DIY Custom Amplifier and DAC- Project H - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowei006 


You dont know the coolest mod on head fi? Its Amos!!

unheard of

Quote:

Originally Posted by b1o2r3i4s5 

silkscreen is adding stuff (ink)

engrave is removing stuff (coating)

 

which one are you doing?

So the one used to add the words on the P-H is silkscreen?

The one that you did on deadly's and eve's is what? Engraving?

I might be doing based on these factors :

- Colour availability

- Price

Quote:

Originally Posted by graphidz 

 

So the one used to add the words on the P-H is silkscreen?

 

The one that you did on deadly's and eve's is what? Engraving?

 

I might be doing based on these factors :

- Colour availability

- Price

Engraving would be one color only (metal color)

And silkscreen is limited to just a few colors, with the price of each additional color being a bit more than the first. Silkscreening will be better in the long term though, as you're not exposing bare metal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mechgamer123 

Engraving would be one color only (metal color)

And silkscreen is limited to just a few colors, with the price of each additional color being a bit more than the first. Silkscreening will be better in the long term though, as you're not exposing bare metal.

laser engraving is actually white (or brown), because it burns a very thin layer off the top.
to the naked eye, it still looks like a flat surface.
all IC / transistor numbers are laser engraved.

you can "fill" engraved lettering with paint if specific colours are desired.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mechgamer123 

Engraving would be one color only (metal color)

And silkscreen is limited to just a few colors, with the price of each additional color being a bit more than the first. Silkscreening will be better in the long term though, as you're not exposing bare metal.

This is incorrect.  Silkscreen can be removed with almost any paint stripper or even some thinners. Under a combination of the right conditions - sweat, alcohol, solder flux, etc. - it will come off anyway.

True laser etching of anodized aluminum is as permanent as the metal itself.  The laser-etching only burns off the top layer of dyed aluminum (it is not engraving).  What is exposed underneath is the bare aluminum anodizing (almost white), still fully protected from future corrosion. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by b1o2r3i4s5 

laser engraving is actually white (or brown), because it burns a very thin layer off the top.
to the naked eye, it still looks like a flat surface.
all IC / transistor numbers are laser engraved.

I've never seen brown - at least with quality laser-etching.   It may be that someone didn't have the power turned up high enough on a black anodized specimen and the result was brown.  That's not the way to do it, though.  Anodized aluminum is dyed to achieve the color - the thickness of the actual anodizing underneath the dye is much thicker.  It continues for several ten-thousandths underneath the dye.  Proper laser-etching uses enough power to cut through the dye layer and not much more.  This is very easy to control and the visual feedback from the results are telltale.  If it's sulfuric anodizing (most common in our sub-culture), the underlying layer will be the same color as an oxidized piece of aluminum - almost white.  It will be permanent, corrosion proof, and still insulated from electrical current.

Finally - not all IC's are laser-engraved.  As stated above, it's not really engraving.  It's a question of difference in magnitude.  Etching may be in the ten-thousandths or less, while engraving is on the order of thousandths.  IC's were made for many years before laser-etching was available.  So, it's not necessarily true that all IC's are etched or engraved.  Alcohol can render many IC's completely blank.  I can show you plenty of Burr-Brown opamps whose designations do not last through multiple alcohol rinses.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomb 

I've never seen brown - at least with quality laser-etching.   It may be that someone didn't have the power turned up high enough on a black anodized specimen and the result was brown. 

 

That's not the way to do it, though.  Anodized aluminum is dyed to achieve the color - the thickness of the actual anodizing underneath the dye is much thicker.  It continues for several ten-thousandths underneath the dye.  Proper laser-etching uses enough power to cut through the dye layer and not much more.  This is very easy to control and the visual feedback from the results are telltale.  If it's sulfuric anodizing (most common in our sub-culture), the underlying layer will be the same color as an oxidized piece of aluminum - almost white.  It will be permanent, corrosion proof, and still insulated from electrical current.

 

Finally - not all IC's are laser-engraved.  As stated above, it's not really engraving.  It's a question of difference in magnitude.  Etching may be in the ten-thousandths or less, while engraving is on the order of thousandths.  IC's were made for many years before laser-etching was available.  So, it's not necessarily true that all IC's are etched or engraved.  Alcohol can render many IC's completely blank.  I can show you plenty of Burr-Brown opamps whose designations do not last through multiple alcohol rinses.

Some of the results I got when engraving with 600dpi (instead of 1200dpi) is mostly white with a slight hint of brown...

Might be caused by the spacing between the dots.

Yeah burns off the thin layer of dye, that what I meant.

Me and my ambiguity :p

wait.. shouldn't etching be deeper?

it takes away material using chemicals right?
 

Damn, this thing looks sexy!  Nice job on this and congrats!

Yeaaah there's weird distortion with bass when high gain is on.