Anyone has done his own homemade laser etching with a soldering iron?

[berserkfan]

I have a 60W soldering iron with a big fat tip that is totally unsuitable for fine work.

I have some blank black ABS keycaps.

I have itchy fingers and a ridiculous brain.

I am now thinking that if I apply a soldering iron at 200+C to ABS plastic, it should burn the plastic and basically do what you do when you do laser etching. IE I can write my own highly lasting legends on the plastic.

But before I do anything that releases poisonous fumes, causes a fire or explosion, destroys my soldering iron (am willing to risk it, not destroy it), etc., can I ask if anyone has experience with this homemade keycap etching? Am particularly interested in knowing how long I am supposed to apply the soldering iron to the plastic in order to create the correct amount of 'burn' without melting or deforming it.

[fohat.digs]

Ha Ha Ha!

I love the BRUTE FORCE approach.

You need to get a fresh clean sharp tip (tips can be filed, but the flat one is more useful in many cases) which only cost about $2

The trick will be how to hold the iron. Normally, when I do fine delicate close-up work, I hold my tool with both hands, very close to the end, and get my face in very close, too. You can hardly do that kind of stuff with a very hot hunk of metal.

I might even consider clamping the iron down tight and moving the cap against it. That might allow better control.

[CPTBadAss]

Why don't you just do it and find out? Then report back. Also, your soldering iron won't have a laser so no laser etching

[Noko]

I just bought some soldering iron tips from China meant for etching designs on leather and also edge finishing.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2PCS-Leather-Solder-Iron-Tip-Brass-Soldering-Iron-Tip-to-Burn-the-Edge-Decorate-/331056470698?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d1480daaa
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/10-Pure-Brass-Leather-Solder-Iron-Tip-Sets-to-Burn-the-Edge-Decorate-Soldering-/261536911405?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce4d0902d

Have not tried them out yet, but at least it proves a similar idea.

[RabRhee]

I wouldn't think you would poison yourself or wreck the iron without some warning, but accuracy may be an issue. You could perhaps make letter templates out of some thin wire, bend them to shape and then use the iron to burn them in? I agree with the CPT, its not laser etching, how about key branding?


I am all for extreme experimentation.

Carpe Locum. (Seize the crazy?)

[berserkfan]

I wouldn't think you would poison yourself or wreck the iron without some warning, but accuracy may be an issue. You could perhaps make letter templates out of some thin wire, bend them to shape and then use the iron to burn them in? I agree with the CPT, its not laser etching, how about key branding?


I am all for extreme experimentation.

Carpe Locum. (Seize the crazy?)

That will definitely be one of my next few projects (I have many in mind).

As long as unexpected things don't happen (eg some weird chemical reaction that causes an explosion), I am willing to try. What I want to risk are the keycaps, not my skin, my lungs or my soldering tip.

The great thing about geekhackers is that we share so much. EG until Noko spoke up, I did not realize that people also used soldering tips to etch/burn marks on leather. Now that I know that, the principle is sound.

It's not important about the laser. As long as the principle works (using heat to burn marks that are permanent), I will try it.

Lastly I must thank Fohat once again. Fohat's experience is very valuable. I was originally thinking of clamping down the keycap and moving the soldering iron, but felt I didn't have enough control. Fohat called for the opposite which I hadn't thought of! (Will buy a suitable desk or whatever they call it clamp next weekend. My current clamps are too small to hold a soldering iron firmly.)

One last question. Since it's plastic we're burning, obviously no tinning of the tip is wise. But how else to clean the tip of the iron while burning is in process? I have never tried this before.

[vvp]

My friend uses a soldering gun regularly to cut into plastics.
If you don't have some strange allergy it will not make you sick definitely not within few years.

At high temperatures, it will stink badly, you do not want to breathe it. Just do it in a good ventilated room and maybe get a small fan blowing fumes out of your face. ABS may release a bit of toxic stuff (carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide) if exposed to temperatures above 250 or something like that. Below that it should be safe (no fumes). Above that ... just do not breathe in the fumes and you will be ok. You will not breath them in anyway since they stink so badly.

A tip for soldering gun will not get permanently damaged but to make it usable again for soldering you will need to clean with a sand paper. I guess the same should be true for soldiering iron tip (at least if it is made from copper). I never tried it with a soldering iron.

[DamnDan]

Perhaps you should try attaching typewriter letter stamps to a soldering iron. This way if you attach the iron to something stable, like the dremel holder (dunno how to call it, but it holds dremel vertically and allows you to drill straight holes) + clamp the keycap down below the iron, use the dremel thingy to lower down the iron and melt the plastic :-)

[PointyFox]

Use a sonic cutter.

[dorkvader]

One last question. Since it's plastic we're burning, obviously no tinning of the tip is wise. But how else to clean the tip of the iron while burning is in process? I have never tried this before.

I've -uh- actually used a sodlering iron for this before (shut up guys, it was a cheap one) and keeping the tip clean was the only real issue.

The normal "damp sponge" method wasn't good enough. I didnt have one at the time (I just scraped the melted plastic off on a bit of ceramic) but I recommend a brass sponge or (if you're cheap) copper scrubber

[Oobly]

Be careful of fumes, melted and burning plastic can release some nasty stuff. At least very good ventilation is required and a respirator would be a good idea.

