Intellectuals solve problems…
“Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them” are the words of Albert Einstein, like I did with Richard Branson last week, this time we’ll engrave a saying in semi-transparent acrylic. Don’t know if I’ll make this a weekly CNCROi.com feature but it’s a nice break from all the other fun stuff we do in the shop and a new pages has been added under “Contact” so you can read more of these motivational or “make you think” sayings.
I don’t share much with Albert Einstein other than the fact that his famous equation is the reason why engineers and scientists are able to make the equipment we have in our CNCROi.com shop possible.
I had some semi-transparent 3 mm thick acrylic in the shop that needed something useful to be done with it so I drew-up a quick design and engraved then cut it out of this material.
The process of engraving acrylic is messy as you see in the above image but with proper extraction and laser control, all of this is quickly taken care of, the debris is kept at a minimum and the amount of defects resulting in a rejected project are zilch.
I have my acrylic grid table over my anodized aluminum table which allows me to cut plastic and engrave it perfectly level while not marking the table underneath as the focal point isn’t powerful enough. I can’t do this with wood where a lot more power is required but with this project, this was a fine set-up.
CNC lasers were made for acrylic, or acrylic was made for CNC lasers, regardless, the effects always look great! I was originally going to paint fill this project but the results were so clear that it wasn’t needed.
After the engraving and cutting of the semi-transparent acrylic was done, all that was needed was a toothbrush and some water to clean off the soot. It all comes right off rather easily!
As you can see, this is a wonderful idea for indoor signage where the client wants something to unique hang on the wall yet not so expensive that it breaks the budget. Acrylic is available in endless colors, opacities and thicknesses and great for everything from acrylic coasters to full-scale signs which I’ll make a sample of soon.
CNCROi.com is a custom CNC shop, so whether you wanted signage like the above annealed on 316 stainless steel (with laser cut outline) or engraved in a nice Cherry wood, that’s no problem for us. Stone to leaves, there is very little we can’t do in the shop!
By the way, this is the same material we used to make the Mother’s Day coasters.
It just shows you the versatility of how much can be done with essentially the same material, yep, you saw this even earlier in our Custom Numerical Control inlaid sign, it’s the same acrylic in the background forming the exterior shape.
With CNCROi.com, your only limit is what we can work together and think of. We don’t distribute catalogs of what we have on offer as it would honestly be an infinite catalogue of possibilities. When you have the equipment, material knowledge, design expertise and passion all rolled into one company ~ you want it done, we’ll do it!
Here’s a video of the above Albert Einstein saying being produce in our shop. We have lots of other equipment by the way, I’ll start showcasing what we can do beyond just laser work shortly! Need something custom? Give us a shout!