Steel etching

[Ryan L.]

I haven't visited the Lab in years, but I was wondering if you folks had the gear for doing electro-etching in steel?

I have a Viking axe head that I'd like to etch a design in, but would rather not use acids on it.

[Eric Ose]

I'm not sure what kind of thing for etching you are thinking of. We don't have a fiber laser. Chemical etching is what I've seen done at the lab. Now there is the CNC, but that's going to remove more material than most etching processes.

Eric Ose

Robot Ambassador

Sometimes cool things just happen, but usually you have to plan them.

On Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 1:16 AM Ryan L. <ryan...@gmail.com> wrote:

I haven't visited the Lab in years, but I was wondering if you folks had the gear for doing electro-etching in steel?

I have a Viking axe head that I'd like to etch a design in, but would rather not use acids on it.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "HeatSync Labs" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to heatsynclabs...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CA%2B5aZzGUs6910rBovfLGiDRXF3JG01n6yFFO%2BCN7MEYJNP6yNg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ryan L.]

Basically it's applying a resis mask and putting an electric lead on the metal and putting a saltwater soaked pad on the other electrode.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UzkPMR_MZrU

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=99PPLqZ3iUI

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CAEk_gvDQ5L7KmM9mWj-ufG0js5OWf97O2cu7oiS6KgqMhL562Q%40mail.gmail.com.

[Eric Ose]

I thought you said you didn't want to do that. So what DO you want to do?

Eric Ose
Robot Ambassador
It's just an idea unless there is a date and time included.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CA%2B5aZzEj40JecsVd_KWmSQ5E7tgZj2reaUFNPCuOSUkKik-xBA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ryan L.]

I don't want to do acid, I would prefer the electrical approach. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CAEk_gvA5jWj%3D4voRN3gvh8SZFMm1EVrgGaGjTeeF7qOipmxwDw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Eric Ose]

My bad it's all chemistry to me. May as well be Greek.

Yes people already have done etching like this. Here's a photo from our old Flickr stream; https://www.flickr.com/photos/hslphotosync/15432959213/in/photostream/

Notice how they use a very basic benchtop power supply? Should be no problem.

Eric Ose

Robot Ambassador

Sometimes cool things just happen, but usually you have to plan them.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CA%2B5aZzGO6Do%2BAyfjAwkBYkZ%3DdxUvfynUtYxr0eTgf7iViPXNAA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ryan L.]

I want to etch this...

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CAEk_gvDF4693qxGsm_K%2B4ucAGEpBagPTtGA2QD2Ngvqs6T4Qxg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Tiny Chaos]

I do not have experience with electrolysis etching.

I primarily play with ferric chloride etching and use vinyl cut from my cricut as a resist.  That axe looks awesome, what are your plans for your resist?

[Ryan L.]

I haven't been able to figure out the resist yet, though I was leaning towards just spray paint.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/c41f7927-08ff-4b0f-8056-20a072552f21n%40googlegroups.com.

[Ben Coker]

I have had decent luck with using a vinyl cutout for resit.  I use my wife's cricut to cut out the decal and place in on the steel.  From there you can use your choice of electro-etch apparatus.  I have used an etch-o-matic with commercial electrolyte and neutralizer for small stuff and I have used a "dumb" car battery charger (the cheap one from harbor freight) with q-tips and a solution of vinegar with all the table salt that you can possibly dissolve in it for larger projects.  Not saying the car battery charger was the best, or safest, way to go, but they have both worked well for the need at the time.  Your mileage may vary though.

[Ryan L.]

Would someone be able to assist me in getting my design made into a stencil?

Then I'll get a charger at Harbor Freight to do the etching. Great idea!

On Thu, Feb 15, 2024, 2:23 AM Juan Castillo <domdog...@gmail.com> wrote:

Happened to me aswel

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/857c9fba-ec71-4d6b-9054-febd4a92e0d9n%40googlegroups.com.

[Eric Ose]

If I was doing your design I would spray paint the pat then laser engrave off the part to be etched.

The design itself will need to be skewed to fit your particular part. If you come to the laser meetup on the first Sunday of the month I can take the time to help with your design or laser cutting.

Eric Ose
Robot Ambassador
It's just an idea unless there is a date and time included.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CA%2B5aZzGdsc1Lb8Dz-bAE4s1HD4%3DqTPoyPeoNSGyKTugg7EZvxQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ryan L.]

Will the laser require a digital art file, or does it follow libe art drawing on the object?

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CAEk_gvA5p2-GgSx0EkFWA27wrrhHWSm7D6%3DPu%2BZHTwziHTY-nA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Eric Ose]

I'm not sure I understand the question. You will need a digital file. For the laser you'll need either a raster image (bitmaps are a type of raster), or a vector based image.

Since you want to engrave a raster should work depending on the quality. Vector files are mainly needed if you want the laser to cut. Or to do a light mark following a specific path. However for this we just need the laser to go back and forth repeatedly one line slightly advanced from the previous one and laser away just specific spots within the path. I may need a better more visual explanation for this difference as it does come up a lot.

This is currently the closest question on the FAQ. If you clarify your question it will help me improve this document.

https://wiki.heatsynclabs.org/wiki/Laser_FAQ#Q:_Is_it_better_to_use_a_raster_image_to_engrave_or_to_use_a_vector.3F

Eric Ose

Robot Ambassador

Sometimes cool things just happen, but usually you have to plan them.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CA%2B5aZzFdSqnysTOmJPNm4SnhNOi7_qO6iXSrVJ19mkJWt-goEQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ryan L.]

That's exactly what I needed to know.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/heatsynclabs/CAEk_gvCPpLxSgu3xMk%2BpwhQ9yNg%2BAjMOT2wrfkaRkxAEYb6d4w%40mail.gmail.com.