Metal engraving refers to the design of the design with an engraving tool on the surface of the metal. The art of metal engraving is very wide range of applications, in addition to our more common jewelry, and daily necessities, there are metal engraving figure appears. Today, we come into the world of metal engraving it!
1. Hand engraved metal
Hand engraving is one of the most traditional ways of engraving metal, and requires the engraver to use engraving tools to engrave the design onto the metal surface in one stroke. Hand engraving requires a certain level of skill to be able to perform. The process requires not only a keen eye for detail, but also a certain amount of strength. One of the characteristics of hand engraving is that each piece is unique. Because hand-carved carving accuracy can not be done like machine carving, even if the same carving craftsmen with the same carving tools to carve the same pattern, there will be differences in the details.
Tools needed for hand engraving metal
Hand carving has been evolving and changing since its inception and continues to this day. But some of the most basic tools remain the same, and the following is an introduction to some of the most basic tools.
Carving Knife: A carving knife is one of the most basic tools for hand carving. The most common types of carving knives are flat-bladed carving knives, V-shaped carving knives and round-bladed carving knives, etc. The functions of different carving knives are also different. The function of different knives is also different, and the V-shaped knife is especially suitable for engraving letters.
Ball Vise: A ball vise is a tool used to hold metal in place. The ball vise can be rotated 360° for the engraver to engrave.
Sharpening stone: carving knife after a period of time will become not so sharp, so you need to use the sharpening stone, so that the life of the carving tool will become longer.
What are the steps for hand carving?
The steps of hand carving may not sound so complicated, but the real operation still needs to pay attention to a lot of details. So here is just a general introduction, because really want to master the hand carving so handicraft still need to spend a lot of time to practice.
- Overall design: before you proceed with the carving, you need to design the pattern that you are going to carve. You can either draw the pattern on plain paper or print the pattern on vinyl stickers. This way you can just apply the sticker to the metal later and just re-engrave over the pattern.
- Secure the metal in a ball vise: Just secure the metal part you want to engrave in a ball vise, making sure it doesn't shift while engraving.
- Begin engraving: Holding your engraving tool firmly in place, carve your initial design into the metal. This process allows you to start with a rough outline with your engraving tool and then work your way up to more intricate details.
- Use a scraper to remove excess metal shavings: during the engraving process, excess metal shavings will appear. Metal shavings can interfere with subsequent engraving work, so it's best to scrape away excess metal shavings as you engrave.
- Finishing touches: after you are almost done with the engraving, you can do the final finishing operations on the metal parts, such as sanding and polishing. This will make your work look more perfect.
2. Engraving machine for engraving metal
Engraving machine also belongs to a kind of hand-held tools, and one of the more popular engraving machines on the market now is the pneumatic engraver. The basic function of the engraving machine has been able to meet the daily engraving needs of beginners. There are two main components of the engraving machine, one is the engraving head, the more common engraving head on the market are diamond head, stainless steel head and carbide head of these three categories. There is also a component is the chuck, the clamp is used to fix the engraving tool.
The process of using an engraving machine is actually similar to the way hand engraving operates. Or rather, all the carving methods are based on manual carving, only to replace the manual carving tool with a carving machine. However, the premise of using a carving machine is that you need to have a certain carving foundation, otherwise it is difficult to get started directly.
Here are some tips I can tell you about using a pneumatic engraver. When you first start engraving, it's best to start at a low rate to create a rough pattern. Later, you can adjust the engraving machine to a higher rate to make the pattern more obvious and add some details. Also, during the engraving process, you can change the engraving head according to your needs.
3. Laser engraved metal
Laser engraving is currently the most advanced metal engraving technology. The principle of laser engraving is as follows: the moment a strong laser beam hits the metal, the metal will instantly vaporize or melt. Eventually, the corresponding pattern is left on the metal. The engraving precision of laser engraving can reach the micron level, so laser engraving can basically do the design pattern one to one restoration.
The process of laser engraving is roughly as follows
Pattern design: design your pattern on a computer using specific software. The file is converted to a file type that can be read by the laser engraver, usually in vector format.
Selecting the material: choose the metal you want to engrave, laser engraving machines on the market are generally capable of engraving common metals such as gold, silver, stainless steel and titanium to name a few.
Fixed engraving material: the engraving material will be placed in the laser engraving machine and fixed firmly, as long as the metal will not be displaced during the engraving process.
Laser engraving: Operate the laser engraving machine according to the requirements, the laser engraving machine will adjust the intensity and width of the laser according to the content of the document, and finally complete the engraving work.
FINAL CLEANING: After the carving work is complete, remove the carving and clean the piece.