Engraving tool recommendations

[MACHINEMASTERG]

harvey tool 1/8-90 hear also... some times companies put engravimg wax into the letters and the ball mill dosnt leave a sharp enough corner to hold it ?????

[Chris Rizzo]

well what kind of engraving do you need? For part #'s and basic centerline driving contour toolpaths something with a nose rad will give you the best results- eg ball endmill, that indexable tool, etc. The pointed engraving tools will leave a burr just driving centerline like this, rad tools will not.

 

However if you are doing something like artwork or a company logo that needs to be really, really crisp and look dynamite then you'll need a Harvey or Micro 100 single lip engraver with like a .010 or smaller tip. (the 60 deg included I use for durability), and also you'll need to use the engraving toolpath to get those theoretical .010 or near-zero radius corner, that look almost "chisled" in.

 

That said, you don't have to cut a whole engraved feature (pocket) with those tiny tools, you can rough it with a regular small endmill (or several) and then just use engraving as a re-machining op to crisp those corners.

 

I've done alot of intricate logo engraving (even on production parts)and whatnot, let me know if you need anymore help. If you do use the engraving toolpath, make sure you use ramsaver just about every time you change parameters or edit an engraving toolpath. Also if it hangs, go into the task manager and kill "e-stamp".

 

p.s. hey dead money, grab a cheese-burger garbage plate extra sauce at Nick Tahoes for me, will ya.