cell phones - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	Debbie (DEBBIEG)	6 Apr 2007
To:	ALL	1 of 14

6562.1
Can someone help me out with my memory lol Ok some can say that is a loss cause but anyway.... Did I read someplace where you can laser engrave on cell phones? If so and if some has done this process, would they be willing to explain the do's and don'ts and how or what phones the process can be done on. I ran into my neighborhood cell phone rep and the subject came up. So I am coming to the experts!! :D :D Debbie

From:	Barbara (RGILE)	6 Apr 2007
To:	Debbie (DEBBIEG)	2 of 14

6562.2 In reply to 6562.1
I have a RAZOR phone, and took off the back cover to the battery, engraved on it, using the anodized aluminum setting on my laser and it came out fine. I showed it to a cingular rep, and she told me to bring her some cards. That is the only one that I did though, so I can't help you with other types. Barbara Barbara Sample RGile Engravers

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	6 Apr 2007
To:	Debbie (DEBBIEG)	3 of 14

6562.3 In reply to 6562.1

Debbie,

It depends on the composition of the cell phone housing.

The Motorola Razr is housed in an anodized aluminum case, which engraves very nicely. I've mostly seen laser engraving on Razrs, but I think diamond-drag or burnishing could also work.

Plastic housings may be able to be laser engraved, but the results could vary, according to the type of laser used.

Plastic housings can be successfully rotary engraved and color-filled.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

EDITED: 6 Apr 2007 by DGL

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	6 Apr 2007
To:	Debbie (DEBBIEG)	4 of 14

6562.4 In reply to 6562.1

Plastic cell phones can usually be drag engraved also for identification. Watch your pressure on the diamond, softer than pure gold.

After my digital camera for the kiosk was stolen at two days old, think it was a since fired emoloyee, I drag engraved the new one. I still have it there after about 18 months.

It gives a nice impression, but no contrast at all. It is almost impossible to remove, a good thing.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	Debbie (DEBBIEG)	6 Apr 2007
To:	ALL	5 of 14

6562.5
Ok so from the sounds of it laser engraving of cell phones can only really be acheived on one style of phone. And diam. drag is out since I do not own one of those machines. At least I have info to bring back to my phone rep Thanks Debbie

From:	LaZerDude (C_BURKE)	6 Apr 2007
To:	Debbie (DEBBIEG)	6 of 14

6562.6 In reply to 6562.5
quote: Ok so from the sounds of it laser engraving of cell phones can only really be acheived on one style of phone. Never say die! The faster the speed, the less the power, the less the chance of failure. Do you have some friends that would be willing to let you experiment on their phones? If you use high speed and low power, I think you would be able to achieve an engraving on any phone....unless of course it is PVC. Good luck

From:	Mike (MIKEN)	6 Apr 2007
To:	Debbie (DEBBIEG)	7 of 14

6562.7 In reply to 6562.6
Debbie: My curiosity got the best of me. I just happened to have a couple of spares laying around so here's what I found. The phone in the pics is a Motorola flip phone. The clear (black) material on the front is probably polycarbonate. It is difficult to engrave--seems to be very hard. I recommend two or three passes. I would use a 600 dpi setting and power and speed similar to what you would use to engrave name tags. I believe trying to do it in one pass will tend to melt the material. The material on the back of the phone may be abs--just not sure but it engraves fairly well. Try to do this in two passes as well but with lower settings than the front. If I were doing this for a customer I hope I would have centered the engraving. The color fill is acrylic hobby paint. Mike Null Dist. of Lazer Cutting Grid www.stl-laser.com
EDITED: 6 Apr 2007 by MIKEN

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	7 Apr 2007
To:	Mike (MIKEN)	8 of 14

6562.8 In reply to 6562.7
Mike, Thank you for donating your phones to science. :-) The phone with the blue color-fill looks pretty crisp. David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA

From:	Mike (MIKEN)	7 Apr 2007
To:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	9 of 14

6562.9 In reply to 6562.8

David:

I'll play with the settings on the front side a little more to see if I can sharpen it up.

On the back the depth may be .005"--just enough to color fill.

Your special color fill tool worked like a charm.

For those who don't know the tool is a business card.

Mike Null Dist. of Lazer Cutting Grid www.stl-laser.com

EDITED: 7 Apr 2007 by MIKEN

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	7 Apr 2007
To:	Mike (MIKEN)	10 of 14

6562.10 In reply to 6562.9
quote: Your special color fill tool worked like a charm. For those who don't know the tool is a business card. Mike, All this time, the people I keep asking for business cards, think I'm trying to drum up business for them. :B David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA

From:	Cody (BOBTNAILER)	7 Apr 2007
To:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	11 of 14

6562.11 In reply to 6562.10

David,

You are a very funny man, my friend.

How are you using the cards for painting?

From:	Tony (ANTE)	7 Apr 2007
To:	Cody (BOBTNAILER)	12 of 14

6562.12 In reply to 6562.11

Cody, once you flod engraved area with paint use old business cards to scrape (remove) paint leaving only slight paint wich is easy to clean up.

Tony

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	7 Apr 2007
To:	Cody (BOBTNAILER)	13 of 14

6562.13 In reply to 6562.11
Cody, Funny, as in odd? :-) Here's the demo: http://engravingetc.org/forum/index.php?webtag=EE&msg=2340.14 David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA