I am looking to make rubber apparel labels to be sewn on hand bags. .they are basically logos or text that is fairly small in detail at times..my idea is to make masters and then mold these with silicone in order to make molds to be cast in rubber...im considering which method to use in order to create the masters so i thought id post here for advice.
im considering laser engraving, milling or 3d printer.
3d printer isnt a solution due to the sometimes very small detail..milling is an option but its time consuming and our only 3d mill is often being used and is unavailable so that leaves me wanting to laser engrave the masters.
My logic is that if laser engraved thr lettering would be untouched by the laser and will preserve the smoothness of the original stock and i can engrave the recessed areas and then cut out my masters and use these to cast but i have one concern and that is what material to use.
Laser engraving on the machines we have should allow the fine detail i seek at a reasonable speed but my concern is a material that can be engraved with fine detail while still preserving that detail.
I have tried acrylic and the results are not fantastic..small detail seems to burn or warp when the engraving is deep.
Is there a more effective material i should be trying?
you don't have to do, everything in one pass, 3 x passes that each remove 0.2 mm of material is the same as 1 x pass that removes 0.6 mm of material, it's just slower, and therefore "kinder" to the material in question.... I "iteratively raster engrave" wood this way to a depth of 20 mm of removed material, in 10 passes... if you use slightly different design files for each pass you can get a 3D effect without sparking a quarter of a million on a new kern....