6 Engraving Terms You Need To Know

Today’s post will define 6 common engraving terms that I use often in this blog. If you are a more advanced user, chances are, you already know all of these terms. This post is for all of our engraving newbies.

  1. Burnishing: A surface technique that is usually done on coated metals (lacquered brass). A rotating tool, the Burnisher, removes the coating to expose the bare brass without removing any of the metal material. This allows for wider lines than diamond drag without having to deeply cut into the engraving material.
  2. Sacrificial Material: A piece of scrap material placed under your engraving material when you are cutting out an object with one of our machines. This allows you to cut all the way through your engraving material without damaging your table.
  3. T-Slot Table: Close up of T-Slot Engraving TableOur most common engraving table type. An aluminum engraving table with slots that allow you to easily attach a variety of work holding fixtures.
  4. X, Y, & Z Axis: Directional movements of the engraving spindle. The X-axis is the left to right (horizontal) movement, the Y-axis is the front-to-back movement, and the Z-axis is the up & down (vertical) movement of the spindle.
  5. Serialization: A popular feature in our Vision PRO software.Circular Industrial Part Engraved This feature allows you to create a series of engravings, usually tags or plates, with an incremental change in the number on each piece. Great for engraving serial numbers on industrial parts.
  6. Feed Rate: The speed that the cutter moves from one point to another during the engraving process. Also referred to as the lateral feed.

I hope this post has helped you understand some of these common engraving terms. If you are unsure about the meaning about any other engraving terminology, please feel free to leave a comment or ask us on Facebook.

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