DIY Custom Amplifier and DAC- Project H
Feb 28, 2013 at 9:03 AM Post #31 of 95
Quote:
The coolest mod on head fi
smily_headphones1.gif

confused.gif

 
Feb 28, 2013 at 1:00 PM Post #35 of 95
Quote:
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
 
Feb 28, 2013 at 6:01 PM Post #36 of 95
Quote:
 
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.
 
Feb 28, 2013 at 6:40 PM Post #37 of 95
Quote:
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.
 
Feb 28, 2013 at 9:05 PM Post #39 of 95
Quote:
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:
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.
wink.gif

 
Feb 28, 2013 at 10:25 PM Post #40 of 95
Quote:
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.
wink.gif

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?
 
 
Apr 1, 2013 at 10:30 PM Post #45 of 95
Quote:
Yeaaah there's weird distortion with bass when high gain is on.

I already mentioned that.
 
The DAC's output is too high and clips the O2 at high gain. 
 
smh.
 
I know... I know.
 
but the good news is that for someone like me who listens to music at....umm..loud volumes.
 
LCD2 and Q701 are driven on 'low' gain with no problems.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top