DCWoodworking
Member
I am looking for the best type and brand of machine or capability to engrave on my pens to personalize them for my customers. Thanks for your suggestions
Recommendation for a laser type or engraving machine to use on Pens?
- Thread starter DCWoodworking
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Hippie3180
Member
I'm interested to know what the recommendation is as well.
Lathemaster
Member
So mybe not what you are looking for but I took a basic NEJE 20w Laser and 3D printed the parts to make my own rotary jig back when very few if any reasonably priced systems were available. Not pretty but it has been getting the job done for over 4 years and several hundred pens.
I should also add that this setup is totally dedicated to engraving pens. While there a several good rotary jigs now most are geared tolarger objects like tumblers and glasses.
I should also add that this setup is totally dedicated to engraving pens. While there a several good rotary jigs now most are geared tolarger objects like tumblers and glasses.
Last edited:
gimpy
Member
I have a YoraHome 6550, awesome machine and fantastic customer support
SteveJ
Member
The answer depends on a few things, your budget, your longer term plans, and your available space.
If you want to engrave metal, look for a fiber laser.
If you want to just engrave on wood a diode will work well.
If you are hoping to cut 3/4 inch boards a CO2 laser will be needed.
I've no experience with fiber lasers. I did research both CO2 and diode lasers.
If your shop is subject to freezing you will need to stay away from a CO2 because it needs a cooler.
Price (at the time I bought mine) and a shop which can freeze caused me to go with a diode.
I chose a Rolyautomation 10W and then upgraded to the 20/10W. Great service and a solid machine.
Look for these things which you will likely need if you do get a laser (in no specific order):
1. Air assist
2. An enclosure
3. Exhaust fan
4. Honeycomb bed
5. Rotary (roller style works well for pens, but a chuck rotary is more versatile)
6. Lightburn compatible (not an absolute must but real nice)
7. Built in camera
All of these are included with the Roly. You can get it without the rotary. It is possible to engrave a single line of text on a pen without a rotary.
Rolyautomation.com
Good luck!
If you want to engrave metal, look for a fiber laser.
If you want to just engrave on wood a diode will work well.
If you are hoping to cut 3/4 inch boards a CO2 laser will be needed.
I've no experience with fiber lasers. I did research both CO2 and diode lasers.
If your shop is subject to freezing you will need to stay away from a CO2 because it needs a cooler.
Price (at the time I bought mine) and a shop which can freeze caused me to go with a diode.
I chose a Rolyautomation 10W and then upgraded to the 20/10W. Great service and a solid machine.
Look for these things which you will likely need if you do get a laser (in no specific order):
1. Air assist
2. An enclosure
3. Exhaust fan
4. Honeycomb bed
5. Rotary (roller style works well for pens, but a chuck rotary is more versatile)
6. Lightburn compatible (not an absolute must but real nice)
7. Built in camera
All of these are included with the Roly. You can get it without the rotary. It is possible to engrave a single line of text on a pen without a rotary.
Rolyautomation.com
Good luck!
NGLJ
Member
I have the Sainsmart L8 40W diode laser and I am very happy with it. I have used it to engrave pens using an add on rotary. You can also get a chuck rotary for it. it has all of the features mentioned by SteveJ.
Regarding diode laser power...make sure you research that thoroughly. You need to make sure the output laser power is sufficient. You might read "20W" on a laser module, but its optical output power (actual engraving/cutting power) might just be 5W. There are some diode lasers that use multiple source lasers, say all 5W, and use mirrors and prisms to combine them into a more powerful beam. Usually these are rated as the simple sum of the source lasers, so a 20W output power diode laser might have four different 5W internal lasers. I am not entirely certain that the combined power is 100% efficient, though, and I suspect the actual output optical power is less than the raw sum.
A lot of lasers are sold with their input power rating, rather than clearly stating their output power rating. Just make sure you can find and truly know what the output optical laser power is. A 5W output is good enough to burn some things into wood, but it may not be enough to do much more than that simple task. Further, a 5W laser will do that quite slowly. Cutting gets even slower.
Another point to consider. I've recently discovered that a lower powered laser is basically not really capable of engraving resins. Some, solid colors (notably black) might be possible. But mostly, a lower powered laser just melts the resin in place. If you need to engrave resins, you'll definitely want to find a more powerful laser module.
A lot of lasers are sold with their input power rating, rather than clearly stating their output power rating. Just make sure you can find and truly know what the output optical laser power is. A 5W output is good enough to burn some things into wood, but it may not be enough to do much more than that simple task. Further, a 5W laser will do that quite slowly. Cutting gets even slower.
Another point to consider. I've recently discovered that a lower powered laser is basically not really capable of engraving resins. Some, solid colors (notably black) might be possible. But mostly, a lower powered laser just melts the resin in place. If you need to engrave resins, you'll definitely want to find a more powerful laser module.