[sdiy] Laser etching powder coated aluminum

[Cary Roberts]

You couldn't pay me enough to do this for hire.  I could see a hobbyist with
spare time doing this for folks though.  A powder coat system is $500 + air
compressor and a usable oven is $350.  A decent import Chinese 60w laser is
$3000 and a you could either punch panels with a used rotex punch or a $3000
CNC mill.  It'd take a good while selling $20 panels to pay back that setup
but they would be nice panels.  I'm personally not a fan of engraved and
filled text like Schaeffer does.

-Cary



>very nice work, when can we send in orders ? :-D
>
>Cary Roberts wrote:
>> A sample of laser etched powder coated aluminum I did for an instructor
at
>> Techshop. Forgive the slightly blurry photos - the actual part was
crystal
>> clear. I'd say it works every bit as good as engraving anodized aluminum.
>> One should probably put a coat of clear powder coat on the work piece
after
>> engraving to ensure the clear areas don't oxidize unevenly.
>>
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/79234330@N00/sets/72157622903590264/0264/