Full Version: Evaluation of IKONmetal ?
From: Mike (MIKEN) [#27]
30 Mar 2007
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#26] 30 Mar 2007
It was a 2"x3" brass colored piece and while I'm not finished with it yet my early observations are:
1. It looks great and feels great. Has good brass color and a lot of heft.
2. It's hard to engrave. I attempted to do a relief similar to your sample and after 7 passes at 100% power and a speed of 35 ips on a 45 watt machine I was able to achieve a depth of only 1/32". The cycle time for the piece was 2:04 minutes.
3. Besides the difficulty in engraving to depth the piece warped. After 7 cycles it was warm to the touch and began to noticeably lift up at the ends.
4. I will post a picture when finished. My concern now is all the time and work involved to save a few dollars over zinc from Pella or another supplier and of more concern is whether this product would delaminate after repeated cycles at more intense settings.
From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#28]
30 Mar 2007
To: Mike (MIKEN) [#27] 30 Mar 2007
Mike,
With my 30-watt laser I have to run the job about 5-7 times to get a depth that you can paint fill and have a 2-dimensional look. This is why I don't do large plates with this material. It's not cost effective to do so with a laser.
I have not had any problem with warping, but I can definitely see that as a possibility with a higher watt laser and larger plates. The heat combined with the composition of the material may be conducive to this problem. It looks like routing may be the best option for achieving depth with this material.
Hopefully, the rep from Photobrasive will join this discussion and share her thoughts.
EDITED: 30 Mar 2007 by DATAKES
From: Mike (MIKEN) [#29]
30 Mar 2007
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#28] 30 Mar 2007
This piece is 2"x3" and I guess that I have about 30 to 40 minutes in the job counting laser time. I thought I could save my customer some money and increase my profits but I don't think that will happen with this item.
From: PenTrophy (PENINSULATROPHY) [#30]
30 Mar 2007
To: Mike (MIKEN) [#29] 30 Mar 2007
EDITED: 30 Mar 2007 by PENINSULATROPHY
From: Mike (MIKEN) [#31]
30 Mar 2007
To: PenTrophy (PENINSULATROPHY) [#30] 30 Mar 2007
Thanks for that info. I'll give it a try.
If this stuff engraved a little faster I think I could use a lot of it but I can easily see an hour of engraving for an 8x10 piece.