Aggregate Selection for Custom Projects
Yes, CNCROi.com does work with various aggregates for our customers, cement through rock, field stones and beach pebbles!
This field stone took thousands if not millions of years to form, we just came in around the end of the production line to brand it.
Aggregate Selection for Custom Projects: Natural
There are lots of types of rocks out there, they are generally free, abundant and whatever we do on them, the results are as permanent as permanent can be.
What we have found is that rocks that are made-up or very tight and small aggregate are the ones that produce the best results, if you can see the “grains” and they are loosely held together, the results generally aren’t very good.
Out laser hasn’t shattered a rock yet and the resolution we can achieve is incredible but it doesn’t go very deep.
What CNCROi.com is only lightly clean the surface, if you really brush it down, you end-up removing the contrasting weathered layer which is the natural darkness of the rock over eons that you wish to keep as the engraving will be lighter in color.
Rocks also come in all shapes and sizes, and surprisingly, we do keep some rocks in stock as we get requests big to small and more often than not, what we have picked-up during a hike works perfect for both our laser and your custom aggregate application.
Another thing to keep in mind is vegetation, lots of rocks have moss and lichen on them which “come to life” when you spray them with water, it makes for a really amazing effect when we leave it on and just vaporize a design onto it.
Sandstone is also a very easy rock to work with, we have tried paint filling in the past but it produces not so good results, stone just doesn’t naturally absorb paint and other things very well into an engraving, but painting a rock then engraving a design into it does work pretty well.
Sometimes you walk down a beach and find that perfect rock, if you are wondering what the results would be like having it personalized just for you by CNCROi.com, check out this video to give you an idea of what the most common beach pebbles look like after they’ve been CNC laser engraved.
Aggregate Selection for Custom Projects: Man Made
Of course, not all of what we work with is natural, we also work with concrete but just like natural rock and stone, you really want the smallest aggregate possible and as tightly packed as practical for your design for the best results.
Another item we can also engrave into aggregate wise is brick or masonry, here’s a brick we turned into something that’s permanently engraved by our CNC laser.
It’s the size of the particles, the compactness of the aggregate and the type of aggregate that make all the difference in the results we achieve with our CNC laser when it comes to engraving it.
If you have a large production run of cement or concrete items, material testing is a MUST and we can also paint fill it too but it depends on the design. test! Test! Test!
So, whether you have a wedding coming-up and you want to remember the event with a bunch of rocks or bricks or have corporate awards you want custom designed by CNCROi.com with these elements, contact us right now and we’ll make something awesome for you!
