Have you ever looked at manufactured metal parts? Surely the form and structure of the part will attract your attention. And how the part is manufactured and works. With a little more attention, you will find other useful information. Information that is engraved on the metal part. These numbers and writings will help you to know the authenticity of the product. It also determines the suitability of that metal part for your needs. The metal engraving machine is one of the most widely used tools in metal parts manufacturing factories.
It can be argued that this art is the main inspiration for the invention of the printing industry. The image you see is taken from the Wikipedia website. In this image, a skilled craftsman is engaged in engraving on metal by hand. Basically, engraving is drawing a design on a hard surface. The design may be in the form of a depression on the surface or in the form of a protrusion. As a result, engraving on metal takes different forms depending on the need.
What has encouraged artists to engrave on this hard material? In fact, the high durability of the metal and the persistence of the design after years are the main reasons for this. Today, the art of engraving has been employed in various industries so that metal pieces have an identity card and the produced piece can be traced and repaired after years.
An important historical method for reproducing images, books, and various types of texts has been the creation of printing plates by engraving on metal, wood, and stone.
Metal engraving; Western art
Engraving exquisite designs on metal is an art that has long been popular in the West. Many great European artists, such as Rembrandt and Francisco Goya, have left valuable works with engraving on metal. The engravings you see below belong to Rembrandt, which were hand-engraved on metal. The portrait you see is a picture of Rembrandt himself (1630), and the other two works are called Three Crosses (1653) and The Preaching of Christ (1648).
Engraving on ornamental objects
Among the works that showcase the art of metal engraving as a legacy of Western art are the gifts and souvenirs displayed at the National Bank of Iran Museum. These works were donated to the National Bank on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (1978).
The National Bank of Iran Museum is located on Ferdowsi Street in Tehran and is worth a visit.
Engraving in Iran
The art of engraving is the history of metal engraving in Iran. The designs and patterns engraved on copper, gold, silver, and brass have their roots in Iranian customs and traditions. Perhaps the high durability has been the main reason for artists’ interest in engraving and metal engraving.
Historical discoveries in the art of calligraphy show that metalwork was very prominent during the Sassanid, Seljuk and Safavid periods. The development of this art is due to the hard and arduous efforts of Master Mohammad Arezi after Master Mohammad Taghi Toofan over the past eighty years.
Modern metal engraving techniques
Today, engraving machines engrave the desired design on various materials with high speed and accuracy, just like a printer that prints a design on paper.
The use of computers has brought about a variety of mechanical systems for engraving on metal. Here we examine four common metal engraving methods:
The technique of impact engraving can be said to be inspired by the art of engraving. In this method, the engraving pen is continuously struck against the surface of the metal. This impact creates a depression in the metal and a dot appears. As the work continues and the dots gather together, the design is engraved on the surface of the metal.
Scribe engraving is a method of engraving in which a scribe pen is drawn on metal. In effect, the design is engraved on the metal surface by scratching it.
The use of lasers in industry is no longer new. The considerable power of lasers can be used not only for engraving on metal, but also for cutting metal.
The use of milling in engraving is such that the engraving tool starts rotating at a high speed and number of revolutions and performs engraving by moving on the surface in two directions. The three-axis milling has the ability to move in the z-axis direction in addition to the x and y axes.
Sample of metal engraving tool
This image shows a detailed photograph of a scribe engraving tool and its engraving sample. This device is a product of Arian Sanat Hak.
Comparison of metal engraving methods
Each engraving method has its own effect on the metal. For example, in laser engraving, a design is engraved on the surface of the metal by creating heat at certain points on the surface. The depth of this engraving is small and the cost of engraving is high. In the scribe engraving method, an engraving needle is drawn on the metal surface and leaves the desired design. The needle head is conical and this is clearly visible in the engraved design.
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