the printer to be printed. Like the printer the digital laser cutting machine will accept the print job it has been giving and will proceed to “print” –ENGRAVE the images and text on the surface of the object instead of paper as would normally happen in a printer. The precise way that that laser cuts or etches the image onto the surface of the target is why it is used more and more in Trophies engraving, and metal printing, bronze imaging even wood cutting. It is most useful where permanency is required, especially in EVAC fire procedures in modern buildings.
