Gold/Black flexibrass & Br. Stainless Steel/Black products from Rowmark.

[Jeffrey Dewing]

Hi folks, I got some samples from Rowmark and don't quite know what to do with them? Can I etch photos on them? I've got a 80watt Trotec Speedy 300 and am trying to learn every thing I can, but don't know much about the plastics. I know cast, and Extruded from what I've read. This seems like an altogether to big of a question for this forum. So can anyone point me in the right direction for a crash course in Me, Plastic, and my amazing machine. I'm getting the wood down, The Granite and Marble, still working on glass. My rotary is all kinds of fun. But I have yet to touch the plastic end of things.When I finale go into business this spring I can't help but think plastics will be a big part of it. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks, this site has been a big help to me....Jeff...

[Bert Kemp]

Jeff the best thing you can do is read all the post in this forum, theres hundreds of post telling about setting for every material under the sun. Read your manual and google materials and laser settings. The you have to experiment a lot. Every machine is different , even the same machine will give different results. The best thing you can do is read and practice. No one is going to beable to tell you what will work for you. Sure we can give you a general Idea but you can get that from reading this forum. Use the search feature and you'll find everything you need to know good luck have fun.

[Jeffrey Dewing]

Thanks, I will. I just didn't know if one place would be better to start than another with so many substrates in plastics alone. I guess I'm just going to have to pick one type of plastic and start burning it! Thanks again...

[Bernie Fraser]

Jeffrey just make sure the plastic can be cut by the Laser. I made the mistake of trying to cut some Rowmark Safe-T-Mark with the laser. Did not go well with some flames, does not catch fire as it is a safe material. After my experience I went and had a look at the specs and it does not vector cut by laser. This is what I do now after reading about it from other posts. Get some paper application tape. Source it from a sign vinyl place, look for app tape. You can apply it to the top surface of a Rowmark plastic and it enables you to get a nice cut without affecting the surrounding surface. Do your vector cut first then remove the app tape if you are going to engrave the surface with your text. One more thing have you already read the posts about the fires that have destroyed the laser because they were left unattended when cutting Acrylic? Do not leave your laser while cutting acrylic, one poor fellow posted the end result and it is a warning I take seriously.

[Jeffrey Dewing]

G​Fot a good result with 15 P. and 80 S. with the flexibrass. 0125151830-00.jpg

[Jeffrey Dewing]

Thanks for your input folks!

[Bill George]

G​Fot a good result with 15 P. and 80 S. with the flexibrass. 0125151830-00.jpg

Looks nice.

[Bert Kemp]

Jeff forget the laser go to the store and get supplies like food and water, looks like your in for a big one

[Jeffrey Dewing]

I've got my laser to keep me worm, unless the power goes out!!! New Hampshire, Nothing new to us, a little snow...

[Mike Null]

When engraving plastic laminates it is very easy to use just a little too much power and lose sharpness. You'll find that using the 333 dpi will produce perfectly sharp images especially with text.

If you want higher definition, such as for photographs then metals such as anodized aluminum, Alumamark and others will produce excellent results.

[Jeffrey Dewing]

Thanks for the input!