Stainless steel engraving


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    Exclamation Stainless steel engraving

    Hello everybody, it is my first thread!
    I am a beginner in CNC world, so excuse me in advance for no technical words

    As i told i would like to start with a CNC machine to engrave stainless steel, i am a 3D designer (i know artcam). I have seen many machines from 100$ to >20.000$ my goal is to create a kind of punches to stamp design over brass or alluminum, (i think steel is a good material for that right?), so my job is to create "stamps".

    I will not use this machine many times, i will create 2-3 punches/stamps every month. I know there are companies that create custom punch based on the customer design but i would like to learn it myself.
    Can anyone help me to find a cnc machine to start my works? If someone want to sell an old machine i am interested in buying it too. but keep in mind it will be my first CNC so i cannot buy machine > 1000$

    Thank you so much!

    Similar Threads:
    Last edited by cncrome; 05-04-2018 at 05:07 AM.


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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    I've never heard of anyone making stamps out of stainless steel. Usually tool steel is used. It can be cut in its annealed state and then hardened afterwards. But since you don't have the budget for a machine that can cut stamps with a CNC (just the spindle that's capable of the speed you need will cost more than $1000) I'd suggest looking into a photo-etching process instead: How to Electro-Etch a Solid Metal Plaque

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    Or get a pantograph. It's not cnc, but they have made thousands of stamp punches over the years. And maybe within your budget.



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    Quote Originally Posted by greggv View Post
    Or get a pantograph. It's not cnc, but they have made thousands of stamp punches over the years. And maybe within your budget.
    Is there no the same problem? I think I need big motor to engrave it no?



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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
    I've never heard of anyone making stamps out of stainless steel. Usually tool steel is used. It can be cut in its annealed state and then hardened afterwards. But since you don't have the budget for a machine that can cut stamps with a CNC (just the spindle that's capable of the speed you need will cost more than $1000) I'd suggest looking into a photo-etching process instead: How to Electro-Etch a Solid Metal Plaque
    I am reading...it is such a very good technique...please could you provide other resources or books? Thanks!



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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    Quote Originally Posted by cncrome View Post
    I am reading...it is such a very good technique...please could you provide other resources or books? Thanks!
    There's a pretty good article about electro-etching in Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...y-electricity/

    The nice thing about it is that you don't need to deal with dangerous acids, or acid salts like ferric chloride. But most people who are serious about etching still use that stuff. If you're doing a small project, you can use a feather to brush the surface and keep new acid solution active there. But for large things, or lots of work, you'd use an etching machine, which either splashes the acid onto the piece, or sprays it on, which gives better results without undercutting (which can be a problem). Here's one: Super-Etch Etching Machine | Cronite

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
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    Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
    There's a pretty good article about electro-etching in Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...y-electricity/

    The nice thing about it is that you don't need to deal with dangerous acids, or acid salts like ferric chloride. But most people who are serious about etching still use that stuff. If you're doing a small project, you can use a feather to brush the surface and keep new acid solution active there. But for large things, or lots of work, you'd use an etching machine, which either splashes the acid onto the piece, or sprays it on, which gives better results without undercutting (which can be a problem). Here's one: Super-Etch Etching Machine | Cronite
    thank you so much! It is very interesting.
    One question: how to create different edges on the same metal ? Is that possibile somehow?



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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    What do you mean by "different edges"?

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
    What do you mean by "different edges"?
    I meant different thicknesses inside the same design i need to etch. I would like to create non-flat designs. Let suppose we need to each a "face", there are parts that must have different thickness.
    Understand?



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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    @ OP you mean something like this?

    Stainless steel engraving-20161229_161435-jpg

    Stainless steel engraving-20161229_161709-jpg

    Stainless steel engraving-20161222_170047-jpg

    A cheap CNC 3040 can do this, it took me two and a half hours to do this on a steel mold. It fits on your budget >>> Link

    Stainless steel engraving-20170315_164631-jpg

    Stainless steel engraving-20170410_140616-jpg

    Stainless steel engraving-20170324_124449-jpg


    Stainless steel is a bit pain in the ass to work with, I have done 300 pcs. of stainless steel watch bracelets, all I can say is " I wish I had a coolant recirculator installed on this machine" some very fine very sharp metal chips will fly around sometimes will poke on my fingers and arms because we still have no coolant recirculator installed. not to mention it`s so sensitive to heat, once the lubrication sometimes dried it will cause the carbide tool bit to turn RED of excessive heat due to friction and warping the stainless material upwards, and makes the carbide tool bit to overheat even more and change it`s state from a very hard material to a soft rubbery metal then it gets dull too fast. I really hate working on stainless steel materials without a coolant recirculator pump honestly.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Stainless steel engraving-20161229_161435-jpg   Stainless steel engraving-20161229_161709-jpg   Stainless steel engraving-20161222_170047-jpg   Stainless steel engraving-20170315_164631-jpg  

    Stainless steel engraving-20170410_140616-jpg   Stainless steel engraving-20170324_124449-jpg  


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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    i mean something like:




    as you can see there are different thicknesses, shadows etc..



