Laser Engraving Lamacoids / Laminates
CNCROi.com does work across a huge cross-section of materials and that includes materials made-up of several layers of similar or different layers, known as laminates or lamacoids when dealing specifically with plastics.
Here are some common questions we get when it comes to selecting engraving lamacoids over other materials.
What is the advantage of lamacoids over stainless steel or anodized aluminium?
By far the biggest is price, lamacoids are “cheap” compared to custom cut metal alternatives though they do not last as long. The other big advantage of engraving lamacoids is that they are available in a MASSIVE variety of colors and textures. For instance, we have been engraving lamacoids that are high visibility and others that look like metal while other lamacoids that have a nice glass look to them or heavily textured.
Are lamacoids good for outdoor use?
What I advise my customers is that if it’s going to go outside where you can have a wide variance in temperature, humidity and “exposure”, go with metal, anodized aluminium or fiber annealed stainless steel will EASILY outlast even the toughest lamacoids. If it’s for temporary use, sure, long-term? N0.
Are there some lamacoids that are better than others?
That’s a tough question to answer as anything man-made will have variances in it regarding durability but again, if you have an application where you need a sign or tag that needs to last and may be exposed to a harsh environment, direct sunlight or detergents (from cleaning), I’d say they are really all the same. How so? Well, you’ll be calling us a few months down the road needing a new one as the old one broke apart.
If you have ANY doubt, go with metal.
What thicknesses are your lamacoids available in?
Generally, most of our lamacoid work is done on 1/8th inch or 3 mm or 1/16th inch or ~1 mm. The reason being that anything thicker, requiring plastic, we bond to acrylic and anything thinner we use alternative materials such as polycarbonate.
Each material has the optimal envelope of use, depending on your application, that will dictate the best way forward.
What’s the difference between a lamacoid name badge and one made from wood veneer?
Other than wood veneer looking way better (in my personal opinion), engraving lamacoids aren’t really a good material to be used as name badges. I get it, I know they are cheap but I also know they do not last. Besides, a name badge represents YOU and YOUR COMPANY, why would you do this using a lamacoid name badge like so many other people do?
My go-to material for custom name badges is generally wood veneer, after that, metal, whether stainless steel or anodized aluminium.
What are your minimum lamacoid order volumes?
We have full sheets of lamacoids as well as off-cuts. By the time something makes its way to the trash bin in our shop, it has been used as thoroughly as possible, whether that’s wood, metal, paper or lamacoids.
As such, if you have a very small volume and are flexible when it comes to engraving lamacoids selection (if it must be made using lamacoids), then we can quite often give you a great deal on really amazing material below what you’d have to pay generally for a full sheet of it even if you don’t need that much in your order.
Metal laminate.
How do you go about giving me a quote to make something in lamacoids?
Regardless of the material or application, the vast majority of our projects begin with a drawing or sketch. Essentially, for CNCROi.com to give you a quote, we need to know what you want done, how many units, budget and timeline.
So, just contact us and we’ll get right back to you to get your project done to your spec.
I heard lamacoids can be toxic, is this true?
Although I wouldn’t advise adding a healthy batch of lamacoids to your daily breakfast, for most applications, they are fine. If you have any doubts, go with metal or wood for things like old age homes, hospitals or day cares but to be honest, there are far more dangerous things lurking in the air, ground and water than can be found in a plastic sign that hangs on a door.
We live in a plastic world, just about everything we touch on a daily basis has plastics in it, from your car steering wheel and cloths to toothbrushes and dishes. I’d suggest engraving lamacoids are in the same league as these regarding exposure.
I had something made using lamacoids a few year back, can you match it?
Most likely the answer will be NO. Other than the typical “it’s not being made anymore”, you have to remember that regardless of where that “old” engraving lamacoids has been, it has aged and even new batches of the same stuff made yesterday will change color and possibly texture a year from now. This makes color matching just about impossible.
An easy solution to this is to go with something different! Sure, your pink sign with white engraving looked RED 10 years ago but why not go with something that’s black and white, blue and white or something contrasting. Also, while you are at it, why not just replace ALL YOUR LAMACOIDS in your office to give it a fresh new look! I’m sure those coffee and smoke stains won’t be missed.
How do you engrave lamacoids?
CNCROi.com has both an industrial Austrian wide-format laser AND an American CNC manufactured router so depending on the application, we can use either a beam of high energy photons or a spinning bit though, most of the time, we use our laser.
The advantage of the laser when it comes to custom engraving lamacoids, is that of resolution, meaning we can get a lot more detail out of a beam of energy than a spinning bit. The results are also better but it does have limitations, such as thickness or material hardness. Having the option of either or does provide us with unique capabilities to pick the best technology for the given custom application.
Need lamacoids custom engraved? Contact CNCROi.com right now!
