Name plate and small tag engraving is a highly profitable application.  When you have the right equipment and accessories, even the process of doing multiple tags at a time can be easy. Here is a quick, step-by-step example of how to create a group of name tags using a Vision 1624 Engraving System.  This application can also be created and run on our other machines such as the VE810, Phoenix 1212, and the 25 series of engraving and routing machines.

For this project, we used the “multiples” feature in our Vision Pro software to set up the job. In the multiples window, we entered the number of tags, material size, margins, and spacing. We also chose to use score lines between the tags and cut them out after they’re engraved.  The material we used to create the tags was a sheet of textured two tone engravers plastic. The cutting tool used for the letter engraving was a flex cutter (for plastics) with a .010” tip. To cut the score lines between the tags we used a cutter beveller with a .060” tip.

Step 1:

Place a sheet of multi-mat on the machine. Place the plastic material on the multi-mat.

Step 2:

We used Vision Pro 8 software to set-up the job. Use the plate size window to set the actual size of one of the tags that you want to engrave.  Next, use the text tools to create a text frame that will act as a place holder for all the text on the tag. It will also let us specify the font style (font, height, kerning, justification, etc…) we want to use.

Step 3:

We then used the “Multiples” window to specify the number of tags, material size, margins, spacing, and select the “score lines” option. We also used the text substitution feature to import the text from a file to populate the tags.  You can easily import text to populate your job from files such as a notepad or excel file. When finished, we click on “OK” and the layout is created for the whole job.

Step 4:

Select the text to be engraved and click on the “Engrave” icon. Here we can adjust the settings for engraving on plastic. We used an X,Y, and Z feed rate of 1.0  inches per second, and a spindle speed of 14,000 RPM’s.  We also chose to use the vacuum system to keep the area we engraved clear of debris. Before you send the job over to the machine, you should zero your cutter and set the engraving depth to .010”. Send the job to the machine and engrave the tags using the Flex .010” cutter.

Step 5:

Select the score lines to be cut and click on the “Engrave” icon. Here we can adjust the settings for cutting plastic. We used an X,Y, and Z feed rate of 0.3  inches per second, and a spindle speed of 14,000 RPM’s. We again chose to use the vacuum system to keep the area we cut clear of debris. Zero the cutter and set the depth to .060” to cut out the tags. Send the job to the machine and cut the tags with the cutter beveller.

Once finished, clean any remaining debris with a soft bristle brush to avoid any scratches to the material. Remove your new tags!

If you have any questions about creating name tags on your engraving machine, please leave a comment.