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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    and...





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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    Yep im sure a cheap CNC 3040 can do that, ive`d been making steel stamps lately, unfortunately I did not took a picture on the products, and it`s already been delivered on the customer, tool steel is the best material for stamping, because you can hardened the metal to make it more tougher than it`s previous state.

    here`s a sample on it on a plastic material before I worked on it on tool steel. it`s about a size of a US 10 cent coin.

    Stainless steel engraving-20170704_163635-jpg

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Stainless steel engraving-20170704_163635-jpg  


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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    Quote Originally Posted by KH0UJ View Post
    Yep im sure a cheap CNC 3040 can do that, ive`d been making steel stamps lately, unfortunately I did not took a picture on the products, and it`s already been delivered on the customer, tool steel is the best material for stamping, because you can hardened the metal to make it more tougher than it`s previous state.

    here`s a sample on it on a plastic material before I worked on it on tool steel. it`s about a size of a US 10 cent coin.

    Stainless steel engraving-20170704_163635-jpg
    Yes that's perfect, but as far i have understood it correctly, many people are saying that engraving steel is a pain and i should buy a very expensive 3040 CNC. No?



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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    On my experience, commercial CNC machines can make stamps easy and fast like 10-20 minutes, DIY 3040 can make stamps for 30 minutes to 2 hours. the only difference is only time. expensive CNC machines = fast, cheaper CNC machines = slow

    Edit: just to give you a hint, a cheap $199 CNC 2015 can even engrave actual hardened gun parts


    Stainless steel engraving-photo0040-jpg

    Stainless steel engraving-photo0046-jpg

    Stainless steel engraving-cncat2015-3-jpg

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Stainless steel engraving-photo0040-jpg   Stainless steel engraving-photo0046-jpg   Stainless steel engraving-cncat2015-3-jpg  
    Last edited by KH0UJ; 05-11-2018 at 11:40 AM.


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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    It looks like what you want to make are coining dies, not what I thought of as "stamps". An etching process isn't going to give you those contoured surfaces; it works on one level at a time, like 2.5D machining. I'm skeptical of the ability of a cheap router to do a good job at that, but it's true that when you're using very small cutters on steel, you don't need as much torque and you do need a lot of speed, so a router-type spindle can work. If this is all you want to do, I'd suggest you look for an older pantograph machine. There are a lot of them coming onto the market as the industry upgrades to CNC machinery and a digital workflow. You'd typically make the pattern much larger in plaster or a similar material, and then use the stylus on the pantograph to trace over the pattern while the mechanical linkage reduces the movements to the size of your die.

    Of course, you can do all this digitally, either using a 3D scanner to capture the pattern or modeling it directly in a CAD program, then using a CAM program to translate that into tool paths a CNC machine can execute, but it sounds like you aren't really going into heavy production on these things, and you'll need to save up for a coining press, or make one that drops a heavy hammer head on your die from a height.

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


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    Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
    It looks like what you want to make are coining dies, not what I thought of as "stamps". An etching process isn't going to give you those contoured surfaces; it works on one level at a time, like 2.5D machining. I'm skeptical of the ability of a cheap router to do a good job at that, but it's true that when you're using very small cutters on steel, you don't need as much torque and you do need a lot of speed, so a router-type spindle can work. If this is all you want to do, I'd suggest you look for an older pantograph machine. There are a lot of them coming onto the market as the industry upgrades to CNC machinery and a digital workflow. You'd typically make the pattern much larger in plaster or a similar material, and then use the stylus on the pantograph to trace over the pattern while the mechanical linkage reduces the movements to the size of your die.

    Of course, you can do all this digitally, either using a 3D scanner to capture the pattern or modeling it directly in a CAD program, then using a CAM program to translate that into tool paths a CNC machine can execute, but it sounds like you aren't really going into heavy production on these things, and you'll need to save up for a coining press, or make one that drops a heavy hammer head on your die from a height.
    could you give me a link or photo to see what pantograph machine you are talking about?

    Thank you!



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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    I'm not recommending any particular one. Just keep an eye out for any used pantographs that come onto the market. Ebay is good for this sort of thing. This Gorton pantograph, for instance, originally cost a lot more than they're asking for it now: https://www.ebay.com/i/292554428294?chn=ps But if you keep looking, you might find a better deal.

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    Default Re: Stainless steel engraving

    Something like this?

    Stainless steel engraving-prototype3-jpg

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Stainless steel engraving-prototype3-jpg  


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