engraving anodized alum

[srmaietta]

hello all, I am planning on engraving some aluminum panels, anodized dark blue. and or black. I will need letters ranging from .125 up to .250 tall, just deep enough to expose the shiny metal. I plan on using rotary bits, but would like to try diamond dragging as well (if the bits are reasonable -$)

any tips on depth/speeds, bit angles etc. basically I need to know where to start my experimenting. I have a laminate trimmer 30k rpm.. should I get one of the cheap router speed controls?

And with the diampnd drag, how do you set the drag pressure - spring loaded tool holders? or do you set the Z to go say .002 -.005 below the surface?

diy cnc router, mach3. want to get the vectric software.
newb here thanks for any tips or starting points!

~Steve

[5S Dude]

Originally Posted by srmaietta hello all, I am planning on engraving some aluminum panels, anodized dark blue. and or black. I will need letters ranging from .125 up to .250 tall, just deep enough to expose the shiny metal. I plan on using rotary bits, but would like to try diamond dragging as well (if the bits are reasonable -$) any tips on depth/speeds, bit angles etc. basically I need to know where to start my experimenting. I have a laminate trimmer 30k rpm.. should I get one of the cheap router speed controls? And with the diampnd drag, how do you set the drag pressure - spring loaded tool holders? or do you set the Z to go say .002 -.005 below the surface? diy cnc router, mach3. want to get the vectric software. newb here thanks for any tips or starting points! ~Steve

Hi Steve, I used the diamond drag method utilizing a 1/8 shank diameter diamond dressing tool from our grinding dept. and mounted it into the spring loaded tool holder. Worked great!

[srmaietta]

Thanks 5S dude for the reply. What spring loaded holder are you using? Should I worry about my non lockable spindle messing up the engraving? Does the drag process put heavy side loads on the spindle bearings that I should worry about in the long run?

thanks
~Steve

[5S Dude]

Originally Posted by srmaietta Thanks 5S dude for the reply. What spring loaded holder are you using? Should I worry about my non lockable spindle messing up the engraving? Does the drag process put heavy side loads on the spindle bearings that I should worry about in the long run? thanks ~Steve

Hi Steve,

I use the spring loaded engraving holder from “2L inc. P.O. Box 105 Hudson, MA 01749 (978)567-8867” http://www.2linc.com/engraving.htm
It works awesome and with the adjustable spring tension there is very little side load if any. I typically program a Z-.007 to .010 deep with a feed rate of F50. to F100. inches per minute and the engravings come out razor sharp. On my V2XT, I place the spindle in neutral and program a spindle speed of S750 because there is a safety interlock that won’t let the X & Y axis move with out a spindle speed.

[srmaietta]

thanks for the info man!!!!!

ill have to look for the spring loaded tool holder.

cant wait to get going!

~Steve