I'll comment on this thread later... but for now, it's been marked...
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I'll comment on this thread later... but for now, it's been marked...
I was looking at the ingredients to cermark the other day. I wasn't sure where the actual pigment came from, and I was expecting to see some kind of oxide or dioxide. What I found was that most of them were solvents and I am pretty sure one of the only solid ingredients that could mark a pigment was molybedenum. Don't take me to court on it, but I will double check. If it is, why don't you try mixing the molyb with some of the other solvents in the cermark. It would be nice to figure out a little ghetto brew that costs a fraction of the cost.
Russell,
Take a stroll through their patent... the contents are pretty straightforward. Clay to absorb the laser power (wavelength dependent), glass frit to seal it all in, a carrier (e.g., DNA), and a pigment (take your pick, minerals galore).
I just orderd some Because I make some shipping tags then the customer throws away, so I might use it the next time im going to test it first, which will be cheaper for throw away tags
Thanks
Great find. Now is this stuff available in the UK. I would love to offer metal invitations! Amazing!
Awesome find Greg thanks, I hope thats good Scottish malt thats been harboring in the flask
Jit, - Rokol sells it online over there called Rocol Dry Moly Spray at - online bearings Dot co Dot uk - It's just one place to begin. I must say your VAT sure drives up the prices! If you don't like online , try to look for a bearing company in your particular area. That's what I did and it worked out OK. BTW - if you let the stuff dry completely, which takes three hours on the particular spray I have mentioned to you, you'll get a better burn. I know it's a long wait. But for short runs or a one off where you don't need a constant supply of Cmark or Tmark, it will work. If I had a production line of X hundreds of units, then obviously I would use Cmark or Tmark and cook the cost of the marking material into the final price. If you factor all these high end solvents, into the price of possession which can sit on your shelf and in some cases go beyond the expiration date, you will loose money.
The dry Cmark should last a long time. And it's recyclable.
I like experimenting with different materials, some I see others using on the Net and others which I look at and say " Hmmmm. I wonder what kind of a mark that will leave?"
Incidentally, I did another flask with the dry moly completely cured at 600DPI - 6 speed 100 power one pass and it left a darker than the first one. So that saved time. If I really wanted to save time, I'd buy an Epilog FiberMark. Talk about the price of possession for ten or twenty odd units a year!! - So I hope you see my point and my methodology.
I just use the method which I feel will make the most sense to me with all given variable constraints.
Dave - Single malt Glenfiddich 15 year old is a nice middle of the road brand for me.
A can of Cermark really isn't that expensive. Considering it goes a long, long way & can pay for itself over & over & over. I don't bother recycling it either. Not worth my time.
I recycle the dry chunks that form and fall off my bottles. But I go thru a ton of the stuff, spent over $700 on Cermark so far this year. Going thru a ton of DA to mix it with too. I'd love to find a cheaper alternative! One of these days I may remember to buy some plaster and moly!
;)
You don't need DNA ordinary hardware store methylhydrate works fine.. I Recycle the stuff. I'm cheap.. I've used two spray cans in just over 10 years. Even when it's empty, you can cut it open and get enough for dozens more jobs. I charge $3.50 er sq inch with a 5 sq inch minimum charge.
Neither HD or Lowes has methanol on their websites. And where I did find it online, it costs more than the $15 a gallon I'm paying HD for DA...?
And yeah, it's amazing how much Cermark can be in an 'empty' can! I've cut up every can I've ever bought... ;)
I stopped buying denatured or methanol when the office equipment repair place next
to me closed shop. He gave me lots and lots of 'duplicator fluid' (aka Ditto fluid) the
stuff they used to make copies with. (remember smelling the pages in school?)
I wondered why shellac flakes would melt in about 48 hours with denatured alcohol,
but be ready to use in about 2 hours with the ditto fluid. Turns out it's around 190 proof.
(95% ethanol, 5% isopropanol and a little N-propyl acetate)
Great for cermark leftovers, dries almost instantly.
And it cleans just about anything.
Ok thought I would give this a go as wanted to try metal engraving for the first time since I got my Speedy 300 in March.
Purchased can of dry moly spray (under £17 here in UK).
Method... Clean with Isopropol Alcohol, spray with moly until black, wait until dry (about 2 or 3 mins), laser, clean with alcohol.
Look at this great result on a steel hammer head... Power 100, Speed 10.