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August 11, 2009

The Four Basic Techniques Available For Today's Engravers

engraving takes a piece of precious metal, stone, or wood and gives it a unique look while endowing it with a sense of permanence and ownership.  


the engraving process etches designs, signs, or insignias into the surface of the material by removing a portion of it.

the four basic techniques that are available for todays engravers include hand engraving, pantograph, computer numeric controlled engraving, and laser engraving.

the most ancient, and expensive, method of engraving is hand engraving. using hammers of various weights, chisels, and other sharp tools with various profiles, designs are meticulously tapped into the surface of the material. accuracy and precision are required with each and every stroke in order to achieve the proper overall look to the design.

a magnifying glass, or other enlarging equipment, is often required for the hand engraver to fill in the minutest of the design details.

another manual engraving method is the pantograph or drag method. in this old method a device (the pantograph, otherwise known as the tracing machine) scrapes the surface of the material with a sharp stylus.

the pantograph is used to trace the designs or letters from the design drawing to the surface of the material. this method is often imprecise in creating the designs and letters, giving the final product an uneven look.

one benefit of this method is that it is faster than hand engraving. you are also unlikely to get mistakes resulting from shaky hands as the stylus operator controls the writing.

a computer controlled method of engraving that gives you a more precise outcome is computer numeric control cnc engraving. a graphic software package that is similar to cross stitching is used to give you letters and designs that are uniform in appearance.

the computer is able to take the images and translate them into numeric instructions for each movement of the machine. you can change to fonts, sizes, and designs that are created with just a few clicks of the computer mouse.

the last method we will discuss is laser engraving, which etches the design into the material with the use of a laser beam rather than a sharp tool or stylus. the design is translated into numeric instructions through the use of a computer program. some of the benefits of laser engraving are the quickness with which an image can be created and the precise clean lines this method achieves. some of the disadvantages include a restricted amount of materials that can be used and a high price tag.

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Understanding the Laser Engraver

The actual technology that goes into todays laser engraver began to be developed in the early 1960s. It was back then that scientists and research engineers discovered that a high energy light source could be created, focused and used for various means.

Creating Light From a Gas

The gases that are used to create the original light source have a lot to do with the how a laser performs and by the way CO2 gas is used in laser engravers. So how is light created from a gas? It’s quite simple. They are created by agitating the molecules in the gas in an enclosed container, just the same way that light is generated from a neon light bulb.

A Far Cleaner and Safer Engraving Process

Laser engraving is often referred to a laser etching and unlike most all conventional methods of engraving or etching, no mask is required. That’s because unlike other methods of etching, no harsh chemicals or high temperatures are used in the laser engraving process.

The Capacity For Delicate Precision Work

Laser engraving also has many other inherent benefits when compared to standard engraving techniques. For instance, the actaul beam lends itself to far more precision work. Thus even very small and delicate items can be etched on with a laser engraver.

Other Benefits Of the Laser Engraving Process

Unlike other standard methods of engraving or etching, a laser engraver generates no dust or leaves no chemical residue. Also engraving on uneven surfaces is far more easily done by laser engraving. Thats because a light beam is far more easy to manipulate around and across these types of surfaces.

Transferring Images With a Laser Engraver

Amazingly, new technologies have been developed that allow people to automatically transfer images to surfaces with a laser engraver. The image is simply loaded into the engravers memory and with simply touch of a button the image is automatically engraved as it is on the surface of an object.

Significance of Laser Marking on UID Registration Products

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It is mandatory for the UID registration products to have unique identification marks on them before they are submitted to the UID registry. The UID laser marking techniques bear huge significance for the marking procedures. As per the mandate of DoD the product identification must be directly as well as permanently marked on the surface of the part. As direct part marking and permanent identification are crucial to enhance traceability of the items, a reliable marking procedure is worth considering. Among all the identification marking technique for the UID registration products, UID laser marking is regarded as the most efficient and accurate one.

UID Markings for UID Registration Products

It is essential for the UID registration products to have the UID labels that comply with the UID policy. The marking is done with 2D data matrix codes that are encrypted to the surface of the products. The data of the UID labels are encoded with a specific language and format to be etched on to the surface. While scanning the data of the items, the codes are decoded with the help of Automatic Identification Technology. The coding and decoding technology of the laser marking system ensure highest level of security for the products.

