Hi guys and we are back again. For this week we will make some cute pet dog tags. Pet tags are very important for our furry friends not just for their accessories but for emergency purposes too. In fact some countries require pet owners to always place a pet tag by law which contains the owner’s contact details for their reference and have them returned immediately in case they get lost.
In addition to today’s topic, we will also talk about 2 different types of engraving, the CO2 Laser and a Fiber Laser, then set up a file using CorelDraw. So stay tuned until the end for the finished product and the difference with the engraving results.
First, let’s talk about CO2 Laser and Fiber Laser
CO2 Laser
The CO2 Laser also known as the “Gas Laser” emits a very powerful intense light that vaporizes and can cut through plastics, metal, paper, cloth, wood, hence some other materials, leaving a precision cut and clean markings.
On the other hand…
Fiber Laser
While Fiber Laser is functioned by passing a very small wavelength of light through a fiber optic cable. Ours is at 1.06um, which is so small it can etch steel, titanium, Aluminum even Gold and Silver.
Now that we have a bit of information about CO2 and Fiber lasers, let’s proceed in making our cute little dog tags.
Before we start making a dog tag we need to prepare the things and tools we need.
Engraving a Dog Tag
Materials you need:
- Pet Tags, we used anodised Aluminium pet tags.
- Laser Machine (Essential)
Software used for the design:
- CorelDraw, though you can follow along with any vector program of choice.
Let’s Start Making our Dog tag!
This is just a follow along for our video, though if you need more detailed steps for your laser then check your lasers help pages. Otherwise comment on our video and we may be able to help.
Step 1: Open CorelDraw: Or use any vector-based software like Illustrator or Inkscape to set up the file.
Now Step 2: Ready for CO2 laser: After setting up your file, place the pet tag inside the laser machine. We will first engrave the pet tag using our CO2 laser machine.
Step 3: Go back to CorelDraw: Now we will set up our file again, transfer the file and we are now ready to engrave using our Fiber Laser machine.
Lastly Step 4: Ready for Fiber laser: Place the pet tag inside the Fiber laser machine and we are now ready to engrave.
And we are done! We will show you some images of the finished product and a side by side comparison of the engraved dog tags using a CO2 Laser and a Fiber Laser, also talk about their difference.
Conclusion
Basically we can say that there is only a bit of difference between the 2 engraving processes that we have done today. In terms of the engraving duration, the Fiber laser tends to engrave faster as it only took 11 seconds compared to the CO2 laser which took 58 seconds to engrave. In addition Fiber laser left some material in the proximity of the engraved markings but you just need to wipe it off.
Overall, both look amazing, the markings turned out to be crisp and clean. You can also add some other details like your contact information and will definitely look cute in addition to your pet’s collar and have them more secure in case they get lost. You can also make some as a gift to someone you know who owns a pet.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and gave you some ideas for your next project.
Got a friend who has a laser machine? Share this video with them and they may help you make some cute dog tags for you furry companion.
As always, we appreciate you taking some time to read our article. Thank you for your support! Stay Happy and Keep Making! ☺
—
You may also check out our previous article on how to make a 2021 Calendar with CorelDraw Scripts in the link below:
You may also visit or follow us through our social media platforms below:
http://facebook.com/createalase
http://twitter.com/create_a_lase
http://instagram.com/timcreatealase
——-
Article credits: Want to know more about CO2 and fiber lasers? Visit the links below:
https://www.spilasers.com/industrial-fiber-lasers/how-fiber-lasers-work/
