Engraving leather and leatherette on laser marker, 30W. Tips, secrets, and best practices.

[Zack00]

Leather
Fiber optic markers are not designed to work with organics, and leather is an organic material.
How, then, can a marker work on skin? In fact, the laser does not interact with the skin itself, but with the materials it is treated with - tannins, dyes, and more.  Therefore, depending on the origin of the leather, its preparation and processing will determine the quality and characteristics of the engraving, including the power and speed settings. 

The same leather, treated and prepared differently, will also behave differently when engraved. It can gobble, or it will burn or engrave normally, the engraving can be durable or will crumble and deteriorate depending on the quality of the leather. So before selling the final product, it is very important to try beforehand what the quality of the engraving will turn out to be. 

Leathercloth
Most often this material is handled quite well, but we do not recommend doing a deep engraving, because the upper layers will fringe, crumble, come off and the product will quickly fall into disrepair. 

Engraving made on Wattsan FL TT laser marker

 

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by Zack00

[Northmount]

@Zack00 Moved to 3D Printers and Lasers.