Advantages of Laser Marking for UID Registration Products

The UID mark validation and the UID quality verification that comply with MIL-STD-130M have to undergo several techniques. To ensure that the marks on the UID registration products are legible for the life of the product, the DoD has implemented UID policy for the contractors. The immense popularity of the laser marking procedure is due to its benefits over the other methods of labeling.

The data required for the marking include enterprise identifier and unique number of the items. The higher resolution capacity of the UID laser marking enables embedding of more data in the UID mark.
Other marking techniques such as chemical etching, silk screening, mechanical engraving, pad printing, and some of the other low-quality methods are can not be considered as environment-friendly methods. On the other hand laser marking is surely an organic option to all these things that reduces carbon footprints.
Laser engraving and laser marking are exclusive techniques of identifying as well as decorating the UID registration products.
Other benefits of laser marking for UID registration products

The 2D data matrix symbols help the DoD in

boosting the inventory accuracy
sourcing the items on property accurately
enhancing access to lifespan of items and part history during design
decreasing workforce burden through increased productivity and efficiency
reducing inventory management cost
one of the most noteworthy aspects of laser marking is it can imprint the marks on any surface including auto parts, glass, plastics, pharmaceutical tablets, stainless steel, crystal, et all.

The UID verification of the UID registration products are changing faster and becoming more complex. Hence, the contractors and the suppliers need to understand the mandate of the DoD to comply with the UID program. UID laser marking can provide end to end solution for the requirements of UID registration.

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Custom Rubber Wristband Fundamentals

Embossed, Printed, Debossed and More!

There is often a lot of confusion regarding the various styles of custom made silicone rubber bracelets. Heck, even silicone wrist band vendors mix-up debossed with embossed bracelets & many consumers aren’t really sure about screen printed wristbands. Fling in the option of lazer-engraved bracelets and people throw up their arms in frustration.

Embossed Bracelets

Although not quite as popular as debossed or printed, embossed wristbands are definitely worth considering for those whom place higher value upon uniqueness and style. just like a debossed bracelet, an Embossed Silicone Rubber Wristband also incorporates any personalized design and requires a mold to be manufactured. However, with embossed bracelets, the fully customized design is raised up off the wristbandas opposed to recessed down into it. Pricing and turnaround times for debossed and embossed bands are nearly identical.

Laser-Engraved Wrist Bands

Laser-Engraved wristbands are becoming more and more popular. Strangely, the majority of wristband suppliers charge outrageous prices, even though they are less expensive to manufacture. Laser-engraved bands are nearly identical to debossed bands in look and feel. If you do prefer the ubiquitous LIVESTRONG debossed style, you might wish to consider laser-engraved bracelets for smaller quantity orders. Similar to printed bands, custom laser-engraved silicone bracelets begin with a blank bracelet. An easy setup program allows a laser-engraving machine to engrave the custom silicone bracelets to the exact specs of whatever fully customized message that is wanted. Laser-engraved bands do not require a mold to be produced; therefore, they are cheaper and enjoy speedier turnaround times than debossed and embossed bracelets.

Debossed Bracelets

Debossed wristbands are the most common and are the same style as Lance Armstrong’s trendsetting LIVESTRONG wrist bands. Debossed refers to the fact that the design is actually recessed down into the Debossed Silicone Rubber Wristband itself. A customized mould is expertly created with the provided personalized message to achieve this. Not long ago, because they need a mold to be manufactured, custom debossed wrist bands were more costly and took longer to manufacture than printed or laser-engraved bracelets; however, today, that gap has lessened considerably.

Printed Bracelets

Printed wristbands are by far the cheapest choice. Printed bands start with a blank wristband and are then silk-screen printed. The industry has seen a vast improvement when it comes to screen printing silicone wristbands. The dyes used today actually penetrate the silicone rubber of the screen printed wrist bands. There are some who believe that the print which is used on printed wristbands is cheaply painted on and will crack or flake off. This is not true if you are dealing with a good bracelet vendor. You can expect the printing to last the lifetime of the silicone bracelet itself. A template is used to produce the custom message rather than a mold. Because a template is used rather than a mold, printed bracelets are less expensive with speedier turnaround times than debossed and embossed wristbands.

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