I have "drilled" holes in plastic a couple times with my iron, but I wouldn't recommend it.

A wadded up paper towel that's dampened could be used to clean the tip.

Perhaps an engraving attachment / bit on a Dremel would be easier to control and less hazardous?

I do like the sound of branded keycaps, though 

[fohat.digs]

I do like the sound of branded keycaps, though

I have epoxied tiny things onto keycaps with acceptable results. Never succeeded in making the epoxy bed look good, however.

[Noko]

Perhaps you should try attaching typewriter letter stamps to a soldering iron. This way if you attach the iron to something stable, like the dremel holder (dunno how to call it, but it holds dremel vertically and allows you to drill straight holes) + clamp the keycap down below the iron, use the dremel thingy to lower down the iron and melt the plastic :-)

This is also done with leather actually.  On a leather product that is made with chrome tan leather, some leatherworkers apply their maker's logo (like my Noko stamp) with a custom-modified soldering iron.  You can see them here (or a cheap version, for custom made in USA it is $300-$500):  http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Custom-branding-iron-leather-stamping-tool-leather-stamp-with-soldering-iron-/141280378374?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=440394730111&hash=item20e4f77e06

But you can see they just put a threaded metal rod that attaches to the stamp on one hand, and goes in the iron on the other.

Maybe since you don't want high temperature for safety reasons, you could use a propane torch to heat something like these up before stamping?: http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xletter+stamp+metal&_nkw=letter+stamp+metal&_sacat=0&_from=R40
Or maybe if you were able to modify these somehow.  There are leather alphabet stamps for example that have a circular attachment that could be adapted.

[berserkfan]

Why don't you just do it and find out? Then report back. Also, your soldering iron won't have a laser so no laser etching

OK, reporting back.

Totally no success with all keycaps. They all melted.

But good thing was, no fires, no major emissions, no smoke. No damage to iron. In fact I am still using the same iron.

I think the 60w soldering iron was too hot.

The soldering iron method is excellent if you want ENGRAVED KEYCAPS. It is very quick and effortless.

I think my next step should be to ask if anyone knows how to create infills. I can easily melt the plastic and create groves and scores. Now how can I pour stuff into these groves? The material has to be suitable for handling when hot and lasting when cold. Right now I am thinking of ordinary candle wax since I have little knowledge and understanding of materials. Fellow geeks please speak up!

[JPG]

Have you tried with a very fine tip? I am totally n00b with soldering and such, but the video I watched to learn how to solder properly was insisting on the heat transfer being influenced a lot by the size of the tip and the contact surface. With the little general knowledge that can be applied to this, the bigger the tip the more energy it will accumulate before getting in contact with something. Then, the bigger the contact surface with an object the faster the heat will transfer to it. If the heat is transferred faster, the more heat will be transferred so the hotter it will get.


So even if you can't adjust the temperature of the iron, you could influence the heat transfer by changing the tip itself.


But another problem that could occur is that the plastic will melt before burning. And you want it to burn while not melting so the shape is not affected. So you want a high temperature but not a lot of heat transfer. Lazers are probably much better at this than an iron, but maybe if you get an iron very hot but with a very fine tip it would work that way.


But take all this with a big grain of salt as it's based on my general knowledge and no expertise at all! But it can give you some ideas.

[berserkfan]

Yes, it has indeed given me ideas but unfortunately I don't think 'homemade laser etching' will work. I noticed how quickly and easily the plastic melted. No burn can be made at all. I think we will need both far more heat and a much finer tip, essentially a laser. Halving or quartering the surface area by using a finer soldering tip ain't enuf. Not something doable for me now.

[Oobly]

Here's an idea.. How about a tattooing machine? Rapidly impacting needle with "paint" supplied directly to the area needed. Not sure what ink type would be best, but I'm sure we could find something that will last. Not sure it would do the needle much good, but if someone who owns one wants to try with some blank caps and an old needle, why not?

[HipsterPunks]

I used a dental drill on PBT, worked well and you dont have to worry about keeping the tip clean, accuracy and uneven depth was definitely the issue

[mkawa]

use a dremel instead.

[berserkfan]

use a dremel instead.

mkawa you are totally right; I have also been thinking about it. My 35000rpm dremel would burn plastic very easily. The problem is not the noxious gases safety issue (I have a full face mask plus a fan blowing at my semi-outdoor work area). Problem is there isn't actually a suitable dremel bit I can think of. It's one thing to burn things randomly for fun while exploring the power of a dremel; it's another thing to try and get the burning done cleanly and systematically. My dremel tips have simply destroyed any keycap I tried to date. EG plastic burnt through in a flash; scorch marks way too broad to form useful legends, etc. But I will keep everyone updated. It just occurred to me I may be wrong to use a dremel. If I used my cheapo Chinese rotary tool (ie a dremel without the trademark name), it will operate slow enough to make lesser burns.

[Findecanor]

I would suggest using a flex shaft for better accuracy and low speed for plastics.

A few times when I have used an El Cheapo rotary tool that could not do low speeds properly, I have melted the plastic too much and ended up with a bit covered in plastic that I could not get off ...