CNC Laser Laminate Extravaganza

November 25, 2014 Jon Off CNCROi.com News, Plastic Products,

I’ve been so busy with cutting and engraving everything but CNC laser laminates that I decided to post a bunch of videos and pictures to show the possibilities of this very versatile material.

Why use laminates?

There are a number of reasons to use laminates, the first are the endless color combinations that it can provide for signage of all types and applications. From tough UV stable plastic laminates that will be fine for years in the Sun to strongly textured plastic laminates perfect for interior signage to smooth as silk glossy.

The second is price, it’s far cheaper to laser engrave and cut stainless steel laminate than to use the real thing though it’s nowhere near as durable. For some applications where durability isn’t an issue, it’s something a customer should seriously consider. It can be gotten in a variety of “plastic metals” from brass to copper. The contrast is wonderful and a fraction of the price of laser annealing 304SS.

In the millworking industry, these plastic laser laminates are a great way to quickly add very fine details to mill work of all types. These materials can be gotten in a variety of wood grains, durabilities and types. Unlike the real thing, laminates are consistent as well and there are no knots to deal with.

Sometimes you need a sign that stands out or is very easy to read at a distance, CNC laser laminates are a great option in those cases as well. They can also be used for machine panels or as a warning on doors as they are incredibly easy to keep clean and keep their color for a very long time.

The engraving process is pretty quick and thanks to our Austrian Trotec Speedy 400 flexx laser, we can quickly generate signage that’s huge thanks to our pass through ability or create hundreds of smaller items using customized jigs. So, at the smaller end of the spectrum you have the possibility of very unique business cards and wall plaques and at a larger scale, entire doors covered with a laminate mural.

Cutting these laminates is also very efficient thanks to their low melting point. There is some dust generated during the engraving and cutting process but that’s easily wiped away using a damp cloth. Their surfaces are incredibly resilient but when put-up against the power of our mighty CNC laser, they are still no match.

CNC laser laminates are also wonderful efficiency wise as it’s easy to generate cutting files that share lines, meaning you don’t have to “double cut”. This saves on material costs and cutting times… which save YOU, as the CNCROi.com customer… big $$$!

The engraving is nice and consistent, this is tough to make with other man-made materials but CNC laser laminates are made especially for our Trotec laser so the quality of the materials is top notch.

Looking at the engraving from a different angle, you can see the vaporizing of the surface material happening. It looks cool and just above it, the extraction that goes along the entire bed of our Austrian laser. There is also a gas kit within our laser, this allows us to jet away these fumes away from our lens, which means we can do massive production runs without having to stop every few minutes to clean the lens as it would otherwise get dirty. Dirty lenses produce inconsistent results and pausing a job while it’s being done on the laser bed is a great way to introduce errors as any bump on a material will cause the results to not be aligned as they were previously.

Long story short, if you want some custom signage that perfect, can be glued to just about any surface and will stay together for a very long time. CNCROi.com is the company you want to deal with. Tell us the application and we’ll suggest a way to make your custom dreams a reality.

I never get tired of looking at these images, just looks so awesome! We could easily fill our entire bed (and shop) with all the options available with CNC laser laminate. We do keep stock here and getting more is never an issue.

Yes, I know, the Toronto Leafs colors… our sister company CNCKing.com has conducted business all around the world and by extension, CNCROi.com has and continues to do the same, so whether you are located in the Niagara Region, Halifax or California… Tokyo or Beijing… Adelaide or Linz… Cape Town or Riyadh… Rio or Toronto, CNCROi.com has the contacts and ability to get your project done right on time and within budget.