Wood Engraving Machines Offer You Options

With a wood engraving machine from Gravograph, you have the ability to process wood in several ways as well as options for creating Raster and vector markings. We would like to explain the different kinds of laser engraving markings you can create with one of our laser engraving machines as well as offer you two different wood engraving application examples: engraving on wooden rifle stock and engraving a six-sided wooden box.

Four Ways of Processing Wood, Same Image
(click thumbnail images for enlarged views)

Combination of Raster and Vector marking provides a unique effect showing depth and excellent edge quality. Each mode was run with different parameters to achieve the final look.

Raster marking at 40 watts, and 30" per/sec, creates a deeper mark, with more material removal and less contrast in 1:40 minutes.

Raster marking at 35 watts, and 60" per/sec, provides a delicate mark, showing good contrast on the wood in about 55 seconds.

Vector marking at 40 watts, and 40" per/sec, creates a clean, outline mark in approximately 28 seconds.

Engraving on Wooden Rifle Stock

The part shown below was processed on a 60 watt system with a 24" x 24" table. The customer supplied a CAD drawing with the pattern intact, which was then converted for use with the laser. The reverse pattern was lased on the opposite side of the rifle stock.

The object of this process was to duplicate the typical knurled feel to a common rifle stock. The profile of the cut is something like shown in the image.

The power setting was 54 watts at a speed of 55"/sec. The DPI setting was 600. Air assist was required to get a good mark. The keys to achieving the very high- quality cutting pattern shown were the use of a 3.5" focal length lens and defocusing the part slightly. The cycle time per side is 52 seconds.

There was a definite target for the width of the cut so the broader beam width of the 3.5" lens was beneficial. Defocusing the part by about .55" broadened the beam a little more and softened the edges of the cut. As you will notice, a nice, charred contrast was also developed which improves the general appearance of the part.

Vector Marking on a Six-Sided Wooden Box

This simple, pine box was visually enhanced by lasing this intricate, vector marked pattern on the top and five of the sides.

This piece was processed with an LS100Ex 40 watt system using the following laser parameters. Power = 8 watts, Speed = 57" per/sec, DPI = 300. The mark was enhanced by utilizing the air assist and head exhaust. The mark quality is very uniform, with the top being slightly more delicate as the image was resized to fit. Hint: The preset for "wood" improved this process.

Vector Marking on a Six-Sided Wooden Box

Any giftware supplier or shop that specializes in custom artwork or personalization, will see the potential for charging a premium to create this unique looking item with a wood engraving machine.

Related Links

Click here to see which wood engraving machine is best for your application.

Click here to view engravable wood gifts.

Click here to download our engravables catalog.

Contact Us

To find out more about Gravograph Wood Engraving Machines, please contact us.