AngryTechnician Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 This is going to seem like an odd request... but is there anyone here (either a friendly supplier or someone with an industrious DT department) who could engrave a logo onto a ring for me? My school does a World Book Day event each year where they ask pupils to come dressed as a book character. Staff are encouraged to join in if they wish, and this year I'm planning to go as Ford Prefect. As part of this, I want to get the Hitchhiker's Guide logo (the one below) engraved onto a ring, as a prop to represent the Electronic Thumb. Yes, yes, I know the ring version they used in the film isn't how it worked in the book, but I liked it, so sue me. Anyway, I've got a 10mm steel ring the right size, and I've got the logo in vector format, but having talked to Timpsons they want £45 to do the engraving. That's a bit more than I want to spend for a small costume prop, so can anyone recommend a way of getting it done a bit cheaper? Oh, and of course I need it done by World Book Day, which is the 6th March... Any suggestions (other than attacking it myself with a Dremel) gratefully received!
featured_spectre Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Could you make a stencil stamp and emboss it on or solder?
CAM Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I have a family member who does this for a living, I'll ask him if he has any ideas for how to do it.
CAM Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 OK had a chat with my Dad who runs his own engraving business. He reckons that the price quoted seems about right for what they want as it isn't a cheap business. He recently had one piece of work where he had to send it off to another company for laser engraving and it cost over £40 for image prep and another £40 for the engraving process. Hand engraving is cheaper but steel will blunt instruments quickly as it is too hard so very few engravers will take on steel jobs. You'd have been better off with precious metal or even a softer metal like copper! He did mention a process you can use to try it yourself. You mark the design on acetone with pencil, use a cutter to mark the lines and stick it on the ring. Then use some scraper thing (I can't remember what he called it) to transfer the lines on to the metal as a guide for your own attempts at hand engraving (idea being it scrapes the exposed fine lines and the acetone protects the rest). But he said frankly the results from a Dremel in even a skilled hand will look like a pig's ear. Sorry! So looks like you will need to source a laser engraving machine from somewhere as that is the cheapest (I doubt you want to shell out £120 to produce a die). I have a cheaper idea though, print a 10mm logo on to a sticker and stick it on! 1
AngryTechnician Posted February 25, 2014 Author Posted February 25, 2014 Yep, the £45 from Timpsons was mostly prep cost - after the first item is done it's only about £10 for additional items using the same artwork. I have a cheaper idea though, print a 10mm logo on to a sticker and stick it on! That one had occurred to me too! Looks like I will be going down that sort of route.
Domino Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Electrolytical Etching? Etching bit of a faff though, and there's always the chance you'll muck it up...
CAM Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Yep, the £45 from Timpsons was mostly prep cost - after the first item is done it's only about £10 for additional items using the same artwork. That one had occurred to me too! Looks like I will be going down that sort of route. Maybe if you make a big enough batch you could see how many people want to buy a ring...
pcstru Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Etching is a good suggestion and likely to give much better results than by hand with a dremmel. How to Acid Etch Steel.
plexer Posted February 25, 2014 Posted February 25, 2014 Just get a piece of copper clad pcb, print out the design on to some glossy paper and iron it on to the copper, etch as normal and then cut your circle out and epoxy it to a ring? PCB Etching Using Toner Transfer Method | MAKE Ben
Popular Post AngryTechnician Posted March 1, 2014 Author Popular Post Posted March 1, 2014 In the end I found what turned out to be a cheap, fairly easy, and very effective way of doing this. If you ever did Airfix you'll remember the decals they came with, where you soak them in water for a minute then slide the backing paper off and press them onto the model. Turns out you can buy the paper to print your own now, and they stick to most surfaces, including metal, so... On close inspection like this you can see the transparent area has a slight texture to it, and you can just about see the outline of where I didn't cut the logo out perfectly, but I think it's come out pretty well considering the cost. It's completely flush with the surface (unlike a clear sticker which was my next choice), and according to the instructions should even stand up to washing as if you use it on mugs/plates it's apparently OK to handwash them (just not put them in the dishwasher). 5
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