So who has access to a laser engraving machine???

HardRockCamaro · July 02, 2008, 04:31:08 PM

I want to get the lid of my laptop engraved with an image (actually my company logo).

I have the logo in Illustrator format and it's nice and easy (solid colour).

The lid of the laptop is aluminium (painted I believe).

A couple of places in the USA offer the service so I know it can be done no problem.

Can anyone hook me up?

55starchief · July 02, 2008, 04:37:04 PM

Hmm sorry mate, dont know anyone in the UK with a machine, my mate chris sells them in the USA but thats not a lot of help

CJ-IROCZ · July 02, 2008, 05:07:55 PM

Get the dremmel out

HardRockCamaro · July 02, 2008, 05:51:17 PM

I've asked my mate Si as his Dad has some industrial lasers, but I'm looking to get it engraved, not cut in half... LOL!

His lasers have massive (ie building sized) tanks of liquid nitrogen and stuff to power them so I don't know if he can lower their wattage enough. They do engrave stuff with them, but laptop skins are so thin...

art b · July 02, 2008, 07:20:02 PM

etching ...?

nick69 · July 03, 2008, 01:59:53 AM

What about masking it up and getting it Blasted??

HardRockCamaro · July 03, 2008, 06:30:15 AM

Quoting: nick69

What about masking it up and getting it Blasted??

That might work as that's how they etch car glass...
Good idea!

That would mean I could only do basic engraving though as you get what you get whereas the laser power up and down to make different levels of darkness so you can get something more photographic which would be better...
It's also less effort as you just hit print in Photoshop and the machine does the job whereas I'd have to have a vinyl cutter and vinyl, cut out the design, apply to the laptop, blast it, and so on. OK for a one off but if I want to do many then it's a hassle.

Someone must have one as it's what they use to put serial numbers on a lot of stuff and engrave keyrings and trophies and so on...

Just need to find someone with a big enough machine (most are, but the £1,000 ones on ebay are too small otherwise I'd buy one).

HardRockCamaro · July 03, 2008, 08:13:39 AM

Well I've found a place just down the road and I'm gonna pop over later so we'll see how good they are and more to the point how much rip off britain wants for loading up my file in Corel Draw and pressing print...

HardRockCamaro · July 03, 2008, 05:08:09 PM

I hate dealing with UK companies I really do. There's a reason we're not a business tour-de-force...

So I go and see someone who does this sort of laser engraving.

I tell him exactly what I want to do, exactly what kind of laptop and I even email him the logo in the format he requested prior to going to see him (as he asked) to get the job done.

When I get there he tells me he wants me to give him a sample of the material of the laptop to practice on before he does it for real (and I get a material sample of a Macbook Pro from where exactly???). OK...
So I ask, if the sample goes ok, how much to put that image on this laptop (ie this is the size of the job).

Him: "Well... hmmmm..... sharp intake of breath.... it depends on the complexity of the image you see."

Me: "Well, that image right there."

Him: "Well, it depends on the material and the size you want it"

Me: "that laptop there, as big as the back of it".

Him: "Well, I'd have to try it really"

Me: "Well, you jusgt put the laptop in the box and hit print, based on the size of it you must know how long it takes and therefore how much???"

Him: "Well, it's not that simple. It depends..."

So I ring the manufacturer...

Does the complexity of the image vary the cost of the job?
No.

Based on the size of the job, could someone price it up.
Can't see why not, its the only factor.

Can these machines do laptops?
Yes.

Sigh....

If it wasn't for the fact that the machines cost the best part of 10 grand I'd buy one and do it myself.
In the USA there are many companies that will do this work for $100 - $200.
In the UK we are still stuck engraving keyrings it seems...

55starchief · July 03, 2008, 05:13:56 PM

Andy

My mate Chris sells these machines

http://www.engraversnetwork.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.engraversnetwork.com/

You would only need a low power unit i can ask him for advice if you like mate

HardRockCamaro · July 03, 2008, 05:30:22 PM

That would be helpful mate.

I'm pretty sure they're out of my price range though as the cheapest I have seen them advertised in America (for a 35W Epilog brand unit) is $10K. the same unit in the UK is £8K+vat although there is a new model just launching next month at £6k+vat which I'm told would do the job (25W).

I have found a 40W chinese unit for £2k.

