Acrylic / Steel Engraving

Metal engraving is a process that has to do with the removal of material from a solid metal surface. Manufacturers vaporize substrates like steel, titanium, aluminum, and many other metals with high-intensity laser beams from engraving machines. Asides from laser engraving, there are other metal engraving methods with their prospects and constraints

Acrylic sheets typically come with a protective adhesive film on the front and back to prevent it from getting scratched. We recommend removing the protective adhesive paper from the back of the acrylic before engraving, and leaving the protective cover layer on the front to prevent scratching while handling the material. Don’t forget to reverse or mirror your artwork before sending the job to the laser since you’ll be engraving the back side.

Acrylic is also know by the chemical name poly (methyl methacrylate). There are two basic types of acrylic: cast and extruded. Cast acrylic is made by casting the poly (methyl methacrylate) resin into a mold or onto a moving steel belt to form sheets. Cast acrylic is ideal for laser engraving because it creates a frosted surface.Extruded acrylic is made by forcing the poly(methyl methacrylate) resin between a set of steel dies to form a continuous sheet, which is then cut into individual sheets. Extruded acrylic is ideal for laser cutting because it forms a flame polished edge during the laser cutting process.