If you’ve been thinking about starting a laser engraving business or have tossed various business ideas around hoping to come up with something that will work for you, a laser engraving business may be just right for you. One of the nicest things about a laser engraving business is it really entails more than engraving but also involves laser cutting as well. The versatility of this business is incredible. If you have computer knowledge and love to work Atomstack servicein a computer environment you’ll love this business. Another reason it’s a great business is you can easily work from home. You can take orders, do the work and all that it entails right from your home office or workshop.
The laser engraving machine requires little knowledge in itself to run, it’s the software that takes a little bit of effort to learn. The laser engraver is easy to use and you use it like you use your printer. You just design what you want on your computer and send it to the machine and it’ll engrave or cut for you and this is the easy part. You would be using CorelDraw most likely as that is the software most laser engravers like to use. You can lease or buy a laser engraving machine. Machines run about $18, 000 to $20, 000. But leasing is cheaper. But best to buy your own machine or system if you can. Machines include the Epilog Laser, Universal Laser and LaserPro. The most important thing is to get enough power. Many people have bought these machines or systems, which come with different attachments and power, but tried to save $1000 or so and found out after they started taking jobs that they didn’t have enough power.
There are rotary attachments that you can buy that will cut glass, but you could forgo this attachment and get more power– that would help you take more jobs. There is no other equipment you need. Get a large table size to handle more jobs and make sure to get a vector table for cutting. Make sure to get the air-assist feature. This is very important for many projects and especially if you’re going to be cutting wood, working with acrylic or rubber stamps.
There are dozens of items you can laser engrave including awards, plaques, trophies, tags, gifts, pens, jewelry, leather, tools, laptops, iPod’s, iPad’s, etc. But you may find other uses like some engraving businesses have – including custom engraving corporate names on cigars and for cutting jobs – cutting out fabric for sewing clubs for example. Many people buy wood from lumber yards and create their own products and sell online or at trade shows. If you’re talented artistically you may be able to come up with some good products of your own. You can see the versatility of the laser engraving machine – lots of possibilities. Before you start a laser engraving business make sure to do plenty of research online before you lease or buy a laser engraver.
Laser engravers are a little bit different than traditional engraving machines. With the laser engraving machine, no actual piece of mechanics (tools, bits, and so on) ever comes into contact with the surface that is being engraved. The laser itself does the engraving and there is no need to constantly be replacing engraving tips like with the other machines.
The laser beam is directed at the surface of the material which is to be engraved and it traces patterns onto the surface. This is all controlled through the computer system. The center (focal) point of the laser actually is very hot and can either vaporize the material or causes what is called the glass effect. The glass effect is where the surface actually just cracks and the material can be removed, revealing the engraving that has been done. There is no cutting process with the laser engraving machine.
The laser engraving machine usually works around the X and Y axis. The machine may me the mobile unit while the surface stays still. The surface may move while the laser stays still. Both the surface and the laser can move. No matter what way the machine is configured to work, the affects will always be the same.
Laser engravers can be used for many different things. Stamping is one of them. Stamping is used in several industries to mark their products either through numbers or expiration. It is a considerably fast process and is an easy way for the company to achieve this. Laser engraving machines are available in commercial grades or for the small business that does not require a very large machine. The machines are designed to engrave on various types of materials, such as: wood, plastic, metal, etc. You can design and create some beautiful pieces of jewelry, art, wood plaques, awards, furniture, etc. The possibilities are endless with the laser engraving machine.