Lasers and Leather

[rckt1rcn]

I just bought a SnapMaker 2.0 and have been trying to work through the learning curve on laser engraving leather. Any one else been working with the like?

[TomMeyers]

I have used my laser engraver eleksmaker and a low power 5w laser to cut and engrave veg tan.  It went well.

Chrome tan is not recommended because of fumes.

 

To cut I made multiple passes.

[RockyAussie]

9 hours ago, rckt1rcn said:

I just bought a SnapMaker 2.0 and have been trying to work through the learning curve on laser engraving leather. Any one else been working with the like?

Best tip I have learned is try and stick with light coloured leather and give it a couple of coats of sealer before you do the engraving. A good blast of air followed by whacking the engraved surface against a clean cloth removes most of the carbon dust. The sealer does a lot to stop the carbon spreading and darkening everything. I generally use a lightly dampened cloth as a final prep before a follow up with a couple of more coats of sealer spray applied. Here is a link on my web page should help see the results - https://wildharry.com.au/collections/stubby-and-drink-leather-coolers/products/stubby-coolers-made-from-leather-with-laser-engraved-dad

How you going with the 3d print side?

[Lobo]

About 2008 or so I had the idea of offering holsters and accessories laser-engraved to display military unit crests, law enforcement badges, and other such items. Local trophy & engraving shop was well set up to handle that part of the work, all that needed to be provided was a scanned photo or image (jpg, gif, etc) to load into the computer and just about anything could be replicated. The only critical requirement was a good clear image for the computer to read and reproduce.

I offered this as an option via my website for a couple of years, and completed a few orders. Overall, customer interest was not sufficient to continue so I dropped the option. I recall spending a considerable amount of time on those few orders, discussing customer ideas, dealing with the transfers of images (even e-mail attachments take time), laying out individual pieces, frequently tooling borders for the images, delivering pieces to the vendor shop, picking up completed jobs, etc.

Bottom line, time is a limited commodity and must be made to be productive. My records showed that individual orders typically took 14% of gross sale to cover materials, supplies, packaging, and shipping, thus 86% gross profit margin in return for the time invested. Adding time to an individual order detracts from the time available to complete other orders, so the effect is to drive gross profits down.

30 completed orders per week at average gross profit of $60 per equals $1800 for that week. To take on 10 orders requiring the same amount of time to complete would require a gross profit average of $180 each to achieve the same income. The high-priced orders convey a sense of greater worth, but the run-of-the-mill orders pay the bills and fund the retirement plan.

For me, this was a business and not a hobby. Maximizing profits allowed me to live well and retire comfortably, and also added value to the business when I retired and sold the company.

My input, for whatever it might be worth.

[rckt1rcn]

12 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

Best tip I have learned is try and stick with light coloured leather and give it a couple of coats of sealer before you do the engraving. A good blast of air followed by whacking the engraved surface against a clean cloth removes most of the carbon dust. The sealer does a lot to stop the carbon spreading and darkening everything. I generally use a lightly dampened cloth as a final prep before a follow up with a couple of more coats of sealer spray applied. Here is a link on my web page should help see the results - https://wildharry.com.au/collections/stubby-and-drink-leather-coolers/products/stubby-coolers-made-from-leather-with-laser-engraved-dad

How you going with the 3d print side?

I’ve been into 3D printing for awhile but haven’t even put that head on the SnapMaker yet. I’ve got a couple other ones I use. May try it this weekend. I’ve heard it can compete with the higher priced 3D printers out there. 

[RockyAussie]

11 hours ago, rckt1rcn said:

I’ve been into 3D printing for awhile but haven’t even put that head on the SnapMaker yet. I’ve got a couple other ones I use. May try it this weekend. I’ve heard it can compete with the higher priced 3D printers out there. 

They are both very handy technologies to have in your arsenal these days. I think I do more laser work on patterning stuff and cutting out product boxes than doing much on the leather itself. @Lobo advise is very worth taking note of in regards to using in the way he mentioned he did. I do a little of the easy stuff like monogramming onto existing models like coaster and drink coolers as with those I can have a template to set up on and a name change can be done in a couple of minutes (maybe 5). The 3 d printing side comes into use nearly every day for dies. moulds, tools and line up jigs and heaps of other stuff. What watt size is the laser you have and what software does it use. I am mostly using a 2.5 watt Eleksmaker with major modifications and T2 laser software. Most of the engraving on leather would be 1000mm per minute at somewhere between 50 and 60 power. Top power in T2 laser is 255. If you are using 5 watt then either double that speed or 1/2 the power. (same thing). Here is a couple of pictures of my little converted Elksmaker which shows it fully enclosed with fume extraction and able to now do poster size work which is great for doing bulk jobs at the same time.

This is a z lift I designed and printed which has a lot larger fan the the original which keeps the diode cool enough to run for hours at a time.

This pic shows some of the product boxes that need to be cut nearly ever other day.

This one is a product display stand I 3d created and printed which has a Christmas tree lighting inside it.

Hope that helps some and have some fun.

Edited August 28, 2021 by RockyAussie

[chrisash]

Many people think the product sells itself, but first class presentation like this can add that little extra touch of class, and shows the maker cares about the product so the buyer should also care for it

Edited August 28, 2021 by chrisash