This is one of the most difficult questions we are asked and we really don't have a definitive answer. Since there are so many factors that affect engraving performance it is impossible to quantify cutter life. Some of the many factors involved include the type of material, the brand of material and even the color in some cases. Additionally, cutter speeds and feed rates all have an effect on tool life and cutting performance. Another major factor affecting tool life is the machine spindle. Bad bearings and worn sleeves cause cutter vibration and will severely shorten tool life. Even the fonts used can be a factor if you consider that a three-line font is going to require three times more engraving time than a single-line font, thus reducing the ultimate number of characters that can be cut. As a point of interest, we did some controlled testing of engraving cutters and diamond gravers in the development of some of our products. On a test of a .015" tip carbide engraving tool we engraved over 70,000 single stroke, 1/8" high characters in microsurface engraving stock before experiencing significant degradation of the cut. We performed a similar test using a diamond graver with single-stroke, 1/8" high characters on black lacquered brass and were able to engrave well over 100,000 characters before experiencing significant degradation in the quality of the letter. Again, due to the numerous factors affecting tool life, there are no guarantees on how long a cutter will last and the above data is offered for informative purposes only. |
