I can see it is aluminum and it appears to have some etching on it from the factory. I don’t know if this is anondized aluminum or not. Is it possible to etch this? Would it damage the usb drive?
Opinions?
CO2 lasers don’t etch metal, but the laser materials page says it will vaporize the anodize for an etch-like finish. (Obviously if it isn’t anodized it won’t work).
Metaza is a good alternative, assuming you can limit your etching/engraving to the flat section.
EDIT: Here is a Show and Tell post with examples. Scroll past the colored dye-sub images until you get to the Metaza examples.
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Very cool! I did not know we had such a machine. Is there training required to use it?
Yes, it’s very cool, isn’t it? I think most people don’t know we have it.
It is “training required”, but @mreynolds could teach you what you need to know in about 10 minutes.
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@mreynolds If you would like to meet up sometime, please let me know.
I was wanting to etch this as a birthday gift. The birthday is May 13th, so I have a bit of ticking clock.
For the record - not entirely true. OURS won’t. crank that up to 400 watts and it will. Use a HPDF (High Power Density Focusing Optics) tightens the beam allowing even a 40 watt laser to engrave (with depth) metals.
Cermark is probably a good bet to mark the metal. The Metaza is a nice tool. very under utilized.
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I etched this aluminum Yeti tumbler on our lasers. I am sure someone can explain why it works on this type of metal but I think it can our pretty good.
Hey, sure we can get together. When can you get to the Makerspace? I am typically there Thursday evenings. Weekends are hard.
Big thanks to @mreynolds for helping me with this project today! It turned out exactly how I imagined it!
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Thanks for letting me help! Post some pics of the thumb drive, show off the metaza 
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I’m going to guess it’s anodized aluminum. The laser will vaporize off the anodized coating.
And if you want to know a little more - anodizing is growing a thick, porous aluminum oxide layer on the top of the aluminum metal which is (optionally) impregnated with dye to give it color. Aluminum requires a lot of power to etch because it’s very thermally conductive, so the heat from the laser is carried away quickly. Aluminum oxide is approximately 10 times less conductive (even less so because of the porous structure), so it vaporizes much more readily under the laser. Additionally, the oxide is very absorptive at CO2 wavelengths while the bare metal is more reflective, so the anodized surface receives much more power from the beam.
Yeti cups are stainless.
Stainless also has very low thermal conductivity. Not sure about it’s absorptivity, but apparently it’s enough.
I will not be posting pictures of this particular project. It was a personalized gift for someone in my life who has asked that I not share the images.
However, this just means that I will have to make MORE of these and then share those pictures! 
@mreynolds kind of walked me through the basics of using the metaza. But I guess this doesn’t count as formal training; I scanned my badge at the kiosk in the common room and the metaza is not listed as a tool I am authorized to use.
How do I get authorized to use this machine?
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Just ask @StanSimmons to add you to the AD group. Since Mark was one of the two “official” trainers, that should be adequate.
You’ve been added to the Metaza group.
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