A few months ago, there was a thread about having a printer or
somebody photoetch designs into a piece of magnesium, which is
then rubber molded. I remember that a piece of mg 5x9 was like
15.00. The person who posted this gave a name and address for a
company that would do this. I am interested in doing this and
would appreciate it if somebody could furnish that
Thanx!!
There are companies that do this in every major metropolitan
area. It is commonly known as photoengraving, and appears that
way in the phone book. What area are you in?
Magnesium is okay for certain artwork that doesn’t contain tiny
details. The etch can become extremely shallow between two
closely spaced lines, and actually vanish with a normal
polishing. If all the details are larger that a few tenths of a
millimeter, the etching results should be satisfactory. One
further problem is in the area of molding/injecting. If you have
a vacuum wax injector, there is no problem, otherwise, it can be
almost impossible to get a good wax injection. Large images seem
to go pretty well, small details are difficult.
If you have tiny details, consider having a photopolymer plate
etched instead. This material can be cast instead of molded, thus
retaining every bit of detail.
Let me know some more about your design and what you’re doing,
maybe I can help.
Jeffrey Everett