The Laser

The Laser Engraving Machine

The Laser engraving retail industry is fairly new. Most lasers up till now were used primarily for various industries for welding, parts marking and heat treating. Many sometimes refer to laser engraving as etching. Although partially correct, etching technically involves the use of acids or other chemicals to dissolve the material rather than burn it with a focused beam of light. The lasers focused beam is usually no larger than a fraction of a millimeter, and delivers energy to the materials surface by converting light energy to heat, which literally vaporizes the material. A laser, unlike mechanical engravers which use bits to grind a materials surface, is a definite advantage as the tool bit heads had to be replaced ongoing. Most of the retail lasers available today are very reliable and use the same technologies for mechanical movement provided by many common plotters and printers. Much of the software used today for retail engraving is very complex by nature thus the learning curve is very steep. It takes a considerable commitment to become proficient. The materials that can be engraved by these amazing machines include wood, marble, granite, coated metals, tile, cork, leather to mention a few. For more information on laser engravers or the industry in general, you can find a wealth of information on the world wibe web. They are truly amazing machines.