Engraving is a core aspect of today’s world marketing strategy for new products. Through branding, company products can easily stand out from competitor’s products hence building loyalties. As branding is an ever-constant need for a manufacturing company, it makes much more sense actually to invest in your engraving machine. Unfortunately, as fiber laser engravers tend to have an intricate design that requires some skill to operate, mistakes are bound to happen. Below are common mistakes beginners make when using an engraving machine
- Production Of Poor Quality Engraving Using The Engraving Machine
When you invest in an engraving machine, there is always the expectation that you will get clean, smooth, and neat lines. Unfortunately, during the first few trials, the result of an engraving is usually ragged with the markings having jagged ends. As this is a costly mistake, it’s bound to be frustrating. However, one of the core reasons for this is having a speed that is too slow. When this happens, the spindle stops multiple times causing ragged ends that are unsightly
- Production Of A Shadow Effect When Using The Engraving Machine
When you are investing in a laser engraving machine, one aspect that you should watch for is a shadowing effect. Usually, shadowing comes in the form of burns and scorch marks that are unsightly. To deal with this, especially when using a portable laser engraving machine, ensure that you invest in a film that will protect your products during the engraving process. Additionally, ensure you choose a material that isn’t susceptible to burns and can withstand the engraving process without burning.
- Having The Spindle Of The Engraving Machine Running Backwards
Unfortunately, during set up of either a handheld metal engraving machine or a desktop version, mistakes can happen. One such error is the wrong installation of the spindle, causing it to run backward. As expected, this causes bizarre marking on products as the spindle overlaps and runs in the opposite direction. As easy as it can seem to fix it, resist the temptation of changing the course of the revolution yourself and instead of calling a professional.
- Use Of Improper Fonts When Using An Engraving Machine
Fortunately, most engravers in the market, including the 30w fiber laser engraver can engrave basic fonts to a product. Unfortunately, most people want to use fancy fonts when embedding their products to make their products stand out from the rest. As expected, not all fonts are suitable for engraving of products as some of them are unreadable. Usually, you can identify the problematic fonts by magnifying problem vectors and finding which fonts you should avoid.
- The Engraving Machine Having A Slanted Plate
Either due to excitement of the prospect in engraving or trying to meet a specific deadline, most people skip checking for slanted plates. Unfortunately, this leads to the production of slanted engravings on products. To minimize the risk of this happening, countercheck on the squares of the material to be engraved. Additionally, whether you are using a portable fiber laser marking machine or a desktop version, ensure the material is held flush to the slot table to avoid slippage.
- Production Of Rugged Cuts When Using Engraving Machine
Previous engraving machine technology had many issues, with the most prominent one being rough cuts. Fortunately, more modern upgrades have drastically reduced, giving more precise clean cuts. The change is attributed to machines’ ability regarding focal length change depending on need. Explicit focus allows you to eliminate cases of estimating measurements while using a portable laser engraving machine, which often leads to loser cuts. To ensure you make the best out of it, countercheck your specific measurement requirement before embarking on a project.
- Appearance Of Voids While Using Engraving Machine
Another annoying aspect that is quite common when using a handheld laser engraver for the first time is the appearance of voids. Usually, the creation occurs when the engraving machine fails to make a marking on the surface of a product hence leading it bare. Ideally, due to different material composition, it is normal for different materials to have different roughness and hardness. The difference in the matter directly translates to needing different amounts of force h. For this reason, take your specific material type in consideration before embarking in marking
- The Production Machine Producing Shallow Marks
Often, engraving is preferred over superficial branding as it allows tracking down specific machine parts with limited effort. The tracing is made possible as its very hard to buff off he markings of an engraved product. Nonetheless, without adequate preparation, the appearance of shallow marking that can be buffed off if still possible while using a fiber laser engraving machine. To combat this, ensure you place your scale bar above your scale for consistent adequate marking.
- Not Securing The Product When Using An Engraving Machine
The process of securing and tying down a product for engraving is usually long and tedious. As the fiber laser engraver is quick, precise and automatic most items being engraved barely move during the engraving process. Unfortunately, even though there might be no change to the physical eye and hence you see no need for securing materials, it’s important not to skip this step. A simple change in material can cause the uneven engraving to materials hence resulting in thousands of dollars in wasted products.
- Uneven Graving By An Engraving Machine
Irregular engraving is still a common thing in the engraving industry. Ideally, beginners make the mistake of believing in their ability to get the focal length just right through eyeballing. Others want full better control over the depth feature and hence disregard its use. Unfortunately, discounting the use of a nosecone is detrimental as many products need to have very accurate markings to function correctly.
Conclusion
A significant reason for investing in the engraving machine is to have full control of the engraving process. However, as seen above, various aspects can affect the quality provided by the fiber laser engravers. To minimize this, ensure you have the proper setup and use the very best of material to engrave. Overall, ensure you take time and choose one that best suits your needs to avoid common beginner mistakes.
