Engraving brass

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sprevost
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:04 pm
Location: Nashville, TN
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Engraving brass

Post by sprevost »

I am working on some custom ordered plaques that have some very fine engraving. The plaques will be cherry with a small 1/4 inch wide brass nameplate with the sponsor business name. I have purchased the In-groove knife set from Tools Today for engraving the brass sheet. I'm looking for any information or recommendations to help make this project appear professional. The first attempt at engraving brass did not turn out smooth at all. Thoughts on using a diamond tip scratch engraving bit instead. The knife I'm using is 30 degree .005" tip. I have tried depths between 0.005 to 0.01. The brass is 0.03" thick. I know already one problem is that I have not leveled my tabletop with a spoilboard bit. Looking for mare affordable option other that $230 bit. Any thoughts may help. Thanks!
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Prevost Woodworking - A hobby, a passion, a piece of mind

drueth
Posts: 208
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 7:09 am

Re: Engraving brass

Post by drueth »

Sprevost

I have never tried to do anything in brass , but I have done a few (AH S...) different things in to my table top so I know the shark can at least cut aluminum very well. I would try a taper ball nose that is rated for soft metal. I feel you are going to have problems getting a good clean cut with the fount you are using and as far as the face I could only say good luck. Many of the user on here have done some amazing work along that line, but in plastic.
I do not know which shark model you have. But the table must be coplanar to the gantry to be able to do such a fine cut. you will be working with a cut of between .005 and .010 inch. Again depending on which shark you have, you may have to reinfource the gantry so it does not flex up on you.


Good luck and please let us all know how you make out.
drueth
Shark Pro Plus HD
new to CNC 12/2012

4DThinker
Posts: 951
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:00 am

Re: Engraving brass

Post by 4DThinker »

This type of project (needing the table coplanar to the gantry) must be exactly why NextWave has worked so hard on their Virtual Zero controller upgrade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX0yh7uyuHc

KarenW
Posts: 353
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:42 pm

Re: Engraving brass

Post by KarenW »

I can't compare this to what you're attempting but I have engraved a Zippo lighter which is coated brass. Too many differences though - much thicker, heavier material than what you're working with, very simple font, no graphic and only one to do.
If it matters - I used a single line font, a Quick Engrave toolpath and a 60º v bit with the depth/pressure set at 0.002.
I agree with drueth that your table will have to be dead accurate and the fancy font would worry me. The face - I'd consider it a miracle if it was successful. I can't even imagine the nightmare of zeroing accurately on material that's .03" thick and only .25" wide.
Oh my... I'm doing nothing but raining on your parade here... sorry.
Would I attempt it? Of course, just to see how close I could get but would I commit to it on a paying job? No way.

OK - wait... "The plaques will be cherry with a small 1/4 inch wide brass nameplate with the sponsor business name."
So in your example, would "Sonic" be the only thing you're doing? If so then yes, I'd give that a go. Maybe I'm confused between looking at your example and reading your text?
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Karen

sprevost
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:04 pm
Location: Nashville, TN
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Re: Engraving brass

Post by sprevost »

Karen,

Your are correct in your final statement. The plaques are cherry. The name plate (where "Sonic" is located) will be a brass plate. I have 4x10 inch sheets of brass that the plates will be cut out of. Thank you all for your responses.
Prevost Woodworking - A hobby, a passion, a piece of mind

Eagle55
Posts: 788
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 8:44 pm

Re: Engraving brass

Post by Eagle55 »

I'm thinking that the small brass places with the sponsor names would do well to use the diamond "scratch" method of engraving which would compensate a lot for UN-even-ness of the table. With the small lettering that I do on corian and wood, what I have found is good until I get time to redo my table or build a fixture is to shim my material. I clamp my material down and then place a micrometer in the router bit and measure to the extents of the material, taking not of where my material is low or high and by about how much. I then fold pieces of paper that are about .004 thick and shim it up until I can get somewhere around plus or minus .003" which makes the lettering look evenly cut depth wise. If you do multiple plaques you can generally use the same shims time after time without measuring each time given that your material is reasonably consistent thickness.

Roger
CNC Shark HD ~ Control Panel 2.0 ~ Windows 7 & XP
Located in West Tennessee near the Tennessee River
http://www.eaglecarver4.com

TDA
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:33 am

Re: Engraving brass

Post by TDA »

Usually the easiest thing to do is mount a spoil piece to your machine. Then pocket out a section the size of your brass piece. Be sure to pocket out your corners too (dog bone). Then the bottom of your pocket will be true to your router (no shimming or measuring required). You should then be able to machine it evenly.

Keep in mind you may also have other issues to deal with. Normally I would recommend a 60° tool for this type of engraving not a 30°. And for pretty much all metal engraving you have to have very low runout for good results.
John Torrez
Think & Tinker / PreciseBits

sprevost
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:04 pm
Location: Nashville, TN
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Re: Engraving brass

Post by sprevost »

Finally some photos to show how the engraving turned out. I ended up using silver polished aluminum engraving sheet due to cost differences. I have a close up picture of on plate, then pre- and post- oxidizing photos.
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basecircle
Posts: 488
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:14 pm

Re: Engraving brass

Post by basecircle »

I use a diamond drag tool for alot of brass and plastic engraving.Spring loaded for surface uneveness.And a 120deg diamond.I made mine but i see a guy selling the diamond drag tool for $60.00 great tool on e bay. Basecircle
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RobieMo
Posts: 49
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 12:39 am

Re: Engraving brass

Post by RobieMo »

I bought a spring loaded diamond drag bit off of ebay from bdtools for 79.00. I used a spoil board and made a pocket larger than the plates I was using to make sure the surface was flat. I used double stick tape to help hold the plates down. I was able to engrave the plates with success. Hope that helps

Rob

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