I would cough up for the chinese unit if I found lots of other people wanted laptops, ipods, mobile phones or whatever laser engraved. But just for doing mine it's not worth buying one. I want to find someone to do mine as a one off and then if people show a lot of proper firm interest and prepared to pay then I will buy a machine and offer it as a service.
I don't want to buy a machine and hope I will get engraving work. I need to know the demand is there. I'll use my laptop to gauge interest.
If the demand is low I'll just farm the work out.

55starchief · July 03, 2008, 05:34:21 PM

Have pm'd him over on HCP wih a link to your thread. He will know what size you would need mate

BigBadChris · July 03, 2008, 06:55:59 PM

It's too bad your not down the road from me, I'd do your laptop for free!!! The material your laptop is made of is Anodized Aluminum. They engrave very easily. The guy your trying to get to do the work for you is probably just scared of f--king it up!
As far as buying a unit, the ones I sell are made by Universal Laser. The chinese lasers are crap, unfortunately. The laser tube they use is made of glass, and they fail after a few months (6 months max). You have to remember your parts come from China, so they take up to 3 months to get here (not sure about the UK). I know this because we have quite a few people call us wanting us to fix their chinese made lasers. The Epilogs are ok, again I may be biased because I sell Universals.
One thing you really must consider when buying lasers is the actual laser tube itself. All self contained lasers will eventually need to be replaced. The epilogs are a pain in the ass because you have to send your laser to get fixed, and when they fix it they only fix what is broken. And then they send it back. It takes a lot of time, and can buy in the neighborhood of 3-4 grand.
With the Universal's the laser is part of a core system, where you order a new one, it is shipped to you and you swap it with your used one. Usually they are available for next day shipping (in the US).
If you decide to buy, you can buy from me and I can come out and do the training!

I hope this information helps, let me know if you have anymore questions.

HardRockCamaro · July 04, 2008, 05:18:24 AM

Thanks Chris!

The laser tubes of the chinese models I've looked at are indeed glass.
The machine is £1500+tax (about $3500).

The UK reseller of these systems has the tubes in stock at £150+vat each (about $350). He says they last 800 to 1000 hours which by my math would be 6 months if I was using it 8 hours per day.

He says I can change them myself.

The dot size is 0.025mm which by my math is 1000dpi.

As with everything Chinese I doubt the build quality is up to much.

But I can afford $3,000, I can't afford $10,000.

What sort of money is one of your Universals that can handle say 15.4 by 10.4 inch laptops? From looking at their website I'd imagine out of my budget (especially allowing for shipping and the import 25% tax)...
Is there such a thing as a refurb???

BigBadChris · July 04, 2008, 09:44:59 AM

They are about $10,000 as well, so they would be pretty expensive. If you do go chinese, ask him about aligning the beam after a laser replacement. I've never done one on a chinese laser, but I've heard it can be a real pain in the ass. If he says "it's not that bad" make him show you!

We get used ones in, but they seem to hold their value well. a machine large enough to do your laptops (16"x12") usually sell for about $7,000 - $8,000 used.

It may be something you want to get into cheap and see what happens, if it takes off then get you a really nice one!

What is the manufacturer of the Chinese laser?

BigBadChris · July 04, 2008, 09:46:45 AM

Check this forum out, you may find someone close to you to etch your laptop:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdisplay.php?s=acbbce1b4147b4b700a1e4d3b58a3a91&f=8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdisplay.php?s=acbbce1b4147b4b700a1e4d3b58a3a91&f=8

HardRockCamaro · July 04, 2008, 10:39:20 AM

That's just it, if there's a market for it I'll buy the proper machine because there's nothing I hate more than spending *any* money on something I know is cheap s**t.

But £2,000 vs £7,000 is a big difference when you're not sure if it's a viable business or not... It's all about minimising risk right?

Here is the machine:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=160219659159\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=160219659159

I have found the same one in the UK already (well, same spec and looks almost the same, but a different colour) for £1,650 with taxes paid (so about $3,500 all in).

What I want to do is get some stuff done by someone else, then advertise the fact that *I do it and see what the interest level is. If there's huge demand I'll just buy the good machine. If the demand is soft then I'll buy the Chinese one. If no-one is interested I won't bother at all.

BigBadChris · July 04, 2008, 12:10:15 PM

Yep, we see those at trade shows occasionally here. Seems like a "new" company is popping up all the time! I would like to get one for myself (a universal of coarse) but don't have the extra cash at the moment.

They are alot of fun though, thats one thing that I actually like about my job!