[jgbstetson]

I work with laser engraving machines and did a test spot inside the shell. Our fiber laser makes a nice dark mark inside. I plan on marking something on the outside, but my only idea was a PCB layout diagram. Anyone have ideas? I'll post when done.

[darthhen]

How about the Windows Phone logo??

Or a happy face?

Be sure to share your pictures after your engraving.

[jgbstetson]

How about the Windows Phone logo??

Or a happy face?

Be sure to share your pictures after your engraving.

not a bad idea. I just might. I was toying with the idea of 3 wolves 1 moon, but not many would get it I'm afraid. I could do the windows logo superimposed on the PCB layout. That might look cool. I'll give it one more day to simmer.

Any other ideas?

[jgbstetson]

Well, here it is. It did not turn out quite as well as I hoped. The laser was run too fast/hot on the vector lines, but the rastered windows logo turned out better. Usually, we have a full size test piece, but at $40/ea, I wasn't willing to fork over my own money.


WP_20130109_002.jpg

[sabrekane]

Very nice! Looks incredible. Any effect on wireless charging or NFC?

[jgbstetson]

It barely penetrates the surface, so I'd think not. We'll see tonight.

I'm excited about this Nokia catwalk product. Anodized aluminum marks very nicely.

[jgbstetson]

Everything works just fine!

[darthhen]

From the picture, it looks great. You mentioned the lines doesn't come out that good since it burns the plastic, can you adjust the amount of energy for the laser?

If not, then maybe you can experiment with the line thickness? At some point, I would think the thickness of the lines would be big enough where it won't look crappy??

BTW, it looks really nice. I wish I can do that to my cover.... :-)

Can you do any images? Or does it have to be in a particular format for your tool to convert from?

[jgbstetson]

Yeah, power can be adjusted through duty cycle. Spot size can be controlled, though less easily. The problem is the size if the test Lines I ran. They weren't long enough for the carriage to get up to speed, during which it increases power. Unfortunately, the compensation scheme it uses is fixed, but material response does not always match well. So, next time I do it, I'll dial down the speed to avoid the material response-compensation mismatch.

Virtually any image can be done, including photos. The software applies a dithering pattern to photos that depends on the material. Materials with a large heat affected zone require coarser dithering.

[sravanv]

Honestly, you should charge for that (although I don't know what price you could get away with it before it becomes not worth it for either you or the customer). The shell looks fantastic! I'd buy a designed charging shell like that!

[jgbstetson]

I don't have my own machine, but I can get away with some personal jobs here and there. A guy I work with has his own machines and does jobs on the side. If anybody seriously wants this done, I can provide his contact through PM.

[darthhen]

Any photo eh? That opens up a lot of possibility. I guess it can't be anything too complicated otherwise it won't look good right?

[jgbstetson]

Pretty much. I'd steer away from dark images with lots of detail. For instance, night shots of a cityscape probably wouldn't come out well.