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KennyGregory

LP5 Stainless Steel Dog Tag

How-to
Machine
LP5
Material
Metal
Size
49 x 28 mm
Material Information
Dog tags: 28x49mm stainless steel tags from AliExpress. https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832568675451.html
Software Used
LaserPecker Design Space Android
Production Time
120 min
Engraving Difficulty

Design Files

file
Dog+Tag+Guide.lp2
2025/01/25 09:1142

Introduction

Laser Engraver: LP5 Firmware: 8.0.2 Software: LaserPecker Design Space - Android Software Version: 5.8.0 YouTube Video: https://youtube.com/shorts/sIwV_Nh31Lg?feature=share This is my real first go at doing stainless steel with a large area engraved. I found it hard to not have lines show up horizontally. I did a bunch of testing. I found that having the laser slightly higher and using 8k for the resolution gave a much more consistent engraving. For the best results, I used a three-step process: 1. Deep engrave. 2. Clean up and smooth the surface. 3. Mark it dark (optional for a bold finish). If you don’t want a dark engraving, skip the last step.

How-to Tutorial

1

Step1: Design

  1. Create a shape that is the size of your dog tag. This will be referred to as your Guide layer. You can even go to the Layers section and rename the layer to Guide.
  2. Import or create your design that you want to engrave.
  3. Align your design layer(s) with the Guide layer.
  4. Select all the layers, including the Guide layer, and Align center them.
2

Step2: Engraving Setup and Preview

  1. Outline Preview is helpful to see very closely what your engraving will look like on your item. To turn it on, go to settings. Then, turn on Outline Preview.
    1. 2025-01-24_08.45.51.jpg
  2. From the Layers section, only select the Guide layer.
  3. Click the Preview button, to start the preview.
  5. Focus
    1. Set your dog tag under the red dots.
    2. Move the laser head to be too high out of focus.
    3. Move the laser head down until the red dots just touch.
    4. Move the laser head up 4 clicks.
  6. Align the dog tag to the preview of the guide.
    1. 2025-01-24_08.34.12.jpg
  7. Collapse the preview menu.
  8. Go to the Layers section.
  9. Deselect the Guide layer and select the design layer(s).
  10. Click the Preview button to bring the preview menu back up.
    1. Now you should see a rectangle box showing the edges of your design.
    2. 2025-01-24_08.34.32.jpg
  11. Click the Outline Preview button.
    1. 2025-01-24_08.34.38.jpg
  12. Click the Start Preview button.
    1. 2025-01-24_08.34.46.jpg
  13. You should see an outline of your design on your item. This gives you a good feel for where it will engrave on your item.
    1. 2025-01-24_08.35.07.jpg
  14. Cancel the outline preview.
  15. Click the Next button.
3

Step3: Deep Engraving

This step is the deep engraving, removing the amount of material to your liking. Adjust the passes to engrave shallower or deeper.

Settings 1

Fill

Engraving Method
Fill
Resolution
8 K
Power
90%
Depth
30%
Pass
55
Module Type
20W 1064nm
Laser Frequency
60
4

Step4: Clean Up and Even Out

In this step we are cleaning up the engraving and trying to even out the surface. If you don't want a dark engraving, stop after this step.

Settings 1

Fill

Engraving Method
Fill
Resolution
8 K
Power
30%
Depth
1%
Pass
10
Module Type
20W 1064nm
Laser Frequency
60
5

Step5: Mark Dark

If you want a dark engraving do this step, otherwise don't.


In the top half of this image you can see this step being run, where it is being marked dark.

The bottom half is what it looked like after the previous step, clean up and even out.

2025-01 LP5 Stainless Steel Dog Tag.00_01_17_12.Still001.jpg

Settings 1

Fill

Engraving Method
Fill
Resolution
8 K
Power
90%
Depth
30%
Pass
1
Module Type
20W 1064nm
Laser Frequency
60
6

Step6: Cleaning

You can clean up the dog tag using liquid soap and an old toothbrush.

Dog Tag
Stainless Steel
Metal

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