What Is an Engraving Service?
An engraving stamp, also referred to as a carved seal, engraved stamp, or marking, is a tool used for engraving letters or numbers on metal plates or leather. An engraving is sometimes used to refer to “engraved letters,” but here it is described as “a tool used for engraving.”
The tip of the thin rod-shaped part has a convex mold of letters or numbers, and the tool is stamped by pressing the molded part of the tip against a metal plate or leather and tapping it. An engraving service requires one letter to be engraved. Therefore, it is necessary to have enough tools for each letter or number to be engraved.
Although the use of engraving services has been decreasing recently due to the development of laser processing machines, they are still used for small-quantity nameplate production.
Uses of an Engraving Service
Engraving services are used for the following applications:
1) Engraving on nameplates and nameplates of mechanical products, such as serial numbers, individual product control numbers, production dates, dimensions, and specifications.
2) To imprint the manufacturer’s name or brand name on leather products.
Item 1 is very important for product quality control as it provides information on the manufacturing history (traceability) of individual products.
When using a hammer or other tool for manual stamping, mount the engraving services on a holder with the required number of characters lined up to shorten the work time, align the engraved characters, and stamp them with even force. This results in a clean finish.
How to Select an Engraving Service
The following points should be considered when selecting an engraving service:
1. Normal and Reverse Characters
There are two types of engraving services: “Normal” and “Reverse.” “Normal” engravings, like seals, can be recognized as characters in the same direction as they are engraved, while “Reverse” engravings are characters that are backward (reverse or mirror characters) in the engraving direction and not legible as is.
Normal characters are mainly used for nameplates.
Reverse characters are mainly used for molds, etc., and are readable as positive characters in the state of the product produced by stamping on the mold.
2. Tip Shape
Engraving services are available in various tip shapes, depending on the application.
a. Engraving services (standard) have a sharp point at the tip of the letterforms, which provides excellent imprinting of the engraving and is suitable for metal engraving.
b. Solid engraving services have a flat tip on the letterforms.
c. Low-stress engraving services have a rounded tip on the letterforms, which allows low-stress stamping and does not place a load on the other surface.
d. Braille low-stress engraving services are a combination of Braille and low-stress.
3. Character Size (Character Height)
Several character sizes (character heights) are available, and the required character size is selected. Examples of sizes include character height dimensions from 1.5 mm to 16 mm.