Need advice on engraving machines please?

[Rodney Gold]

Depends what you are looking for , with all due respect , most of the smaller Roland engravers are “toys” in that they cant really handle any heavy duty work and have VERY limited Z travel.
One thing to be aware of in a Roland Engraver is that the spindles are considered “consumables”!!!!!

There are basically 2 types of engravers – overhead routers with quite serious motors and “fixed” engraving heads and then the same with “floating” heads – floating heads are normally belt driven and have depth limiting nose cones and a sort of spring loaded head , thus you can engrave uneven surfaces – generally these type of engraving spindles are not “potent” , IE they have limited power and cutting with these is a bit of a mission.
If you are getting an engraving table for signage , you might as well buy something useful , 300 x 300 is a teeny bit small , most machines are not that much more expensive for a larger bed size , 500 x 500 is useful.

There are certain things to look for
MOST important is the drive mechanism and the drive motors – some drive mechanism are really poor , IE the way the machine moves the x and y axes – lead screws with precision bearings are the best – belts , chains , sprocket drives and acme type ball scres are really poor and will not last or not maintain precision.
Next is the drive motors , stepper motors are a poor compromise , they do not have feedback loops to show where the cutter is , the sort of say go 4 steps up , 3 along and start from there , problem is , if it misses a step , your whole engraving job is messed up
DC servos with feedback loops are the best – you can stop jobs and recover easily.
A decent high speed spindle is the answer , on our smallest machines we use Kress Router motors which have variable speed from 8000 rpm to 28000 rpm and accept a wide variety of tools and shaft diameters , they are 900 watts each (about 1.3 hp or so) , these can engrave and cut just about anything , even free machining stainless.
A 3d machine is really the way to go , make sure your machine interpolates in all 3 axes x,y,z – also see that the Z clearance is enough for most of the jobs you want to do.
The Controller is important , make sure it can interface with your package
(If you run signlab , you can interface with most engraving machines) and it has the features you are looking for and is configurable.

Look at the construction of the machine , flimsy machines dont give the best output , aluminium extrusion tend to flex when doing serious work
Look at the bed and “fixing” features , make sure the objects you wish to engrave can be held securely , vacuum is REALLY nice !!

Trying to do engraving out of a package like Coreldraw is really not on , it can be done , but you end up with huge compromises , a dedicated package is the way to go , one that works out tool paths etc – these can be as expensive as an engraver.
A heavy duty machine is a better deal , albeit a lot more expensive than a sort of jewellers/toy type engraver , you can do sooo much more with it , espcially cutting stuff .
I would do a lot more research into this , there are tons of machines on the market than the Rolands

[Rodney Gold]

How do you view the Explorers?
We are thrilled with them – true 2-4 x productivity , and if you have 30-60 w source you can actually engrave stainless steel without “Cerdec”
BTW we have developed a FAR better product than Cerdec at about GBP40 for 100 g , its blacker , non toxic , reuseable and sticks to shiny better – we had problems with cerdec.
Now what we are really waiting for a YAG in the explorer chassis

[Neil Stevenson]

The paste that you have developed sounds very interesting

B Regards

Neil

[Martin Armitage]

Thanks for taking the time to reply any chance i could pin you all down on make or model, at the moment it really is simple logos and letters that we need to engrave, but obviously want something that will grow with us any suggestions would be very much appreciated

[Neil Stevenson]

There quite a few options, the biggest seller is the Mercury model, but with lasers it depends what type of work you want to do and onto what type of material.
Lasers are excellent on many materials, and because they are none contact you have no tooling costs and no clamping or holding down, they are also excellent at cutting certain materials. 25w power is very popular and also good for cutting acrylic upto 10+mm thick. There are some excellent deals on 25ws at the moment with big savings.

regards

Neil

[Fizgig]

quote Rodney Gold:

How do you view the Explorers?
BTW we have developed a FAR better product than Cerdec at about GBP40 for 100 g , its blacker , non toxic , reuseable and sticks to shiny better – we had problems with cerdec.
Now what we are really waiting for a YAG in the explorer chassis

Youve done it again Rodney….!
what the heck have you concocted this time….?

just like Ugo a go go “mad scientist”..

Can you sell us some of your special concoction..!

regards

Peter

[David Rowland]

I think he means Hugo a GoGo!

[Fizgig]

quote Dave Rowland:

I think he means Hugo a GoGo!

Yeah…”He” did mean Hugo a go go…

The Batallac is ready its a wonder car!!

“Your bullets cannot harm me ..my wings are like a shield of steel”

Its Batfink ….AND KARATE!

regards

Peter

[Fizgig]

quote martin armitage:

Does anybody have any experience of engravers, were looking for something with a bed of at least 300x300mm some from roland looked decent at signUK but couldnt get to speak to them any help would be appreciated

Martin,,
Have a look at the Newing hall 350 or 400 model, it allows you to service a number of industry segments, whilst also being very versatile.

regards

Peter

[Rodney Gold]

I didn’t mean me personally , I meant South Africa. I did fiddle with Molybdenum Trisulphide – the active ingredient in Cerdec and had limited success , but it needs some binders and other stuff to be effective.
I am going to go to a pottery studio and get some glazes and try them on stuff when I have the time , Cerdec came from that route afiak.

[Fizgig]

quote Rodney Gold:

I didn’t mean me personally , I meant South Africa. I did fiddle with Molybdenum Trisulphide – the active ingredient in Cerdec and had limited success , but it needs some binders and other stuff to be effective.
I am going to go to a pottery studio and get some glazes and try them on stuff when I have the time , Cerdec came from that route afiak.

we tried Brasso once…albeit with limited success, but it still achieved a mark !

[allsigns]

Hi Martin
We have a couple of engravers, one is a VE-810xd from Vision http://www.visionengravers.com/
It is a great little machine for small detail work & up to 200×250
We also have a model 400 Newing hall for heavy duty work & cylindrical engraving. (& we have a laser to complete the package)
We thought we could sell the VE & do all the work on the 400, but have found that the VE is so accurate for doing small detail work (ie bracelets 3mm wide) that we have to have the 2.
It just depends on what type of work you are doing.
The other option would be the Max from Vision, as it would have the accuracy of the VE, with cylindrical ability. The only downside on the Max is the bed size.
Hope that helps
Grant