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Engravers Laminate & CNC Router help please?
Hi Guys,
We have a small CNC router, and have just got some samples of the engravers plastic (the one that has the different colours layers throughout – brand name is traffolite i think.), used to make small signs.
We thought we’d try to experiment using various different bits ( from small ball nose to a larger v-carve bit, but the black showing through always ended up looking like a dull grey, not jet black as we would have liked.
Any advise on how i could use my current setup to make these signs look great ?
I suppose I could inkfill, but it kind of defeats the object, doesn’t it?
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6 Replies
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That material comes in different top and core colours, is it possible the one you’re trying has a grey core rather than black?
Just a thought.
Jim -
yeh, sounds like its maybe the core thats a dark grey.
something to watch that i did a few years ago… i was engraving a bit too deep, so i had barely any core left, eg nearly through to third layer. so the second layer, now almost gone was forming a thin skin over the last colour/layour of white which was changing the cores colour as it was almost transparent.hope that made sense? 😕
i dont think it will be this as your using a v-shape cutter i was using a flat bottom cutter. but worth mentioning anyway 😀 -
i hear you guys, but this one i was using was a brushed brass effect one side, a brushed aluminium effect on the reverse, and just one colour ( meant to be black running through ). I do have some of the ones with different colours running through, but havent tried them yet.
Did you get good results with a flat end mill then Rob?
Thanks
Danny
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Traffolyte is a Phenolic resin core with either a solid resin cap (colours) or in your case , a brushed aluminium skin. I use tons of it , wonderful material BUT it is NOT for exterior use at all – the silver pits and the gold fades.
You HAVE to use tungsten carbide bits with it and ideally a single flute "d" bit (engraving type cutter) This stuff is highly abraisive to cutters.
Feed rates need to be quite high. It should engrave black and the reason it might be greyish is probabaly cos you are using too slow a feed rate and too high a spindle speed and this to some extent are burning the core material , the cutters MUST have large clearance angles so as to evacuate swarf big time.
You can use something like Shell Dromus – a water soluable cutting fluid when machining it (use it neat) , however dry processing is fine too.
How to get the engraving black – well thats quite easy , spray it with spray and cook , pledge or apply a furniture oil after – the oil makes the engraving real black.
The coloured version of this is an excellent media , its fire proof , scratch resistant , solvent and acid resistant etc , one problem with the material is that it becomes brittle over time. The white cored version has a problem with core discolouration too. Its easily panit filled BTW – both ally and coloured versions. -
Just to clarify , its only the metallics that are not for exterior use.
Heres a pic of some metallic traffolyte engraving
http://www.tokerbros.co.za/engarved_amp_fascia.jpg
http://www.tokerbros.co.za/dial1.jpg
http://www.tokerbros.co.za/traffolyte_and_perspex.jpg
http://www.tokerbros.co.za/Stakeng.jpg -
Thankyou very much Rodney.
Once again, your reply has been very informative and interesting to read.
Thanks for this, and I’m sure it will prove very helpful to me, and others looking for an answer to this question!
Thanks
Danny
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