How does laser engraving turn a 3D printed piece a different color?

Lasers can affect different materials in different ways. With an IR laser, one of the most common results is foaming. This is when the laser makes contact with the surface, and simultaneously melts and bubbles it. This foamed material dries and hardens near instantly and is almost always lighter than the original color of the material.

With some plastics, laser contact can result in a burning or darkening of the material; and still with some, the laser may have no visible effect. All this is determined by a number of factors, some of which include the laser’s wavelength, the laser’s power output, the type of material, the formulation of the material, and the color of the material. 

With light colored ABS, we found that the IR laser tended to make dark markings, while with dark colored ABS, the IR laser made lighter markings. Admittedly, we’ve tested much fewer examples of ABS, compared to PLA and PETG.

And…what is that tool?

So many of our viewers have spotted tools we use in our videos for various phases of the 3D printing process and asked us “… what is that tool?” We thought we’d share a few tips along with links on where to find some of these tools if you are interested in using them too.

NOTE: we are not affiliated with any of these brands, just sharing what we like to use.

Pro tip: stop a few millimeters of pushing it all the way in with the insert press, then use a flat metal tool to finish pressing it in.