Engraving Brass

[steve355]

Does anybody have any ideas about machines for engraving brass? I’d love to play around with one of those old pantograph things, but I don’t have the space for it. But if I could find a cost-effective and small machine that could do some basic brass engraving, that would be great.

 

[worn thumbs]

I am fumbling my way forward with brass engraving and a long way from being competent.I use my home built CNC router which doesn't have infinitely variable spindle speed.I've been using the basic, and thankfully cheap, 30 degree engraving cutters and reckon to be doing well if I only use 3 per project.I program for 0.125mm depth of cut and have found it essential to skim the spoilboard before each job.Living near a river might not be helping the spoilboard stay flat.
I find the free download F-engrave really impressive and would encourage anybody thinking of getting into CNC work to install it and investigate what can be done.It also does V-engraving for signs or artistic outlines of imported image files.
It doesn't take a large or powerful machine to do such work but I am too much of a novice with brass to make definite recommendations.You will need to grasp the concept of a G54 offset to establish where the part datum is with respect to the home position of the machine.

 

[Dr Al]

Have you considered etching rather than engraving? I've got a (home-made) pantograph (CGTK - Pantograph), but I think the etching process is more versatile and a bit easier. I'm sure the easiest and best option would be a CNC router, but then you've got all the space requirements.

There are a couple of different ways you can do etch templates. I've used "press-n-peel" paper, which works okay but is a bit hit & miss. I've also used photolithography, which worked well & I'm sure would get easier with more practice.

The kit you need for photolithography doesn't take up much space, which is definitely a bonus. Off the top of my head:

• A laser printer (or access to one - for occasional use you could just use a local print shop) - the thing you want to etch gets printed on acetate. Having a printer obviously does take space, but it's not workshop space so that doesn't count
• Some UV light bulbs and some means of powering them - I just used some of this sort of light fitting.
• Somewhere to do the image exposure - I used a galvanised steel bucket and a sheet of glass - the UV bulbs go in the bucket and the exposure is done on top of the glass sheet.
• A domestic iron (to adhere the photosensitive paper to the part you're going to etch).
• A light that doesn't emit UV so you can see what you're doing. I used one of these darkroom lights, but yellow lights should work too.
• A stopwatch (I used my phone).

You also need a few consumables:

• Photosensitive dry film - easy to find on ebay
• Photoresist developer - easy to find on ebay
• Some sort of etchant - I used ferric chloride, which I bought about 10 years ago - it lasts a long time!
• Some tape and/or some paint to cover up bits that weren't covered by the photosensitive film.
• Acetone or similar for removing the film after etching.
• Optional: some engraver's black shellac for filling in the etched holes for a nice black mark.

There are lots of photos of my efforts here in case it's of interest. That link takes you to an attempt with press-n-peel paper, but further down the page (and on the next page) there are photos of the photolithography process. I based the process on a clickspring youtube video, but it's one that was on Patreon so not publicly available at the moment. He's in the process of releasing all the patreon videos on youtube, so it should appear in due course.

 

[Sachakins]

If its only small pieces then scratch engraving using a diamond drag bit in a cheap small cnc would be the avenues to explore.
But if you also want to mill, cut and shape brass blocks, a more rigid cnc would be needed.

You could go the easy route of using burrs in the likes of a dremmel and a hand engraver and chasing scribes etc.
Requires more skill and patience, but doable, but not as repeatable.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Have you considered etching rather than engraving? I've got a (home-made) pantograph (CGTK - Pantograph), but I think the etching process is more versatile and a bit easier. I'm sure the easiest and best option would be a CNC router, but then you've got all the space requirements.

There are a couple of different ways you can do etch templates. I've used "press-n-peel" paper, which works okay but is a bit hit & miss. I've also used photolithography, which worked well & I'm sure would get easier with more practice.

The kit you need for photolithography doesn't take up much space, which is definitely a bonus. Off the top of my head:

• A laser printer (or access to one - for occasional use you could just use a local print shop) - the thing you want to etch gets printed on acetate. Having a printer obviously does take space, but it's not workshop space so that doesn't count
• Some UV light bulbs and some means of powering them - I just used some of this sort of light fitting.
• Somewhere to do the image exposure - I used a galvanised steel bucket and a sheet of glass - the UV bulbs go in the bucket and the exposure is done on top of the glass sheet.
• A domestic iron (to adhere the photosensitive paper to the part you're going to etch).
• A light that doesn't emit UV so you can see what you're doing. I used one of these darkroom lights, but yellow lights should work too.
• A stopwatch (I used my phone).

You also need a few consumables:

• Photosensitive dry film - easy to find on ebay
• Photoresist developer - easy to find on ebay
• Some sort of etchant - I used ferric chloride, which I bought about 10 years ago - it lasts a long time!
• Some tape and/or some paint to cover up bits that weren't covered by the photosensitive film.
• Acetone or similar for removing the film after etching.
• Optional: some engraver's black shellac for filling in the etched holes for a nice black mark.

There are lots of photos of my efforts here in case it's of interest. That link takes you to an attempt with press-n-peel paper, but further down the page (and on the next page) there are photos of the photolithography process. I based the process on a clickspring youtube video, but it's one that was on Patreon so not publicly available at the moment. He's in the process of releasing all the patreon videos on youtube, so it should appear in due course.

I’ve had some good results simply ironing the laser print on to the brass. It transfers the toner to the brass and it resists etching quite well.