It’s been less than a day, and you’re asking about a pretty niche product in an unrelated thread. Maybe be a bit more polite?
Anyway, there’s probably someone near you - maybe a maker space, maybe an engraving company - that has a laser. I’d suggest calling them and asking to try. You haven’t given very much info about these plates, but the Forge isn’t going to etch metals. At all.
What it could maybe do is etch the coating, then expose it to whatever / however it uses to etch the plates. But without knowing what the coating is, it’s hard to say whether it’s appropriate to go into the laser.
My apologies. I certainly had no intent as coming off as impolite. This thread was about collecting various materials to try in the GF…or so I thought. The zinc plates are something that my brother thought I might be able to use and I was just wanting to know more about them before I asked him to save them for me. Now, it seems I will not want to use them. Sorry for annoying you.
I liked the zinc question. It is pretty common material. In Europe zinc shot cups are really ornate and are big souvenirs. It all comes down to knowing some metallurgy and a bit of chemistry. The GF is CO2 laser and it this has a specific reactivity with materials. These things will all come out but at least we have lots of time to dream and research.
I’ve been hitting up flooring shops for scrap hardwood, among other things. Got some nice pieces for ornaments, coasters, etc! Very excited. Also hoarding whatever else I can get a hold of!
I have been trying to hold off gathering up too much material this early due to lack of storage space. However, a couple days ago, I found myself at an architectural salvage store and couldn’t resist picking up several slate shingles at $3 each and they threw in a small scrap of black marble for free.
Oh I need to look for some of those here and also hit up the hardware stores for chipped/broken other scraps…so many ideas and luckily, my husband finally has an I told you so for why we needed the 12x3 ft montrosity of a shed in our yard.
@Xabbess, zinc dissolves in acid if I recall, so you could probably coat it with some sort of resist like wax, engrave it off, and go to town with an acid bath. I haven’t tried it, of course.
holy crap, @dan I hadn’t even thought of that…such a great idea. you could even do a kind of electrostatic acid etch. I did a quick search and found this http://www.instructables.com/id/Etching-Knife-Blades/ not sure how good it works, but worth a shot.
Zinc fumes may be something you want to avoid. While zinc is not considered toxic in normal use, metal fumes in general can lead to some health issues. I’m attaching a link to a wiki entry you may wish to read.
If memory serves, Zn plus HCl gives you ZnCl (which is basically grey grit) and H2, which is good for filling Hindenbergs. So etch in a well ventilated location.
Having done this in high school, though, the amount of gas produced is extremely small.
I’m trying to hoard cardboard, but I’m not succeeding much. Any time I bring a large box home, my 6 year old daughter looks at me with big eyes and says “Can I have it…I want to make a house” or " an airplane" or " a restaurant" or " a boat" or … or … or …
I’m trying to encourage her to make things, so I always say “yes”, and the cardboard is promptly cut and decorated with stickers and markers. Soon, I’ll start sneaking the cardboard in so she can’t see it.
Guilty!!! I have gathered a lot material and already have multiple projects in mind. I have kicked my husband our of his man cave storage room in anticipation!!
I’ve unfortunately have an endless supply it seem’s of Cardboard, I’m hoarding thicker pieces for now as the thinner stuff I seem to get all the time. I keep tweaking cat tree designs that will fit just fit in the Glowforge limits.
I work at a Humane Society and we spend a ton on cat trees. So playing around with modular system. That can be expanded easily, stored, and when cats change can dispose of and not have to worry about sanitizing or trying to make it disease free for the next cats.
Also need to be able to have replacement parts easily for heavy cats, or those energetic cats that love eating cardboard. Plus it’s green friendly so… just bidding my time for it to arrive.
The best system I like the look of, so far is this bookcase