Automotive Tags: Stainless Steel Branding

April 19, 2022 Jon Off CNC Laser, CNCROi.com News, Metal Products,

CNCROi.com makes custom automotive tags using both stainless steel and anodized aluminium for branding purposes.

Generally, our customers who opt for stainless steel tags do so because they want to weld it to the muffler or other steel parts they are trying to brand and those going with anodized aluminium generally want to rivet them to said work.

When it comes to custom automotive tags, I’m showing you our default 1″ x 3″ @ 0.02″ thick offering but CNCROi.com can completely customize this shape and thickness to anything you want.

How strong are these tags? Let’s fine out!

For this specific project, CNCROi.com used our galvo fiber laser source as it’s a quick way to produce high volumes of small parts that will be used as custom automotive tags.

As these tags get VERY HOT during the fiber etching process, we generally put a metal plate underneath, otherwise, it can melt into the lego set I use to make repeatable tag branding… I’ve had that happen before!

The etching process requires no inks or dyes, the laser itself produces heat that both tempers and etches the stainless steel custom automotive tags.

The tag you see under the stainless steel custom automotive tag in this video and photos is the black anodized aluminium version, same size and thickness.

Lots of possibilities with CNCROi.com, endless fonts and imagery options.

These custom automotive tags actually get so hot that they want to bend under the heat of the laser, which by the way, you cannot see, you are only seeing the results of the etching, not the laser doing the process itself.

CNCROi.com has multiple laser sources in our shop, two fiber lasers, one gantry and the other, as you see here, galvo based, and a CO2 laser source on our gantry system.

Fiber etching stainless steel is a seamless process, as no additional secondary process is required, it’s basically sticking the blank in and taking them out afterwards.

There are endless possibilities with us regarding your metal branding needs for your business.

Obviously the process of fiber etching the custom automotive tags is done without a case around it for eye protection, as I’m the only person at CNCROI.com, I can just wear protective equipment to safely play with lasers that will quickly damage your eyes.

The bright light and the explosion you see on the surface of the tag is caused by the laser reacting with the stainless steel, it’s momentary and fleeting, it luckily doesn’t spread beyond the exact point I want the laser to hit.

It’s quite hard to get a good photo of the fiber laser etching process, the light causes havoc for the camera’s sensors, both video and photographic.

These custom automotive tags can be made in any quantity by CNCROi.com, and the etching can be all the same or different tag to tag, think serial numbers, without issue.

Welding tags, automotive tags etc, are all the same, just the application is different.

Etching stainless steel is a very high resolution process, meaning even very fine details work fine, such as micro-type but the imagery and writing must be black and white.

Lasers are either on or off, there is no in-between, as a result, grayscale imagery ends-up being muddied, it’s like trying to use a black paintbrush to colorize everything you want, it’s always going to be black, so you need to resort to crosshatches and other tricks.

When it comes to anodized aluminium, regardless of the color of the anodizing on the surface of the aluminium, the etching is always off-white, though CNCROi.com can produce a grey color as well.

As no inks or dyes are used during the production of these tags, there is nothing that will fade, peel or crack over time.

Deep etching is also possible for your tags at CNCROi.com.

This production cycle at CNCROi.com was successful, the results look great, and they will last an extremely long time even under a car with huge fluctuations in heating and humidity.