Hi guys I’d like to carve out a DMS sign for Mesquite Parks & Req to put in a new playground they are building. Can that material be used on the Multicam or Haas?
No on the Haas
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I believe the lasers will engrave on it.
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I could be wrong, but can’t the laser cut granite?
It’ll just etch away at the surface. I suppose if it was thin enough then yes, but in general granite blocks are cut with a water jet.
Depending on the size, I would be very cautious about the weight of the piece being too heavy for the laser bed.
With the multicam, I doubt it’d be allowed. If it is, I’d be concerned about people breathing the stone dust that’ll be put in the air, my guess is that it’s much worse than sawdust. @bertberaht can give the definitive answer.
Your right it can write on stone.
https://www.thunderlaser.com/materials/granite.html
I was hoping for something with a deeper texture & tactile feel to it.
Also being able to withstand years of outdoor elements and child abuse.
I think about all you could realistically do on the multicam is to drag engrave a polished piece of granite with a diamond knife. That’s nowhere near what you’re looking for. My guess is that most of the granite signs that have letters etched into them are done by putting a rubber or similar mask on the stone and then hitting it with a sandblaster.
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I’ve done this many times for work. The general process I’ve used is to cut out the stone shape on a waterjet. A vinyl cutter is then used to cut the pattern out of 30-40 mil (not to be confused with mm) vinyl. After the vinyl is cut, it is applied to the stone. The parts to etch are weeded out, then the whole thing is sandblasted. If the etched area is to be be painted, that occurs before peeling off the mask.
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@Kevin how big do you plan on making this?
@benhubel know if wet blasting works well?
@TBJK know if it’s not gonna be hash on the vapor hone to give this a try? Could do it just before a water and media cycling it seems due for.
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I’ve never tried wet blasting, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The mask should hold up, it’s mostly just a question of whether or not it can etch granite.
Does anybody know why DMS got rid of the sandblaster?
Because I made sooo much dust and was a serious maintenance nightmare.
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This.
You could look at the air quality monitors and tell sepcifically when the sandblaster was on because it made things that bad.
It may work, but I’m some what skeptical.
Probably about the size of standard A4 paper
maybe a couple inches thick
I think for a project that size worth a shot. I’d expect it to be slow but I can’t see any damage in trying, especially since it already needs a cleaning.
Could make the vinyl mask on the vinyl cnc
The DMS vinyl cutter is definitely capable of cutting the vinyl mask, but it would probably require switching the blade and increasing the pressure setting. I don’t know if that is something people are allowed to do or not, but I do know that if it’s not set back afterwards, it can totally screw up other people’s projects.
Material too thick for the current settings?
That’s like 1mm thick vinyl. Pretty crazy.
Maybe a dumb question but can acid etching work for granite?
Yes. I think we usually cut blast mask vinyl at 300-400 grams of force, although I don’t remember for sure. That pressure would obliterate thinner materials.